14

ROBERT MURRAY - b 1875 Hazelrigg, Eng. was 10 when the family came to Canada. He homesteaded with his father in the Murray Valley area, where he married BERTHA ECHLIN and had two children.
George born 26 August 1903 and Ada born 17 March 1910. Bob was interested in writing and drama and entertained at School concerts with Scotch readings. He also loved horses and races; at one time there was a racetrack on Agnes Murray Phillips land.
An article in the July 18, 1940 Olds Gazette has "Reminiscences of First Olds Fair 1900", it says: "Bob Murray usually won the cowboy race on his big bay. The riders raced a certain distance, turned around a post and returned."
Diary entry June 10, 1912: Bob & Bertha went to Calgary. Jack went to Bob's trial. Robert died an early death 23 June 1912 in Calgary age 37.

15

Arch and George Murray.
1900
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada

16

ARCHIBALD - b Jan 13 1878 Hazelrigg, Eng. married BERTHA ECHLIN (Bob's widow) and they had two children Vera born 08 Jan. 1914 and Irene 09/Jan 1923

JAMES `JIM' MURRAY - b 1870 Hazelrigg, Eng. was 15 when he came to Canada with his parents. He married SUSAN BURNETT and had 2 children Dorothy who married 1. Alfred Dean, 2nd husband Ben Berg and Robert(2nd child) born Carstairs Dec. 26 1901 and married Margaret Wilson. James and Susan separated. (Diary has Nov. 17, 1909 entry, Suzy moved to Calgary and Dec. 24, 1911 - went to Olds for Jim from Vancouver).After the war James married MOLLIE.

There is some confusion as to when Jim and Mollie were married and when they moved to Vancouver. They were married at Murray Valley.

See Olds First -
p 205 - ... As stated they established quite a herd of cattle. Mr. Murray was a good stockman and had the habit on winter nights of taking a stroll through the cattle that were around the yards to see that all was well. On one nightly turn the old man was upset by one of the animals and in the fall broke a leg. His call was heard by sons Arch and Bob who loaded him on Arch's back and carried him to the house. As they passed the light from the kitchen window, Mrs. Murray spied them and hurriedly opened the door and greeted them with "What cow has calved now?"

James spent his last day at Clark's. The day before he died he told George he planned on being on the hay rake that fall - he died next morning. He had suffered with gangrene in one foot [as per Murray Diary
entry Jul 5 1914, "Dr. Stevens here. Grandpa got his toes taken off."]
See copy of Registration of Death - cause of death - Heart Disease. Place of Birth -Scotland.

17

Family chart of the Murray family.
1 February 1891
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada

18

Chronological Chart:

1833 -1915 JAMES MURRAY "English Sheppard, a groundskeeper and rabbit catcher. Born 7 Jun at Coldburn farm near Kirknewton (Close to the Scottish border)
Immigrated to Canada with most of his family at age 55 in 1885. The family followed the earlier emigration of his oldest son and daughter in law George and Cristine.

Abt.1856 James married MARY JANE (LOCKIE) b 18 Oct. 1833 at Ancroft.
1858 James & Mary Jane's 1st son George was born at Kyloe.
1862 James & Mary Jane's 2nd son John was born 14 July at Belford.
1867 - Agnes Murray born 07 Sep 1867 (also remaining 3 children born while living at Hazelrigg).
1881 Census - JAMES @ Old Hazelrigg age 48 Game Keeper & Rabbit Catcher, son JOHN 18 Ground Keeper & Rabbit Catcher, Agnes 13, James 10, Robert 6, Archibald 3.
1882 James and Mary Jane's 1st son George & Chris and their 2 boys came to Canada (Ont).
1885 - James and his family came to Canada. Stayed with his son.
1886 Took the train to Calgary settled in the Dog pound Area
1889-MURRAY'S MOVE TO MURRAY VALLEY-10 miles northwest of OLDS, ALBERTA
This move was after being droughted out west of Calgary.

*Authors Note
Copyright Mrs. Ialeen (LaMarsh) Colwell
Source Volume 1 Murray Descendants, From Northumberland to Murray Valley, Alberta
by Mrs. Ialeen (LaMarsh) Colwell Calgary AB 2002

19

West of Olds, logging was a business. Settlers logged for their own needs and for much needed cash.
1899
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada

20

Agnes (Murray) and Jonthan Phillips
John Inglis in "The Lone Pine", said `Agnes married Mr. McLean shortly after moving
into the Valley (1890?) and the McLean’s took up a homestead within the Murray orbit.
The story was that Charles McLean was kicked by a horse and killed Jan. 29, 1897.

