Books

Return to Winnipeg, 1921-1965

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Happy New Year. Thank you to everybody who took the time to leave a comment or connected with me through email last year. My sincerest apologies if I have forgotten to respond. I blame the two small children in my house for my forgetfulness. If it was a inquiry about whether your Kelm family is related to mine, I likely set the email aside to investigate and then did not have the time to actually do that. You are welcome to remind me.

Return to Winnipeg

The story of how my great-grandparents, Julius (John) and Martha Kelm moved from Winnipeg to their homestead near Camper can be found here: Homesteading Near Camper, Manitoba, 1911-1921. This blog entry speculates about their return to Winnipeg after a decade homesteading on the prairie. I do not know their personal account except that they “had the worse land, unsuitable for farming” (see Stories From the Past). Their story follows the trajectory of many other homesteaders around Camper, so I thought I would explore other accounts.

For this blog entry, I found the University of Manitoba Library’s Digital Collections (especially their Manitoba Local Histories collection) very helpful. Taming a Wilderness: A History of Ashern and District contained a wealth of information and I enjoyed reading the accounts of those who homesteaded near Camper. I had a free trial of Newspapers.com and searched Winnipeg newspapers (you can access The Winnipeg Tribune for free through U of M) for significant events around the time my great-grandparents left their homestead and returned to Winnipeg. Once I found a story to run with, I checked it against local history books. If you click into a digitized book, you can search for keywords (see below).

Searching digitized book for instances of “Camper”

Julius and Martha returned to Winnipeg between 1921, when the 1921 Census of Canada recorded them living near Camper, to 1924, when the obituary for Martha’s brother, Christian Kirsch, references her living in Winnipeg.[1] Between 1920 and 1923, bad harvests and falling wheat prices caused economic hardship for many Manitoba farmers and there was an exodus.[2] According to a Maclean’s article published February 1, 1922, “The high cost of producing and marketing the crop, with the heavy drop in prices, […] was responsible for the depression not only felt in Western Canada but reflected in every trade and industry in the Dominion.”[3]

Homesteaders often faced the devastation of fire, but, according to Borghil Olson, whose family homesteaded near Camper, one particular fire that “raged for weeks” caused many to grow restless and leave.[4] In August of 1920, a massive brush fire engulfed the Interlake region. Although the fire caused the most damage around where it originated near Mulville, about fourteen kilometers south of Camper, it had burned north through Camper and Ashern, driven by the season’s lack of rain. Newspapers described the fire’s arrival in Camper: “At Camper a stable and boarding house had been burnt down. The post office caught fire three times but was saved.”[5] In nearby Ashern, “chickens and calves had been roasted alive in the farmyards, and practically all crops destroyed.”[6]

“In 1920 the area was pretty well wiped out by bush fires, which raged for weeks. It was a very dry year, farmers lost most if not all the hay they had for winter as well as the spruce trees that could have been used for lumber. A terrifying experience. I recall we took all the children to Martin Johnson’s place where we figured they were safe from the fire. Mrs. Ben Kristianson and Mrs. Stein looked after the children, did the cooking, etc., while Mrs. Martin and I were out helping the men folk to save our homes and grain fields. Ben Kristianson’s home was a mile away from ours, and he made an agreement with the rest of the men, that if the fire did reach the spruce bluff near his home he would fire a rifle, and this would be a signal for the others to come to help fight fire. This particular day we were having lunch when a gun shot was heard, one of the women said “Ben must have shot a deer.” The men knew better, one by one they took off, to find Ben throwing water from a barrel alongside his house, onto the roof to put out the sparks flying from the spruce bluff close by, this way they did manage to save the home.”[7] – Borghild Olson, from Taming a Wilderness

In the 1926 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Kelm family except for the oldest son, William, were enumerated at 557 Armetta Avenue in the municipality of West Kildonan. In December of 1929, the “two blocks [of Armetta Avenue] west of McGregor Street, which included the Kelm home, prepared a petition to join the city of Winnipeg in order to obtain sewer service.[8] Armetta Street would later be renamed Matheson Avenue.[9] Julius and Martha would live at 557 Matheson Avenue for the rest of their lives.

