Moving West - The Herrington Years (1904-1911)

This is the fifth chapter of "Ella and Agnes: The Story of a Family." 

The fourth chapter was "The Hubbard County - Sanders Years (1895-1904)"

Photo above provided by Jamie (Fryling) Flanagan. On the back is written, “Martin Herrington - Agnes Brown 4/12/1904” (the date of their wedding). This is the earliest photo that we have of Agnes and the only one we have of Martin.

In the spring of 1904, Agnes Brown was living in Hubbard County, Minnesota with her mother Ella and her step-father Louis Sanders. They had lived on their homestead, a few miles northwest of Nevis, for seven years. There were many Reger relatives living nearby that entire time. This life was quickly changing, however. Agnes' grandmother, Josephine Reger, had died of cancer in 1901 - the year after Ella had married Louis. Now, all of Agnes' aunts, uncles, and cousins were preparing to leave Hubbard County. Within a year, all of them would move further west. Agnes would soon be doing the same.

On April 12, 1904, Agnes Brown married Martin Henry Herrington[1] at St. Peter's Church in Park Rapids, Minnesota. The marriage was officiated by Rev. J.H. Engels, the Catholic priest who was pastor at St. Peter's. The marriage was also registered at the Hubbard County courthouse in Park Rapids[2]. According to our best estimates, Agnes was 16 or 17 years old at the time. Martin had just turned 24. The witnesses were John J. Simon and “Kathryne Duffey” (Catherine Duffy). Catherine was Agnes’ cousin, who was close in age and lived very nearby. John Simon was a young homesteader who also lived near the Sanders homestead[3].

We have no idea how Martin and Agnes met. In fact, we have not been able to find any records for Martin between 1880 and his marriage in 1904. We know that Martin had grown up in Iowa, but that his parents and his brother were living in Nebraska in 1900[4]. However, by 1904 Martin was residing in Carrington, Foster County, North Dakota and his father was in McLean County, North Dakota according to the parish marriage record[5]. These townships are both a long way from Hubbard County, Minnesota, and there aren’t many obvious connections between these communities.

Photo of the parish record taken by the secretary of St. Peter's Church, Park Rapids and St. Mary’s, Twin Inlets.

Agnes did not immediately move to North Dakota with Martin. She was still listed as “Agnes Sander” in the 1905 Minnesota State Census with Ella and Louis Sanders in Mantrap Township[6].  We know that Agnes would have been 8 or 9 months pregnant at the time, because her first child was born that summer:

Birth Certificate for Luella Herrington from the Minnesota Historical Society (http://people.mnhs.org/finder/bci/1905-10042). 

Luella Herrington was born in Mantrap Township on July 1, 1905, fifteen months after her parents wedding. Her Minnesota birth certificate misspells her first name and identifies Martin as 24 and born in Nebraska (according to our records he was actually 25 and born in Dakota Territory). It lists Agnes as 18 and born in Washington, (which does fit our records). We speculate that the discrepancy in the accuracy of personal information may be a result of Martin being absent at the time and Agnes being the one doing the reporting. Also named on the birth certificate are Dr. Kussart and Samuel Sabin. We presume that Dr. Kussart delivered Luella. Sam Sabin was a neighbor who lived on the homestead west of the Sanders, just east of the unincorporated community of Dorset. We don’t know why he is listed on the birth certificate; perhaps he assisted with the delivery or was the one who registered births for the district.

It makes sense that Agnes would have stayed in Minnesota with her parents to have the baby and to care for her newborn. In the meantime, however, Martin seems to have moved closer to his parents in McLean County, North Dakota. In December 1905 he was mentioned in a local newspaper as having had his name drawn for jury duty in Washburn, which is the county seat of McLean County[7]. A few months later, his brother Clinton placed an ad in the Washburn Leader about a stray cow and gave his location as “Wiprud, N.D. Sec. 24-149-81."[8] (Wiprud was a rural post office site located in McLean County on the southwest shore of Crooked Lake between Ruso and Turtle Lake [9]). This is the same location for which Clinton received his land patent on April 13, 1908, and Martin and Azel received their patents on the same day for land just south of Clinton’s[10].