OBIT: for Charles was found in the Alberta Tribune, Sat. Jan.30, 1897 as follows:
"We regret to announce the death of Mr. Charles McLean, [age 33] which took place at the residence of his brother, John McLean, on the Elbow River, about two miles from Calgary, yesterday morning.
Deceased came to the Northwest in 1891 from New Brunswick and engaged in ranching near Olds. About August 1st he came down to Calgary sick, and some time afterwards went to the General Hospital, where he remained for fifteen
weeks. In the latter part of November he underwent an operation, which at the time was thought to be successful. About three weeks ago he was removed to his brother's residence and was thought to be almost completely recovered. Last week, however, he was again taken ill with fatal results. The funeral will take place on Sunday afternoon at 10 o'clock." [There was no mention of Charles' wife Agnes and 2children Mame & Janet surviving him].

Agnes' daughter Rachel said Charles' friend Col. James Walker, who owned a hardware store in Olds, built her cradle, which is now in the Olds Museum. "History of Olds and Area" p.14 says "The business block was built by Colonel Walker (a cousin to Jim and Tom) contained two stores and had a dance hall and living quarters on the second floor. The Walker brothers, Jim and Tom, built a hardware store west of the original
Jamison store.
Agnes obtained entry for homestead, Apr. 9, 1898 on SW 1/4 28,33,2,W5 and built a home thereon. She had been living with her parents after Charles died. On Aug.10, 1899 she married JONATHAN PHILLIPS a widower.
He sold his holding and bought a quarter adjoining Agnes

21

It was not all work. Horse racing was a major sport.
1905
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada

22

James Murray's oldest son George with his wife Cristina (Moffat) and their sons.
1914
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada

23

George & Christine Murray & Sons

Immigrating to Canada Christine & George led the family to this new world. They settled in the Hamilton area with Christine’s family in 1882. Georges parents James & Mary Jane with 5 children joined them in 1885.
George and Christine joined his father in Murray valley in 1892 and started to homestead. They had 4 sons. 2 sons stayed in the Murray Valley after serving in WW 1. Sadly George died of complications of a farming accident.

**Grandpa George died October 19, 1896 at the early age of 38 after getting his hand crushed in a hay presser. He got blood poisoning, which was often fatal in those days.
Belford, England newspaper clipping: 1896

Death Of A Native Abroad - The following paragraphs taken from the Alberta Weekly Herald, Canada, will no doubt interest a great many of our readers in the Belford neighborhood, where Mr. George Murray and his father were well-known: - "The sad messenger of death in its wanderings up and down the earth, called at the home of Mr. Geo.Murray and threw upon it the dark mantle of grief by removing from our midst, from his home on earth to his home in heaven, one beloved by all, a worthy son, a kind and loving husband and affectionate father, in the person of Mr. Murray. The threads which compose the dark mantle of mourning, though dark on one side, yet silvery bright on the other, are briefly revealed in this. Mr. Murray, while engaged in pressing hay, got his hand jammed by the machine. Skillful aid was summoned, and for a while it was thought he would recover, but blood poisoning set in, and his two weeks of suffering untold agony and pain, which he patiently bore without a murmur, were speedily terminated. The shock to his mother was beyond her strength, and she fell upon the floor unconscious. Though revived she could not be present when the body was removed. The wife and aged father knelt by his side and accompanied him down to the river's brink where he said, "It is all well father, I am trusting in Jesus, I am resting on the Lord, all is well," and then triumphantly left the shore. He died on Oct. 19th, at the age of 38, leaving a wife and four children. Deceased was a member of the Methodist Church, and was followed by a large concourse of people to the Olds Cemetery. [Fairview now Hainstock Cemetery] "The Lord giveth his beloved sleep".

See Olds First - “Certainly mention should be made of the pioneer women of the district. Two ladies deserve special mention, Mrs. Christine Murray, a widowed daughter-in-law of Mr. & Mrs. James Murray and Mrs. Strong, the first Sunday school teacher. They could talk a child's language and got their messages across. I am sure they are kindly remembered by many who were then youngsters and came under their influence.”

Chris married John Inglis, he moved her to an area farther west where the water was polluted and she died from a gall bladder operation.
[OBIT: The Morning Albertan, Calgary - Sat. Feb. 22, 1908]

George & Christine Sons
Mr. James G Murray (George's son) was born at Northumberland, England on Dec. 14, 1879. He came with his parents to Ontario in 1882, later moving to Alberta where they settled in the Olds district, later known as Murray Valley. He was united in marriage to Gertrude Johnson on Sept. 3, 1900. On August 30, 1916 they came to Sedgewick where they have resided since. Mr. Murray retired from active business in 1961, after thirty-one years in the insurance and real estate business.

