The Arksey family moved to Canada from England in the 1830s, settling in the Whitby, Ontario area. Thomas and Mary Arksey’s son John moved to Manitoba, settling first on the Portage Plains near Macdonald then moving to the Langruth area in 1901. John, his wife Margaret, and their four children made their home on this site in the southwest quarter of 5-16-9 west of the Principal Meridian, in what is now the Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone. The yard site served as a stopping place for weary travelers on the highway. In time, John’s son Jack and his wife Maude would raise their nine sons in the same yard. In 2009, the centennial year of the Langruth community, the land remains in the Arksey name.
In June 1942, Jack and Maude’s son Walter was reported missing in action and presumed dead in World War Two action. He is commemorated at Viroflay New Communal Cemetery near Versailles, France. In 2006, Master Corporal Timothy J. Wilson, son of Jane and Dale Wilson, great-great-grandson of John Arksey, died while serving with the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry in Afghanistan. Tim was raised just a half mile from this site and was buried in the military cemetery in Brandon.
Arksey family monument (September 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Arksey family monument (May 2023)
Source: Glen ToewsSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.33020, W98.68022
denoted by symbol on the map above
We thank Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 26 May 2023
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