Locations of land patents obtained by the Herringtons in Township 149 N., Range 81 W. of 5th Meridian. The Wiprud post office is located in the bottom right corner of this map, on the south end of Crooked Lake.

• Orange: granted 4/13/1908 to Clinton D. Harrington, S½SE¼ and SE¼SW¼ of Sec 24 and NE¼NE¼ of Sec 25
• Red: granted 4/13/1908 to Azel Harrington, N½SW¼ and N½SE¼ of Sec 24
• Blue: granted 4/13/1908 to Martin Harrington, W½SE¼ of Sec 13 and W½NE¼ of Sec 24

As mentioned earlier, Martin and Agnes also applied for a marriage license in North Dakota in 1907. From the brief newspaper references, it appears that they applied twice - first in January in Minot, and then again in September in Washburn:

 (Top Left) - Ward County Independent; Minot, ND; Jan. 24, 1907, p. 5; 
(Top Right) - Washburn Leader; Washburn, ND; Sept. 20, 1907, p. 5, "Local News"
(Bottom Right) - Washburn Leader; Washburn, ND; Oct. 4, 1907, p. 8; "Marriage Licenses Issued”

Martin and Agnes do not seem to have followed up on the first application, for there are no official marriage documents to be found for that date and location. They did obtain a license from the second application, however:

Scans obtained from Ancestry.ca of the marriage license granted Sept. 16 and marriage certificate granted Sept. 17, 1907, by Judge of the County Clerk, G. Olgierson in Washburn, McLean County. Martin is 27 years old and from Wiprud, ND, and Agnes is 21 years old and from Nevis, MN. The witnesses were Henry Holtan and Nell Muralt.

These documents raise so many questions! Why did Martin and Agnes apply for a marriage license in North Dakota when they had already married three years earlier and registered that marriage in Minnesota? Also, why did they apply for a marriage license in Ward County in January and in McLean County in September? Did they actually live for a time in Ward County?  Did Agnes continue to live in Nevis until September 1907?  If not, when did she come out to North Dakota? And why did they claim that her age was 21 when she was almost certainly younger than that?

There are no obvious explanations for the multiple marriage applications and the conflicting information about Agnes’ age and residence, but perhaps it went something like this: 

Maybe Martin  made an application for land in North Dakota near his father and brother, but he needed to work as a laborer (perhaps on ranches or in railroad construction) while trying to save up enough to pay it off. This might partially explain why he was reported as living in so many different places between 1904 and 1910:

North Dakota locations that Martin and family were connected to in documents between 1904-1910:
A. 1904: Carrington, Foster Co. - marriage to Agnes on April 12 (above)
B. 1905: McLean Co. - jury duty in Washburn, McLean Co. (above)
C. January 1907: Ward Co. - marriage license in Minot, Ward Co. (above)
D. September 1907: Wiprud, McLean Co. - marriage license in Washburn, Maclean Co. (above).
E. April 1908: McLean Co - land patent for homestead a few miles from Wiprud post office
F. Nov. 1909: Douglas, Ward Co. - residence given on Alberta Homestead record (below)
G. April 1910: Kenmare, Ward Co. - Agnes and children with Clinton’s family on the 1910 United States Census (below)

Agnes and Luella, then, would likely have stayed with her family in Minnesota until Martin’s situation was more stable. The applications for North Dakota marriage licenses and the altering of Agnes’ age might also have been related to the effort to obtain land, if they those documents would have helped with the process[11]. We don't know why they abandoned the January 1907 marriage license application in Minot, but lack of finances or even poor weather are both strong possibilities. In any case, when they reapplied a few months later in Washburn, they were granted a marriage certificate the following day. And by April, Martin, Azel, and Clinton had all saved up enough money to obtain the land patents through Cash Entry rather than via the homestead process[12]. As we will see, however, they did not stay there long.

The family of Martin and Agnes Herrington added another member soon after they received their homestead land patent. Lawrence Lee Herrington was born on August 31, 1908, in McLean County North Dakota[13]. Luella was 3 years old by this time, and Agnes would have had her mother-in-law Nettie living next door and her sister-in-law Ida also living very nearby[14]. The lives of these three families were very closely tied to each other during these homesteading years, and all three families would soon move together to Whitla, Alberta, Canada.

