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Note: Floyd was in the 1st WW and served in France where he was wounded. After a rest in England he went back to the front, where he was gassed. He served in the 69th Battalion and the 49th Battalion from 1916 -1919 He is buried at the Wembly Cemetery, Alberta, Canada Floyd farmed just below where his parents had, there farm, about 6 miles from Grande Prairie, Alberta,Canada. After his death in 1934 , his wife Pearl married again . A short time later they sold the farm and moved to British Columbia. where they lived till they died. Records are in possession of Merle Price This is an article about home steading on the prairie, which was taken from a book, "Homesteader": A Prairie Boyhood Remembered."- by James M. Minifie Since Floyd was a homesteader, in 1909, I thought it might be of interest to others of the family. THE TOUGH PRAIRIE SETTLER The settler was promised from the Federal Government , through the Homestead Act, for a fee of $10.00, 160 acres of land for his homestead, provided he resided on it for three years, cultivated 30 acres of wild prairie, and built a house worth at least $300.00. He was also allowed and in fact encouraged to pre-empt an adjoining 160 acres to be paid for in 3 years at $4.00 per acre. To find your homestead you had to find a survey post, such as XXXIV, XI,XXIX, determine which corner you were on and pace off 880 yds, E, W, N, or S. The stimulus to assembling quarter-sections on a north-south axis appears to have been supplied by the great Torrens survey of 1884. In Saskatchewan and Alberta after incorporation in 1905, this survey laid out the land in "sections" one mile square, each containing 640 acres. East and west of each section the survey laid out a "road-allowance" one chain wide, which of course ran north and south. These" north and south" roads were linked every two miles , along the northern boundary of every section by an east-west road allowance, thus creating oblong blocks running north and south twice as long as wide. When filing on land farmers generally followed this Pattern, choosing for pre-emption the quarter section to the north of south, thus duplicating the Pattern set by Torrens survey and taking advantage of the bordering road allowance. (In Manitoba , the east-west road allowances were run every mile instead of two miles , thereby creating a square pattern which was visible from the air. and recognizable as a signature when the provincial boundary was crossed. The homesteader's "busted sod", ploughing under the tough cover of prairie grasses. In summer they had to endure 90 degree weather , and they worried about drought and fire. For safety from fast moving grass fires, they had to plough a cleared circle around the homestead. I winter they put up with - 40F degree cold and wild blizzards. In a generation, the homesteaders turned the unbroken prairie grass-lands into a sea of bright golden wheat field that swayed like ocean waves in the prairie wind. Sod houses could be cheaply and quickly . They were often the first homes for the newly arrived homesteaders. A well is essential. No house should be built until nearby water is assured. The homesteader had to dig his well with a crowbar and a spade. Where to put the well? Fins Buffalo- Willow, water- weed, badger holes and ant - hills for success. Using a crowbar and spade alternately remove the turf from a circle 6 ft. id diameter. This is generous width, but once the hole is 6 ft. deep, you have to have enough room to throw the dirt up to the surface, For each foot you sink the well,you have to remove 28.26 cubic feet of earth and you could not expect to find water short of 12 ft. down in tough glacial soil. After excavation you will have to build a crib and wellhead, so the sides will not cave in and to keep animals and humans out. Now for the house. Build the house where you will not be ploughing, on a slight rise, in a dry and well drained area, so your cellar will not be damp. The house was built with 2 x 4 s, covered with tar-paper and ship-lap with the roof built of the same over rafters and a tin chimney pot and flashings on the roof, 1 door and a couple of windows that could be taken out in the summer time for fresh air. Most shacks were 10' X 12'.
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