"Glimpses of the Past" submission by Nancy Fraser
"My dad, John (Jack) Georges son was the only one of the four that stayed in the valley on the homestead. He married Isabella Moor on April 30, 1907. She had come out from England bringing her two teenage brothers, Bill and David, to keep house for her older brother Roger Moor. Roger had already come to Canada and settled in the Waterside District. Her parents and sisters moved to Canada later. Her mother and father Theophillis and Agnes Moor came to live in the Waterside District.
In 1910 I (Nancy) was born to Jack and Bella. My Dad said he'd liked to have had seven boys but as the years went by I still was the only child they had. I really was brought up like a boy though. I milked cows, cleaned barns, forked hay, drove horses, chopped down trees, herded cattle, etc. but didn't know much about baking, sewing, knitting or any of those things that girls are supposed to know. All that stuff had to came later by trial and error.
I started school when I was eight at Ennerdale. Mom, though not a teacher, had taught me to read, write and spell - so I started off in grade three. The school picnic and the Christmas concert were the highlights of the year - really great events. We practiced for the concert for weeks, and made all the decorations and it was a lot of fun. The day of the concert all the boys had fresh haircuts, (most mothers were quite adept at cutting the family's hair) and we girls went to school that day with our hair done up in rags so we'd have lovely curls for the concert. We also had Valentine and Halloween parties at the school.
In those days nobody had carpets and fancy furniture so dances were held in houses. If someone had a fair sized living room they'd clear it out for the occasion, neighbors brought lunch and we'd dance to whatever music was available, a pump organ, a violin, a guitar or sometimes even a phonograph.
Everyone had a jolly time. My dad loved to dance and he taught me at home to do all the dances when I was eight. After finishing grade nine at Ennerdale I went to Olds for grade ten.”

John and Ellenor, Date of Entry, July 15, 1896 - NE 6-33-2-W5 Patent Sep. 18, 1901"

GEORGE - b. Jun 5, 1885 mar WINNIE FORD - George was a policeman before he enlisted in WWI, Member of 10th Battalion Assoc. He was wounded and spent time in an English Hospital where he met Winnie who was a nurse. They never had children. He homesteaded in Murray Valley after WW 1

When Nancy (Murray) Fraser was a teenager she worked for Aunt Winnie. She said she was English and very fussy and taught her more about housekeeping than anyone. She was taught how to mitre bed sheets, turn saucepans upside down so they didn't drip, etc. She spent hours in a shed taking the plumes off chicken feathers so there would be no quills in the pillows. Later when Nancy took her 2 small boys to visit Winnie, she said "she would much rather have dogs, you can put them outside".

ROBERT `ARCHIBALD' - b. 26 Feb 1887 married MAY CHRISTINA WILSON
"History of the Huxley Area" Women's Institute - a submission by Helen Murray Bergquist,
one by Anna Murray Burgoyne and the following one by son David from "Buried Treasures" Elnora History

"Robert Archibald `Archie' Murray was born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1887. He came to the Calgary and Olds districts with his parents and three brothers when he was three-years-old and lived in the Murray Valley until a young man. He and his brother George attended Berrydale School. Archie married May Wilson in 1910. May was born near Missouri, U.S.A., later moving to Collins, Iowa and grew up there. When May was a young woman she came to Bowden to look after an older sister who was ill at the time. While there, she met Archie and after a short courtship they were married at the home of her sister, Mrs. Myra Vauthrin west of Bowden.

**MURRAY, GEORGE AND CHRISTINE by Nancy (Murray) Fraser (article submitted for
"Glimpses of the Past" 1894-1994, p.208)

*Authors Note
Copyright Mrs. Ialeen (LaMarsh) Colwell
Source Volume 1 Murray Descendants, From Northumberland to Murray Valley, Alberta
by Mrs. Ialeen (LaMarsh) Colwell Calgary AB 2002

24

The Murray Store became a Post Office in 1903.
1910
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada

25

Murray store
Records received from the Archives Library at Edmonton].
p 48 - Murray Valley, another post office to the west, but a little closer to Olds, developed some local industry. Here there was a qualified pork packer, and a sawmill run by James Murray, whose father had named the valley. John Inglis was the local lumber dealer, Harry Buckton, the blacksmith and Jonathan
Phillips, for a time the postmaster-shopkeeper, operating both concerns from a lean-to added on to one end of the family's log house. Hainstock Public district named after another early settler had been organized in 1894, and Berrydale in 1896, but the valley's post office was not officially established until 1903".
"The Murray boys and Jonathan Phillips and others opened up a Stone quarry on Clarks. They moved there and lived for a while. When the river got too dangerous for sleighs they made a stone boat and hauled small loads of stone on the stone boat over the ice.
Lumber was cut and sawn on Clark's home place and sold in Olds for $2.50 a thousand.
There were thousands of head of stock on the land all around the neighborhood, after the land had been fenced. They fed on pea vine, which allowed them to put a 3-year-old steer up to 1300 lbs., without feeding them grain, but when it was grazed off it wouldn't grow again that year.”

*Authors Note
Copyright Mrs. Ialeen (LaMarsh) Colwell
Source Volume 1 Murray Descendants, From Northumberland to Murray Valley, Alberta
by Mrs. Ialeen (LaMarsh) Colwell Calgary AB 2002

26

The Murray's work the land.
1914
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada

27

Ladies Aid groups took on fund raising for the local churches.
1900
Murray Valley, Olds, NWT Canada