According to an account written by Clinton’s sons for a local history book, “In 1909 Lester Herrington and sons and Joe Stienke filed on land south of Whitla in the big land rush.”[15] Whitla was hardly more than a whistle stop at the time, and the land had only just been opened up to settlers[16]. However, that was quickly changing. According to another account, "Hundreds of settlers from North Dakota poured into the district in 1909, lured by blatantly false promises from real estate agents, government officials and advertising brochures.”[17]

Homesteaders lined up on 1st Avenue South to file land claims at the Dominion Land Office in Lethbridge during the 1908 land rush. Lethbridge is about 135 km (84 miles) west of Whitla. (source: Galt Museum and Archives 19640023001)

The Herrington men and their friend Joe Stienke[18] applied for land in the “Bar Vee District,” (Township 9, Range 8, West of the 4th Meridian) about 10 miles south of Whitla[19]. Joe seems to have arrived first. He filed on the NW and SW quarters of section 19 on Feb. 25, 1909, at the Dominion Land Office in Lethbridge (see photo above). His homestead application says he built his home in May 1909 and began residing on his homestead on June 10. Martin and Clinton did not file their applications for entry until Nov. 29 and had to wait until spring to begin construction. Martin filed on the NW and SW quarters of Section 18 (just south of Joe’s SW quarter) and Clinton filed on the SW and SE quarters of the same section, just south of Martin (see map below).  All three men said that they were from Douglas, North Dakota and all three applied for a pre-emption quarter in addition to a homestead quarter[20]. We can find no record of a homestead claim for Azel Lester Herrington.

Map from  p. 101 “Bar Vee School District” by Chris Hillestad in Conquerville : a growing community. The NW quarter of 18 which is labeled “Henry Campion” was originally claimed by Martin Herrington (more below).

Agnes and the children did not come out to Alberta with Martin right away. On April 16, 1910, Agnes, Luella, and Lawrence are listed with Clinton, Ida, and their children on the US Census in Kenmare, North Dakota. Martin is not on this census and neither are Azel Lester or Nettie or Joe Stienke[21]. Perhaps those four stayed in Alberta for the winter while Clinton returned to North Dakota to stay with Ida and Agnes and the children. This is the only document that places the Herringtons in Kenmare. Most likely, they were there for the safety and comfort of the women and children, rather than leave them back on the isolated homesteads over the winter.  They weren’t there long, however. By April 25, Clinton crossed the border at North Portal, Saskatchewan by freight train, on his way back to Whitla with $150 cash and $700 of “settler effects.”[22] Agnes and Ida and the children would follow a little later.

According to their homestead applications, Martin and Clinton began building homes on their land in May of 1910, and Clinton was already residing on his by May 18. Martin and Clinton probably helped each other with construction, one home at a time, with Clinton’s first and then Martin’s. These homes were small wooden structures[23], and the lumber likely came from Richardson’s store in Whitla[24]. It would have been important to have something constructed quickly in order for their families to be able to come and join them. According to one history book account, “In 1910 their families came to settle and share their newly built shacks beside neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Roy Henderson.”[25]

We don’t know exactly when Clinton’s family arrived[26], but we know that “Mrs. M. Herrington” (Agnes) crossed the border with her two children, “Marita” (sic Luella), age 5, and Lawrence, age 1, at North Portal, Saskatchewan on May 8. The manifest says that she had $25 with her and that she was traveling “passenger” on train No. 107 to her husband in Whitla[27].

Photo of Engine 107 of the Soo Line (source unknown). This route originated in St. Paul, MN and ran in a northwesterly direction to Portal, ND, where it crossed into Canada and joined the CPR line at Moose Jaw. It ran across southern Saskatchewan and Alberta into British Columbia, crossed back into the USA at Kingsgate, and ended at Spokane, WA. Many of the homesteaders of the Canadian prairies arrived via this route.

