Foster Olmstead was born March
17, 1825 in Hull Quebec. He married Esther Margaret Nelson. He arrived
in the Kerfoot / Gregg region in 1878. Among his ten children were two
grown sons, Abram and Foster (Jr.)
They lived in a log house until a much larger house, destined to be a
landmark in the Gregg District, was built in 1903. The stone for the
basement was hauled by team from Douglas and the brick from Sidney. Six
trips for brick were required for the double-flue chimney.
Owing to the richness of the soil and the increasing transportation
facilities, the lot of the farmer has become much better. In 1882
Alexander McFarlane, Foster Olmstead and Abram Olmstead drove from
their farms in the Kerfoot district to Minnedosa, with loads of wheat
which they had ground to flour. The trip was made by sleighs.
A cairn marks the family property.
Romance came with the industrious young homesteaders. Abram Olmstead,
Foster’s son, procured the first marriage license from Reesor's
Jewellery Store, Brandon, Man., and was married on October 19, 1881 to
Emma McRea.
Threshing on the Foster Olmstead farm.
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