Introduction

In the early 1920’s, the family of Agnes Campion posed for a portrait at the Gainsborough Studio[1] in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Agnes (center right) is seated next to her mother Ella Sanders (center left). Agnes was Ella’s only child, and Ella had followed her daughter out to Alberta a little more than ten years earlier. During that decade, both Agnes and Ella had been widowed, and Agnes had gone through a divorce from her second husband. The two women were close, and they supported each other through these crises and through the challenges of homestead and frontier life. Standing behind the women were Agnes’ children from her first marriage (from left to right): Martina Herrington, Luella Herrington, and Lawrence Herrington. Her children from her second marriage, Loretta Campion (bottom left) and Daniel Campion (bottom right) are snuggled into the front row next to Ella and Agnes.

At the time this picture was taken, the family was on the verge of another momentous change. The photo seems to be from the early 1920s, probably just before Agnes married Nels Gilborn (below).

A young Nels Gilborn (est. 1910s)

In the years that followed, the new family moved several times, and Nels and Agnes had three children: Phyllis Gilborn, Leonard Gilborn, and Donna Gilborn (below). Sadly, Donna was the only one of the three children to survive to adulthood.

Donna Gilborn about 1930

Our story follows the lives of these family members from Ella’s childhood in 19th century Minnesota to the death of Loretta, the last surviving member, in 1986. There are others who weave in and out of the story, but our focus will be on these eleven individuals. When we first started researching their lives, we knew very little. There were huge gaps in the narrative and several mysteries to solve. Over time we gathered information from government documents, history books, newspaper articles, recollections from relatives, and family artifacts (photos, letters, autograph books etc.). We found a few errors in the records and some surprises too!

The most enlightening revelations, however, did not come from the discovery of any individual document, but from the story that emerged as we began putting all of the pieces together. We felt that we had really gotten to know these people, including those whom we had never actually met in person. Their resilience and their dedication to each other really inspired us, and we felt that it might inspire others as well. That is why we decided to put our findings into story form. We hope that we have crafted the story with enough skill that you will be inspired as well.

 Lorry and Dan Vanden Dungen

October 2020

Lorry and Dan Vanden Dungen in Beaver Falls, Renville County, Minnesota in 2019 during a family history research trip.

Lorry Vanden Dungen (nee Elliott) is the daughter of Verna Elliott (Thomson), who is the daughter of Loretta Sharpe (Campion). Lorry remembers when her grandmother Loretta brought her to St. Patrick’s cemetery in Lethbridge to see the grave of Loretta’s grandmother Ella Sanders and Loretta's siblings, Phyllis and Leonard Gilborn. This left Lorry with a lifelong curiosity about Ella and her family. Lorry and her husband Dan began researching this family history in 2016.

We believe that this picture was taken by Nels Gilborn, Ella's son-in-law. The two white headstones in the background belong to Nels and Agnes' children, Phyllis and Leonard Gilborn.

Notes:

[1]  Imprint on cover image reads “The Gainsborough Medicine Hat.” According to the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Center Archives, http://archives.esplanade.ca/, Alfred George Brown established The Gainsborough Studio by 1923 and it operated at 651 2nd Street, Medicine Hat Alberta until 1944 when it merged with a neighboring studio.  The photo of Agnes’ family must have been taken very soon after the studio was established. The original photo was black and white - the version that appears here has been digitally colorized.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all those who have helped contribute to this project:

Jamie (Fryling) Flanagan - - - granddaughter of Luella
Roy Allen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - son of Martina
Paul Fryling - - - - - - - - - - - - - grandson of Luella 

LaRae (Gilborn) Murphy - - - - granddaughter of Danny

Christine Shea - - - - - - - - - - - granddaughter of Luella 

Roger Trouesdale - - - - - - - - - son of Donna 

Michael Sharpe - - - - - - - - - - - grandson of Loretta 

Verna (Thomson) Elliott - - - - -daughter of Loretta 

Kelly (Sharpe) Joseph - - - - - -granddaughter of Loretta 

Tammy (Gilborn) Zmeko - - - - granddaughter of Danny 

Lawrence Roen Herrington - - son of Lawrence

Next Chapter: THE REGERS OF RENVILLE COUNTY (BEFORE 1885)

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