Martin’s application says that he did not commence residence on his homestead until June 1, leaving a few weeks where the family must have required temporary shelter. Perhaps they stayed in a tent or the women and children stayed in Clinton’s house while the men sheltered elsewhere. In any case, Agnes and the children began residing on the homestead with Martin on June 1. Within a few months Agnes was expecting her third child.

Besides the construction of their residences, the homesteaders had to begin the hard work of breaking land and planting crops. Joe managed to break and crop ten acres in 1909 and he added another thirty seven acres in the spring of 1910. Martin broke twenty five acres that spring and cropped all twenty five. Clinton broke twenty acres but only cropped three[28]. They had to walk behind a “sod breaker” plough and direct it while it was pulled by either horses or oxen. One settler estimated that he walked 8 miles for every acre broke[29]. It was grueling work. In addition, they needed to either dig a well or haul water (they lived right next to a coulee that fed into Seven Persons Creek) and to get coal for heating. There was coal nearby on the Murray and Roebuck properties[30].

Much to our surprise, we found references to Martin in the “Whitla News” section of a local newspaper that summer. The Lethbridge Herald reported:

The Lethbridge Herald, Aug. 25, 1910, p. 3 and Sept. 28, 1910, p. 4

Martin and Agnes must have been looking for a source of additional income and saw an opportunity in the rapidly growing village of Whitla.

The whereabouts of Martin’s parents Azel Lester and Nettie Herrington during this period are hazy. Family accounts state that Lester came up to Whitla in 1909 to homestead with his sons and Joe Stienke[31], but we can find no border crossing or homestead records for either Lester or Nettie. They are not recorded in the 1910 United States Census, so they must have been in Canada by then[32]. They may have come up with Joe Stienke in February 1909 or with Martin and Clinton in November. We imagine that they stayed the winter with Joe since he was the one who filed first and had time to construct a shelter. Perhaps they lived with Joe while helping their sons establish their own homesteads nearby. It may be that they did not file their own land claim because they were intending to homestead in partnership with Joe or with their sons. Azel Lester turned 60 years old in June 1910, and it would have been daunting for him to start again on a homestead of his own. It is also possible that they intended to file a claim eventually or that they began the process and that those documents have been lost.

In any case, the hardships of homesteading life eventually caught up with Azel Lester Herrington. On October 18, 1910, the Lethbridge Herald reported:

Lethbridge Herald, Oct. 18, 1910, p. 5. 

This means that Azel Lester Herrington died October 11, 1910, which is confirmed by his headstone inscription. He was buried in the Bow Island Cemetery[33]. A probable cause of this paralysis of the throat was diphtheria, a bacterial infection affecting the throat which sometimes caused inflammation of the nerves resulting in paralysis[34].

Adding to the woes of the Herrington family, Martin grew ill with dysentery that fall. He was hospitalized in October, (below left) but appeared to be recovering by early November (below right). 

Lethbridge Herald, Oct. 25, 1910, p. 7 and Nov. 1, 1910, p. 8

Despite the brave face presented to the newspaper correspondent, Martin was not getting better, however. Agnes would likely have grown more and more concerned. We speculate that Agnes notified her mother back in Minnesota, because soon Ella and Louis Sanders were on their way to Alberta. On Nov. 22, 1910 Louis F Sanders, (described as a farmer from Minnesota), and Mrs. Sanders (Ella), entered Canada at North Portal, Saskatchewan headed to Whitla, Alberta. They traveled on train 107 of the Soo line, just as Agnes and the children had done 6 months earlier[35].

Martin’s family gathered together in Medicine Hat on Nov. 25 (below left). It was likely the last time they saw him alive.  Martin Henry Herrington died the next day, after two months of illness. 

Medicine Hat News, Dec. 1, 1910, p. 9 and  Lethbridge Daily Herald, Dec. 8, 1910, p. 7 

The Herald reported his death as occurring on Sunday, Nov. 27th (above right) and this is the date on his headstone. His Registration of Death (below) originally listed the 27th as well, but that date was crossed out and replaced with the 26th. As such, Martin likely died late at night on Saturday the 26th. This was less than a year after he obtained entry to a homestead in Alberta and only six weeks after the death of his father. He died of acute dysentery which caused anemia and heart failure (see below). He was only 30 years and 8 months old when he died.

