James was born in Ireland in 1828. In 1848 he immigrated to Ontario where he met Elizabeth. They married in 1850. Elizabeth is said to be the sister of Walt Disney’s Grandfather. James and Elizabeth moved to Manitoba in 1889. James was a wheelwright and Elizabeth wove carpets. Together they had 10 children.
Their son John married Annie and together they had 6 children. In 1902 they built their second home on this land, this stone home. Before the family moved in, Annie painted the kitchen with a high gloss white enamel oil paint. She died a few days later of lead poisoning. This was a devastating loss to the family. For many years their oldest daughther stepped in to help her father raise the younger children with the help of her aunt from Ontario. In 1908 John remarried.
In 1918 John and his second wife retired to the nearby town and John’s son Cliff took over the farm and the old stone home. John helped Cliff on the farm and two years after his retirement, John was killed in a binder accident.
In 1939 Cliff sold the farm and moved to Brandon where he worked as a carpenter and operated the Four Star Theatre at Rivers, Manitoba. Cliff died at 62 years of age.
This beautiful field stone home still stands tall and was occupied up until a few years ago. Rumor has it that the large home is very expensive to heat and decided to move.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 