The McGill Family Farm

The McGill Family Farm
by Caroll McGill

As of 2019, members of the McGill family have farmed Section 8-6-3W for the past 127 years. William McGill and a son James came from Janetville, Ontario, to the Homewood and Roland districts in 1890. James worked for the La Pointe family at Roland and William purchased section 8-6-3W, half from the Hudson’s Bay Co. and the other half from a Mr. Cowan who had purchased it earlier from the company. Under the Dominion Land Act of 1872, the HBC had retained ownership and right sell to sections 8 and 26 of every township.

William returned to Ontario in 1891 and came back to Manitoba later that year with his wife, Susannah, twelve children, and enough lumber to build a large sixteen-room house and a barn. At that time the railway only came as far as Barnsley, so the lumber was loaded onto Red River carts and transported to NE 8-6-3.

Original McGill home on NE 8-6-3W
Click here for a larger view

In 1919, the sixteen-room house was split in half and one part was moved to NW 8-6-3W. It was rolled on logs and pulled by mules. This part of the house now has the 6th generation of the McGill family living in it. A barn built on this quarter burned in 1927, was replaced in 1929, and is still standing.

William and Susannah retired to Carman in 1904. William died in 1909 and Susannah died in 1912. Robert McGill took over the east half of the farm in 1904 and farmed it until 1941 when he and his wife Gertrude retired to Winnipeg. The story goes that Gertrude was asked if she wanted hardwood floors or a Delco plant* for the house. This was long before hydro service and she chose the Delco plant, probably installed early 1900s.

The east half of 8-6-3 was then farmed by their son, Earle and his wife Dorothy; they also farmed SE 16-6-3 which they had purchased in 1936. This was the quarter originally owned by Earle’s grandfather, William McGill. By 1961, Earle’s eldest son Barrie married Mary Cox and built a house in the same yard. In 1972 they purchased SW 8-6-3 from the Morley McGill estate.

Stanley, son of William and Susannah, purchased the west half of 8-6-3 in 1904 and farmed it until 1914 when he sold it to his brother David and wife Alberta who farmed it until 1950. They retired to Carman and their son Morley continued farming until his sudden death in 1972.

Earle’s second son, Brian, a banker, and wife Caroll, a nurse, returned to farming in 1965 after purchasing SE16-6-3 from Brian’s father. In 1972 they purchased the NW 8-6-3 from the Morley McGill estate; that fall they moved into the half of the original house that had been moved in 1919. Earle and son Barrie both raised registered shorthorn cattle. Following Brian’s death in 1995, Caroll and their youngest son Danny continued to farm together until Caroll moved to Carman in 2000.

In 2004, Danny married Renelle Dietz. With the addition of their son Evan in 2015, they are the 5th and 6th generations to live in the house built in 1892 and to farm the remaining quarters, NW 8-6-3 and SE 8-6-3, of the original McGill section. The rest of the property was sold in 2007.

While planning for the farm’s centennial in 1992, the earliest land title records the family could find were for 1892. They were also informed that section 8-6-3W1 was believed to be the only section in one block to be held for a century by the same family. The Centennial was held on NE 8-6-3 where the original sixteen-room house had been constructed. The house was decorated in 1890s fashion with many of the original antiques and complemented by a display of vintage machinery and cars.

The McGill family have a long history of service and participation in the community. Pioneer life for William and Susannah centered around their large family, the Century Church, and house parties. The church located on the NE corner of 8-6-3 was moved 1 mile west in 1910 to become Brigdenley School. Their son, Stanley enlisted in 1915 with the 27th Battalion and died from wounds in September 1916. Grandson Morley McGill served in WWII. Son Robert and wife Gertrude were active in community and church activities. Robert was a member of the new Homewood Elevator board. Earle McGill and his sons and grandchildren were all involved in community affairs, serving on many boards, DAS, 4-H clubs, church activities and sports.**

Editorial Notes:
*a combination of gas-powered generator and storage batteries used to produce electricity.

** Caroll McGill has carried on this tradition of community involvement through her work with the Ladies Section of the DAS, as President of the Homewood Community Club, 4-H leader and many years of active service with the Dufferin Historical Society and Museum. She has a keen interest in cultivation of native plants.

For further information, see:

History of the RM of Dufferin in Manitoba, 1880-1980, pp. 619-620

Up To Now – a Story of Dufferin and Carman, Carman Centennial Book Committee, p. 120