Registration of Death and Certificate of Cause of Death (above) from the Provincial Archives of Alberta (digital copies obtained by the authors).  The date of death originally read 27th of November 1910 but the 27th was crossed out and replaced with 26th.  The 27th is listed on Martin’s headstone (below).

Martin’s funeral was held in Bow Island, and he was buried in the Bow Island cemetery beside his father. They share a headstone. (see below) 

Agnes was only 22 or 23 years old when Martin died. In six short years, she had gone from a teenage bride in Minnesota, to a mother and homesteader in North Dakota, to a widow in a shack on the open prairie in Alberta, Canada. At the time, she was six months pregnant with their third child and had a 5-year-old daughter, Luella, and a 2-year-old son, Lawrence. When she delivered the baby on March 4, 1911[36] she named her Martina Herrington in honor of her deceased husband. This was less than 4 months after Martin had died. 

Ella and Louis had arrived in Alberta just before Martin’s death, and they would have been nearby to help Agnes and the children through their time of mourning and with decisions about their future. Agnes and the children moved into the village of Whitla to live with Louis and Ella through that winter[37]. The community of Whitla would be their home for the next decade.

Next chapter: The Whitla / Campion Years (1911 - 1921)

Notes:

[1] Martin Henry Herrington was born April 8, 1880, in the Dakota Territory to Azel Lester and Nettie (Beasley) Herrington. He had one brother named Clinton who was born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1876. Azel Lester and Nettie met and married in Iowa and together they homesteaded in the Dakotas and in Nebraska. We have no documents or information about Martin’s childhood or adolescent years, but we do know that Martin and Clinton followed in their father’s footsteps, homesteading the prairie and moving West in search of better land and opportunities.

[2]. Basic information about the Agnes' marriage to Martin can be found at https://moms.mn.gov/.  In addition, we obtained an official certificate of marriage from the Hubbard County License Bureau as well as a photo of the parish record sent to us by the secretary of St. Peter's Church, Park Rapids, and St. Mary’s, Twin Inlets (above).

[3]  John J Simon is listed in Mantrap Township on the 1905 Minnesota State Census (FamilySearch) as a 31 year-old farm laborer born in Michigan who lives with a 35 year-old farmer, William B. Simon (probably his brother), born in Wisconsin. The Sanders family is listed a couple of families down. From later plat maps, we see that W.B. Simons farmed a homestead northeast of Louis' land.

[4]  Lester Herrington, born 1850, and Nettie Herrington, born 1858, are listed in Steele Creek Township, Holt County, Nebraska on the 1900 United States Census (FamilySearch). Joseph Steinke, a 36 year-old boarder, is living with them. We also find Martin’s brother Clinton living in Nebraska with his uncle Rufus Clinton Herrington just a little bit south of Lester and Nettie in the Bush Precinct of Boyd County Nebraska (FamilySearch).  But where was Martin?  We cannot find him anywhere in the 1900 census.

[5]  The parish marriage record, written in Latin by Fr. Engels, lists Agnes’ father as a “Louisii Brown” of “Anderlean, S. Dacota” (a place that does not exist, but may perhaps refer to Aberdeen, South Dakota or perhaps Enderlin, North Dakota ). Martin’s father Azel Lester is listed as Sylvester Harrington. Some of these irregularities are likely the result of an attempt to put the names into Latin.

[6] In the 1905 Minnesota State Census (FamilySearch), Agnes is listed as "Agnes Sander". This was was simply not accurate. She had married Martin Herrington almost 14 months earlier, and her legal name in 1905 was almost certainly Agnes Herrington; but even before this, she had been Agnes Brown prior to marriage, not Agnes Sander(s). 