Julius died February 27, 1959, at the Concordia Hospital, and is buried in Glen Eden Memorial Gardens in West Saint Paul, north of Winnipeg.[10] He was eighty years old. Martha became a member of the Mountain and Andrews Seventh-Day Adventist Church. She died at the St Boniface Hospital on July 20, 1965, at the age of eighty-four.[11] She is buried with her husband.

Courtesy of Find a Grave; photographed by Holly, 10 Oct 2021
Courtesy of Find a Grave; photographed by Holly, 10 Oct 2021

[1] “Christian Kirsch obituary,” 1924, newspaper source unknown, emailed 04 Oct 2024 by J. Hill

[2] Gerhard P. Bassler, The German Canadians, 1750-1937: Immigration, Settlement and Culture (St. John’s, NL: Jesperson Press, 1986), p99

[3] Jenkins, Charles Christopher, “The West Won’t Stay Down!,” 01 Feb 1922, from Maclean’s [magazine], accessed 21 Dec 2021 through https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1922/2/1/the-west-wont-stay-down [note: URL does not seem to be working any longer; access only through paywall (10 Jan 2024)]

[4] Borghild Olson, “Homestead Days,” from Taming a Wilderness: A History of Ashern and District Canadians (Ashern, MB: Ashern Historical Society, 1976), p84. Retrieved 09 Jan 2024 through University of Manitoba Digital Collections, http://hdl.handle.net/10719/2276635

[5] Free Press Prairie Farmer, 25 Jul 1920, accessed 22 Oct 24 through Newspapers.com

[6] Ibid.

[7] Olson, p84

[8] Winnipeg Tribune, 17 Dec 1929, accessed 22 Oct 2024 through Newspapers.com

[9] Manitoba Historical Society, “History in Winnipeg Streets,” 29 Sep 2024 [last revised], from Manitoba Historical Society Archives, accessed 10 Jan 2025 through http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/winnipegstreets/index.shtml#m

[10] “KELM,” Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 28 Feb 1959, accessed 18 Apr 2019 through University of Manitoba Digital Collections, http://hdl.handle.net/10719/1934469

[11] “MARTHA KELM,” Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 21 Jul 1965. Retrieved 18 Apr 2019 from University of Manitoba Digital Collections, http://hdl.handle.net/10719/2042634/

Residents of Kolonia Florentynow, 1866

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“Księga ludności stałej wsi: Gertrudów, Koniecbór, Florentynów, Konradów (Book of the Population of the Villages: Gertrudów, Koniecbór, Florentynów, Konradów)” from Archiwum Państwowe w Piotrkowie Trybunalskim (Piotrkowie Trybunalskim State Archives), accessed through Archiwa Państwowe on 25 Oct 2020.

Inspired by the blog post “The importance of exploring other repositories” at Writing My Past, I typed “Florentynow” into the Polish State Archives database. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. I wasn’t even sure where I was except that many of the digitized records I had found through Geneteka and FamilySearch, for example, can be traced back to repositories accessed through this website. My understanding is that the website is an aggregate of State Archives branches in Poland, the record pictured above being from the Piotrkowie Trybunalskim State Archives. I will have to revisit how I cite sources now that I’m learning how to use Polish resources more!

My “let’s see what happens” search brought up a “population book” for the villages of Gertrudow, Koniecbor, Florentynow, and Konradow. The book, kept between 1866 and 1884, is a record of residents in the aforementioned villages–and each record has helpful tags (see below). I recognized the surnames–Kubsch, Kirsch (Wisniewski), Wurful– and knew the record would be helpful.

The book alternates between Polish and Russian. Fortunately, I recognized the names of Samuel Kirsch and Karolina Wurfel, parents of my great-grandmother, Martha Kirsch. The page (see below), which is mostly in Polish and looks like a census record, shows Samuel, Karolina, and their young children living in Florentynow in 1866. According to the birthdates of Samuel’s children in my post “Finding 19 Kirsch Children,” the Kirsch family migrated to Volhynia, Russia, between 1865, when his daughter Julianna was born in Florentynow, and 1868, when his son Ferdinand was born and died in Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia.

