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A Settlement Story
Richard Cory was born in Devonshire, England, the second child in a
family of six.
In 1857, he married Mary Anne Frain. In 1870, Richard decided to
move to Canada after seeing pictures of the new land and its many
opportunities. They arrived at Port Hope, Ontario and settled among the
"white" relations.
Free homesteads were offered in Manitoba so Richard and his son Gus
left for Winnipeg in April 1879. The land at Winnipeg was so sticky and
muddy they moved on to Portage la Prairie. They were able to earn
enough money to buy a team of oxen, two Red River carts and a plough.
Here they seeded a crop of oats.
In June they started west again and became friends of the Roddicks and
Johnstons, but Richard could see the Souris hills and felt that water
must be close by. Eight miles further south they took land and settled
near a stream that Richard called the "Black Creek." They pro¬ceeded to
stake their claims for homesteads or pre-emptions. When the official
survey was made they were found to be only three rods out of correct
line.
That fall they returned to High Bluff (near Portage) and harvested
their oat crop, which yielded 95 bushels to the acre. Richard's second
son Dick joined them in November and they built a log shanty near the
Souris River and proceeded to take out logs for the new settlers to
build homes
In June 1880, Richard planted their first wheat. The crop yielded 35
bushels per acre of fine quality wheat, which was drawn to Brandon
where it sold for 35cents per bushel. Potatoes were also planted in
June and there was ample for everyone.
In the fall, Richard went east for his wife and the rest of the family.
Once again they were united and pledged this would be home. The three
oldest boys staked their claims along with their father, which meant
they had a section of land to break. Much of their original land is
still in the Cory name.
Richard died in 1914 and Mary Anne in 1907. They are buried in
Minnewawa Cemetery.
A tribute to the Cory legacy
Who Was First?
It appears impossible to know definitely who had the distinction of
being Oakland's first settler. The year was almost certainly 1879,
however, and one of the originals was young Augustus (Gus) Cory, the
sixteen-year-old son of Richard (Dicky) Cory, an ex-Devonshire
policeman who had crossed the Atlantic to Port Hope, Ontario, in 1870.
Gus and his father reached St. Boniface by train in April, 1879. They
stayed at the Windsor House a couple of weeks and then took the
Winnipeg and Western Trans¬port Company steamboat "Alpha" to Portage. A
fortnight later they travelled with a yoke of oxen, two Red River carts
and a plow to High Bluff, where they sowed a crop of oats. In June,
Thomas Elliott, one of four brothers who figured prominently in the
laying of Oakland's foundations, and Orlin S. Elliott (reputedly no
relation), arrived at High Bluff, as well as Francis (Frank) and
Richard (Dick) Kinley, two Island. Together these six men started west
"to get land for others".
That fall, after staking out homesteads and pre-emp¬tions, and cutting
a winter's supply of hay, the group returned to High Bluff to harvest
the oats, which yielded 95 bushels to the acre.
Adapted from Sipiweski, page 254 and “The Prairie
W.A.S.P.”
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