Birth:  2 Aug 1888   Place: Clayton, Ontario

Death:............................Place: .................................

Burial:............................Place: .................................

Father:   James Colin BRYAN (1850-1932)

Mother:   Emily "Emma" Jane BROWN (-1891)

Birth:............................Place: .................................

Death:  1970   Place: .................................

Marriage:   1912   Place: Summerberry, Saskatchewan

The following is copied from a book:

Bridging the Past: Wolseley 1880-1990

Wm. T. Bryan by Wm T. Bryan

I was born in Clayton, Ont. on Aug. 2, 1888.

My mother and father (James C.) four half brothers and a half sister; Levi, Johnnie, Jim and Annie; two brothers Fred and Lloyd and myself came west to Indian Head in the spring of 1891. Since there were no homesteads left, my father rented a farm north of Indian Head in the valley. My mother was not well when we left Ontario and she passed away two months after we arrived in Indian Head. I wasn't quite three years old at the time, but I vividly remember both her illness and death.

In the spring of 1892, father managed to get a homestead four miles north of Summerberry NE 36-17- 8-2. The move from Indian Head wasn't easy. We children stayed at a halfway house for a day and night with the furnishings while father and the older boys went back to Indian Head for the animals. This halfway house, west of Wolseley, was vacant and owned by Joe Conn. There was an old frame building (24x 30) on our homestead which we lived in for two years before we were able to make any improvements.

Because we had no mother. I was elected to cook. I churned butter and made all the bread by the time I was ten years old. I also missed a lot of school because of so many household chores. My father donated the land for the first Rose Lane school which was in the very centre of section 36. This school was a small shack. It was hauled away and I believe it is still on the Stuart Crawford farm. Father made a blackboard and all the desks for this school. I remember that the teacher's desk was quite rough. The present Rose Lane school was built in 1897.

When I was 10 years old my father remarried and I was a very happy boy because that meant that I could now go outside with the men. There were eight children born to this union; Roy, Stanley, Alvin, Ray, Elmer, Leslie, Pearl and Ada.

In 1903, father built a concrete house (16x24) made of local sand, gravel and lime. He had his own lime kiln in the ravine south of Rose Lane school where he made is own lime. The white limestones were picked from the hills and were fired for several weeks. The stones had to be kept constantly red hot so that meant the fires had to be kept going 24 hours. Father also made a stable in the side of this same ravine. He used the earth from the stable to build a dam. It was a very warm stable. Father got a preemption, the quarter of land east of our homestead NW 31-17-8-2 and paid $3.50 an acre. I understand this is one of the highest assessed pieces of land in the municipality today.

In 1900 father bought a Case threshing outfit (28x46) with self feeder and straw carrier that was powered with 12 horses. The horses went around and around a wheel and this produced the power to run the machine. We threshed for all the neighbours.

When I was 19 I plowed with four oxen. People often talk about these stubborn animals but I never had any trouble.

In 1911 my father set me up farming on NW 14-17-9-2. He gave me four horses and built a house for me. In 1912 I married a neighbour girl, Jessie Marshall. We were married for 58 years and had no family. We both loved the farm and I didn't retire until I was 79 years. Jessie passed away in 1970.

In 1971 I married Mrs. Mary McMain and was very happy at 80 years of age to become a father of a ready-made family. We have done some traveling and have even been to Hawaii.

My family always loved music and dancing. I remember the fun we had one Christmas when father bought each of us kids a ten cent mouth organ. We all loved dancing. Brother Fred was a very good step dancer and at dances he would often be called to the stage to step dance. Fred worked for Chas. Chatterson Sr. for many years taking care of the horses. Fred died in 1969. Lloyd farmed for a short time at Simpson, Sask. before moving the the west coast. He died in 1932 [1930].

• 1919 Letter by James Colin Bryan  ~ a hand written letter from James Colin in Steveston, BC to his son William "Willie" "Bill" in Saskatchewan and daughter-in-law, Jessie.