“Księga ludności stałej wsi: Gertrudów, Koniecbór, Florentynów, Konradów (Book of the Population of the Villages: Gertrudów, Koniecbór, Florentynów, Konradów)” from Archiwum Państwowe w Piotrkowie Trybunalskim (Piotrkowie Trybunalskim State Archives), accessed through Archiwa Państwowe on 25 Oct 2020.

The page includes the following information about each individual: home number (number 15), name, names of parents, date of birth, place of birth, religion (Lutheran, specifically Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession), previous residence (none), and notes about death or resettlement (these comments I need help translating because they are in Russian). Here are the names and birthdates as translated:

  1. Samuel Wisniewski or Kirsch (b. 10 Oct 1835 in Florentynow)
  2. Karolina Wisniewski nee Wurfel (b. 07 Sep 1836 in Florentynow)
  3. Krystyan Wisniewski or Kirsch (b. 21 Dec 1860 in Florentynow)
  4. Bogumil Wisniewski or Kirsch (b. 09 Jan 1863 in Florentynow)
  5. Julianna Wisniewski or Kirsch (b. 13 Aug 1865 in Florentynow) – her official birthdate would be August 25, 1865
  6. Anna …r…na [unknown] (b. 21 Nov 1852 in …) – I don’t know who this is, but it appears to be a 13-year-old girl whose name begins with Anna. The entry is in Russian and I am not sure when the entry was added or if she lived in the same household

Extracting this information is exciting because I was missing a birthdate for Samuel and specific dates for his children born in Florentynow. There is another page in the book for Samuel’s mother, Karolina Kubsch Semper (formerly Kirsch), and her three daughters, or Samuel’s younger sisters and only living siblings at the time (as well as other Kirsch families living in Florentynow). Karolina remarried after her husband, Krzysztof Kirsch, died.

Ed and Lena Kelm in “Footsteps through the Years”

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The University of Manitoba Digital Collections is a good resource for digitized Manitoba history. Among their local history books is Footsteps through the Years, which mentions Edward and Lena Kelm (Edward is the son of Julius and Martha Kelm). Click the URL in the citation after the transcription below if you would like to view the original.

“Kelms 1938-1958

Ed bought a farm in Marquette in 1938. During the summers of 1938-38 and 40 acres of land was broken [sic], crops sowed and harvested with the Becker brothers. Ed’s winters were spent working in the mine at Creighton, Ontario.

January 31, 1942 Ed married Lena Drailick of Camper. The newlyweds arrived in Marquette on the night train Feb. 6 1942. After having dinner at Charlie Ursels they were driven to their farm.

Ed and Lea have four children, all born during their years at Marquette.

Joyce married Maurice Hamonie in 1969. They reside in Headingly and Joyce teaches school in Winnipeg.

Ernie married Yvette Beaudin of Montreal in 1969. Ernie works for the External Affairs Dept. in Ottawa and he and his family have resided mainly in Switzerland and Israel. They have two sons born in Tel Aviv, Israel. They returned to Ottawa, Ontario in 1975.

Kenneth resides in Winnipeg doing construction work.

Bettyann graduated from the U. of M. in Home Economics and is presently enrolled in the Education Dep. of the University of Edmonton, Alberta.

The Kelm family moved from Marquette with the help of Douglas Strachan and Chas. Slocombe, on September 14, 1958. They have many memories of the little “white” school, Ed’s Sayer Creck fishing days with Bill Maltby and Bill Kulezycki and the winter spent in the bush (1946-47) at the Lakehead with Mike Wallace, also of Marquette.

Ed retired on Feb. 12, 1976 but kept busy. Presently he is planning to build a cabin at Waterhen this summer. Fishing still takes up many summer weekends.

Lena continues to work at Canada Packers. Traveling to see her grandchildren has been her hobby for the last five years.”

Marquette and District Historical Guild. Footsteps through the Years: Ossowa, Reaburn, Marquette, Meadow Lea, Poplar Heights. Marquette: Marquette and District Historical Guild, [late 1970s]. Retrieved 18 Apr 2019 from University of Manitoba Digital Collections, http://hdl.handle.net/10719/2264425