[7] "Martin Harrington" is one of forty five men on "The Jury List" printed on page 5 of The Washburn Leader on Friday, Dec. 8, 1905. (Newspapers.com)

[8] On page 2 of The Washburn Leader on Friday, Feb. 23, 1906, we find: "From Turtle Lake Wave. TAKEN UP:—Estray came to my place on Dec. 21 and was taken up Dec. 26, one red cow with white face, a split end of each ear and a tin tag on the right ear. Animal is about six years old and weights about 900lbs. Owner may have same by paying for this advertisement and other charges. C. D. Harrington, Wiprud. N. D. Sec. 24-149-81, 21/2 miles north of Peterson Coal Mines." (Newspapers.com)

[9] Wiprud was named after Stener T. Wiprud who operated a country store at this site with his brother between 1904 and 1914 - North Dakota Place Names, page 211. The store was also a post office site for a few years.

[10] Locations of land patents obtained by Herringtons in North Dakota in Township 149 N., Range 81 W. of 5th Meridian from the US Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records.

[11] We speculated earlier (Chapter 2: The Mystery Years - Brown Years) that Agnes’ age might have been listed as 21 on her North Dakota marriage certificate so that she qualified to apply for a homestead. Perhaps there was another reason, but since they were already married, we presume that it was due to a need for documentation, possibly for land ownership.

[12] “Cash Entry” was a process to purchase land from the United States government (generally at the price of $1.25 per acre) according to the Land Act of 1820. Martin’s land patent declared that he had, “deposited in the General Land Office of the United States, a Certificate of the Register of the Land Office at Minot, North Dakota whereby it appears that full payment has been made…”

[13] In a 1946 border crossing document (Ancestry.com), Lawrence Herrington says that he was born in Ruso, North Dakota. Ruso is in McLean County, just north of the Wiprud area.

[14] Martin’s mother was born Nettie Beasley (or Beazly) in Iowa in 1857. She and Azel Lester Herrington married in Dubuque, Iowa in 1875. Clinton’s wife was born Ida Blanche Vankirk in 1879 in Ida Grove, Ida, Iowa. She and Clinton married on Apr. 22, 1902, in Boyd, Nebraska.

[15] This information about the Herrington's move to Alberta in 1909 is from p. 53 of Winnifred: Our Trails, Trials and Memories, in the article, “Clint Herrington Obtains Columbus Foster’s Homestead” by Arlen and Allen Herrington

[16] Whitla is located on the Canadian Pacific Railway rail line from Medicine Hat to Lethbridge. This line, nicknamed “The Turkey Track” was built as a narrow gauge railway in 1885 by the Alberta Railway and Coal Company. The CPR purchased it in 1897 and replaced the tracks with standard gauge prior to the land rush. (source: “The Postal History of Alberta: The Turkey Track Railroad” by Dale Speirs)

[17] This quotation is from the Whitla, Alberta article in Wikipedia (which cites The Ghost Towns Journal history book). Whitla was named after R.J. Whitla, a Winnipeg merchant. The land around Whitla was opened up for homesteading in 1908, but there had been some squatters and cattle ranchers in the vicinity as early as 1884.

[18] Joe Steinke is closely linked to the Herrington family. He was living with Lester and Nettie Herrington in Nebraska and was listed as their border on the 1900 United States Census. The Herrington family article mentioned above (#15) specifically mentions him coming out to Alberta with the family in 1909. And after Azel Lester's death, Joe and Nettie end up marrying.

[19] Additional information about the Herrington's move to Alberta can be found in “The Herrington Family History” by Agnes Popel/Winnifred on page 18 of Conquerville: a growing community. This local history book is a great source of information about Whitla's early years.

[20] Alberta homestead records have been indexed by the Alberta Genealogical Society. The actual documents have been digitized and are viewable at Ancestry.ca. Preemptions were a process that allowed a settler to obtain an “interim entry” on another quarter-section located adjacent to his homestead. After he received his Letters Patent for his homestead he could then purchase the additional “preemption” land at government prices, usually $3/acre.

