|
Samuel
Fletcher
Samuel
Fletcher was born on a farm near Birmingham England, in 1858. At
14 years of age he began an apprenticeship as a machinist in an iron
foundry in Birmingham which lasted seven years. Upon completion
he sailed to New York and worked as a machinist for one year. At
the end of this year, he moved to Montreal where he got a job as lathe
operator and machinist in a firm making steamship shafts and
propellers, where he stayed six years.
In
the
spring of 1886, he joined the rush West to Manitoba, which was opened
up for homesteading. In April 1886 he filed a homestead on S.E.
2-13-16 West. He bought a pony for $35.00, an ox for $30.00 and a
walking plow for $12.00 and using ox and pony broke the first
land. He built the usual homesteader’s shack of lumber and hauled
logs and poles from Pelican Lake six miles away, the closest wood, for
a log stable and for fuel.
In
September 1886 he married Elizabeth Smith of Montreal, in Holy Trinity
Anglican Church in Winnipeg. They returned to a lifelong
residence on the home farm. There were four boys and two girls in
the family.
Their
home was enlarged later as needed and fortune permitted. It was a
stopping place for distant friends and acquaintances and a bed in the
house and a stall in the barn were always available. A full life
of entertainment and visiting was carried on.
The
School of West Derby No. 194 was formed and built in 1884. It was
the central place in the district and pupils came as far as six
miles. Church services, concerts, entertainment and meetings were
all held here. Mr. Fletcher, Mrs. Fletcher and a son had a credit
of nearly fifty years on the West Derby School Board.
The
farm was grain, cattle, sheep and Clyde horses. The Shorthorn
herd was known throughout the West and Mr. Fletcher was one of the
first to be given a life membership in the Manitoba Shorthorn Club with
the traditional cane and banquet.
S.
Fletcher was elected to the Manitoba Legislature in the first group of
Progressive Farmers in 1920. Mr. S. Fletcher died in 1950; Mrs.
S. Fletcher died in 1950; Mrs. S. Fletcher in 1952; both at the age of
92.
E. Fletcher
|
|
