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James McLean
b.1 May 1874 Ailsa Craig, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada
d.27 Nov 1952 Sutherland, Saskatchewan, Canada
Family tree▼ (edit)
m. 7 Oct 1869
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m. 21 Nov 1901
Facts and Events
[edit] Youth in OntarioJames McLean was born on the family farm located about 2 miles west of Ailsa Craig on the Town Line Road to Parkhill. His grandfather had settled this land about 25 years prior to his birth. The farm his mother's family had settled on was across the road. James had 6 brothers, four of whom died before their tenth birthday. His surviving brother, Alexander, lived on the family farm for many years. James also had two sisters. All the children spoke Gaelic in the home until the time they began school.
[edit] Education in OntarioIn 1899 James entered the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph, graduating three years later with the Degree of Associate in Agriculture. During the summers he was employed by the college in the Horticultural Department, planting trees and setting out beds of flowers. His roommate was Dean Rutherford, who later became Dean of Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan (1914-1928). He and James were life-long friends.
[edit] Pioneering in the WestJames first went west in 1897, on a harvest excursion to Carman, Manitoba. In those days the farmers' houses were small, and the hired help had to sleep anywhere they could, in granaries, in sod barns, even the strawstacks. One night, when the harvesters, including James, were sleeping in a strawstack, a foot of snow fell during the night. The hardships of those days appeared to do no one any harm, and Jame's recollection was that he was then young and strong and fit for anything. He returned west in 1904, after completing school. Again he went as a harvester to Manitoba. With the money he earned he journeyed west to Zealandia, Saskatchewan, where he looked over the land. He wanted well drained land and access to water for domestic and general farm use. He located two 1/4 Sections and traveled to Saskatoon where he filed for a homestead for himself and one for his father. At the same time he bought a third quarter for a nominal sum. It was located a mile and a half south of the main farm. In 1905 he moved the family's belongings west in a Settlers' Car. The car carried all their furniture, machinery, wagons, cows and horses, fresh food and canned goods from the farm in Ontario, all that was necessary to set up farming. He traveled in the car so that he could take care of the livestock and watch out for all his belongings. He unloaded in Saskatoon and traveled by wagon to the homestead. His wife, Elizabeth, and three year old daughter Nellie came west on the passenger train. When they arrived they stayed for six weeks with the A.B. Errands family, a very kind family that they did not know before they arrived. On the new farm James built a 12' x 16' sod hourse and dug a well. When the house was ready, his wife drove a horse and buggy from the Errands' household in Saskatoon with a treadle sewing machine fastened on the back. To get the supplies the family needed James drove the team and wagon to Saskatoon. The round trip took about a week - 2 1/2 days to get to Saskatoon, 2 days to find and purchase the supplies, and 2 1/2 days to make the return trip. Many nights he slept under the wagon with coyotes and wolves howling all around. The railroad reached Zealandia in 1909, which meant that he only had a ten mile, one day trip to get supplies. James raised and harvested wheat and oats. He built red painted wooden granaries to store the grain until he could haul and sell it at the nearest elevator. The years between 1905 and 1914 were good years for farming in Saskatchewan.
[edit] The Forestry FarmIn 1912 or 1913 James was asked to become the first Superintendent of the Federal Forestry Nursery Station at Sutherland. His college experience in the Horticulture Department had prepared him for this future position. The primary purpose of the Forestry Nursery was to develop and grow trees and shrubs for farm shelterbelts to prevent the loss of soil by wind erosion, and to provide protection to farm buildings. The secondary reason was to show the value of tree and shrub plantings in cities and towns. Between 1916 and 1963, the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station distributed 147,000,000 trees. Today it would be called an Urban Forestry Program. James laid out the farm by pacing distances and staking where he wanted the roads, buildings and nursery plots to be located. In 1914 the family moved from the farm near Zealandia to the Forestry Farm. The family moved into a large two storey home sitting in the middle of the prairie. Later, expansion of the city of Saskatoon would envelope Sutherland. The Forestry Farm is now a park and zoo there. The Superintendent's house was restored as a heritage property in 2004. Image Gallery
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