[21] The 1910 United States Census lists the following people in Kenmare, North Dakota, USA on approximately April 16):
     Ida Harrington - Wife, 30, Iowa
    Clarise Harrington - Daughter, 7, S. Dakota
    Cecil Harrington - Daughter, 5, N. Dakota
    Genette Harrington - Daughter, 3, N. Dakota
    Oma Harrington - Daughter, 1, N. Dakota
    Agnes Harrington - Sister-in-law, 23, Wash.
    Lewella Harrington - Niece, 4, Minnesota
    Lawrence Harrington - Nephew, 1, N. Dakota
    Clinton Harrington - Head, Male, 32, Iowa

[22] The border crossing manifest for Clinton Herrington at North Portal, Saskatchewan on April 25, 1910 can be found at Ancestry.ca.

[23] The homestead applications contain dates for “When did you build your house thereon?” and “When did you commence actual residence thereon?” as well as a description of the structures. Clinton described his house as 16’x24’ and Martin described his as 14’x24’

[24] The first merchant to settle at Whitla was Sam Richardson, who moved there in 1909. He built a store with lumber shipped in from Medicine Hat, and behind it a one-roomed shack for his family. (source: Wikipedia article on Whitla, Alberta)

[25] The quote about the Herrington families moving into shacks next to the Henderson family is also from “The Herrington Family History” on page 18 of  "Conquerville: a growing community."

[26] There is a manifest for a freight train passenger named “J Marrington” who crossed the border at North Portal Saskatchewan on May 5, and who was 29 years old and headed for Whitla. This was probably Ida (I. Harrington). No children were listed; perhaps that was not necessary since they were traveling freight rather than by passenger. In any case, Clinton’s homestead application states that his family commenced living on the homestead when he did, on May 18.

[27] The border crossing manifest for Agnes, Luella and Lawrence at North Portal, Saskatchewan on April 25, 1910 can be found at Ancestry.ca.

[28] The amount of land broken and cropped by the homesteader each year was reported in their homestead application record (available at Ancestry.ca - see #20 above).

[29] In Homesteading: Breaking the Land, (from The CKUA Heritage Trails, Alberta Rural Life),  historian Pat Myers gives a detailed description of breaking the land in Alberta. He says, "Breaking with a walking plough was very slow work, it was very hard work. One pioneer estimated they walked about eight miles to break each acre – so it’s no wonder they christened walking ploughs 'foot burners.'"

[30] In article "The Jensens Settled At Bar Vee" by Chris Hillestad on page 13-14 of "Conquerville: a growing community," there is a description of coal mining in Bar Vee district on the Murray and Roebuck properties. Jim Roebuck lived just East of the Herringtons and George Murray owned the quarter just north of him (see map of the Bar Vee district above for locations described).

[31] Both the “The Herrington Family History” by Agnes Popel/Winnifred (p. 18, "Conquerville : a growing community") and “Clint Herrington Obtains Columbus Foster’s Homestead” by Arlen and Allen Herrington (p. 53 of "Winnifred : Our Trails, Trials and Memories") refer to Lester Herrington coming out to homestead south of Whitla in 1909 with his sons and with Joe Steinke.

[32] Neither Azel Lester or Nettie Herrington are listed in the North Portal border crossing manifests at Ancestry.ca, but those only go back to December 1909, and so they probably entered Canada before that.

[33] The Town of Bow Island Cemetery burial record transcription reads “Hazell Herrington” but the headstone clearly reads Azel L. (photo above by authors in 2017)

[34] The Diphtheria article at the Mayo Clinic website states that, "Typical targets are nerves to the throat, where poor nerve conduction may cause difficulty swallowing. Nerves to the arms and legs also may become inflamed, causing muscle weakness. If the diphtheria toxin damages the nerves that help control muscles used in breathing, these muscles may become paralyzed. At that point, you might need mechanical assistance to breathe."

[35] The border crossing manifest for Louis F Sanders and Mrs. Sanders at North Portal, Saskatchewan on Nov. 22, 1910 can be found at Ancestry.ca.

[36] Martina Herrington's date of birth is taken from her Michigan Certificate of Death (from FamilySearch.org). Alberta birth certificates are only available from the Provincial Archives after 120 years.

[37] On page 9 of The Lethbridge Herald on Dec. 20, 1910, there is mention of Mr. Sanders starting up a restaurant business and "Their daughter, Mrs. Martin Herrington, and children are making their home with them this winter."

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