| 2 |
Elizabeth McFARLANE |
| Birth Date |
ca 1868769 |
| Birth Place |
Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland |
| Death Date |
Mar 1945219,769 |
| Burial Place |
MB Canada769 |
| Burial Memo |
Hillside Cemetery, Portage (?Portage la Prairie), from Eden United Church. |
| Occupation |
Postmistress, Storekeeper, School Employee769 |
|
"Fletcher Martin, son of Malachi and Eliza (Honey) Martin, was born in Bowmanville, Ont., November 5,1861. He attended school there and in Darlington. During these years, at one point in time, he tattooed his initials F.M. on the back of his hand using a pin dipped in ink.
"As a young man in his early thirties, he came West and homesteaded SE 1/4, 32-16-15. He married my grandmother, Sarah Jane (Bonney) Freed, a widow with three young children. From this union a son, Henry, was born September 25, 1892.
"They worked very hard to make a living. When the children were old enough, they too were expected to help with the work. When I was four my grandmother became quite ill and I remember her as she lay in a bed in our front parlor. She passed away December 17, 1927. Soon after that Grandpa bought a small house in Eden and moved off the farm leaving it for my Dad to work. In September, 1936 he sold his quarter to Edward Dreveski, Sr. In the meantime the lonliness of batching caught up to Grandpa again, and in 1930 he married my great aunt, Elizabeth (McFarlane) Freed of Portage. Auntie died in March, 1945 and Grandpa was once more left alone and this time in very poor health. In 1949 he lost his only son, Uncle Harry (Henry Martin). And on May 9, 1950 Grandpa passed away. Rev. J.S.B. Nixon officiated at the funeral in Eden United Church and he was buried in the family plot at Riverside Cemetery, Neepawa.
"While Grandpa was still living on the farm I remember trailing after him as he walked up the road, pipe in one hand, a plug of tobacco in the other. He would be using his jacknife to shave off enough to tamp into his pipe. All this was done slowly and I remember I could always keep up with his pace.
"I realize now how fortunate I was to have two sets of grandparents, one pair on the next farm to us and one pair in town. During very bad snow storms we weren't allowed to go home in the school vans. We would be billeted in town. I was always pleased at these times to be able to claim a second home with my Grandpa Martin for the duration of the storm. Auntie had lots of books which I enjoyed spending time with. Grandpa could also be persuaded to crank up the gramaphone and play a record. Recently I was told other children called on Grandpa and were treated to the peppermints that he was never without."219 |