Birthday -- George Walter Scott

December 16, 1907, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The day and the place that Daddy was born. It seems very odd that Daddy would be 98 years old this year! I realize, now that I myself am older, that Daddy wasn’t very old when he died: 64 years and almost four months. How could it have been so long ago?

The picture is one that Robyn painted, when she was in high school, from a black and white cabinet photo of Daddy as a little boy. The back of the photo tells what he looked like – color of hair and eyes, color of clothing, etc. The shoes were much too big for him, but they were the best Grandma had, and she wanted him to look good for his picture.

Aunt Jean, born in June, 1900, was seven years old when Daddy was born. Grandma Scott and her three older children had followed Grandpa to Alberta in May 1906. They lived in Edmonton for a year, in a tent during the summer and in a rented cottage for the winter. In June 1907, the family went upriver on a steamboat to live on their homestead about 30 miles west of Edmonton.

“By now,” said Aunt Jean, “this was July and George was due to arrive around the last of Nov. I think but I am not sure Mother went to Edmonton on the last trip the boat made in the fall. I don’t know if she stayed with friends or went right into the hospital. David and Clarence stayed with Dad till the quarry closed down for the winter. And I with one of the homesteader friends.... After the quarry closed Dad took us home to the homestead and we were there when Mother come home with her baby boy. On the train to Stony Plain then out with a team and cutter from the livery barn in St. Plain 16 miles to the farm. A Merry Xmas to all.”

Great Grandma Jane Leprade

I went out to the FHC in Stevensville as planned last Tuesday. All the way out there I imagined all the things that could go wrong: no internet service because of the snow storm, the computers might all be in use, Noel Hunt, who said she would help me, might not be there, etc., etc. Luckily, none of those things transpired; so, we began our search for Jane Leprade. We searched for Jane (Jeanne, Marie Jeanne) Leprade (Leprad, Leprat, Laprade, Lepr***) and every other way that we could think of. We did exact searches and ranked searches and soundex searches -- nothing. I came away thinking she probably is not ready, even yet, to be found. . . . But as I said before, I am ever hopeful. I decided to look her up in the Loiselle Index and the Tanguay Dictionary. This will take a little more time, but I've been looking for Jane for so long, it's become a habit I can't break.

Aunt Jean described her grandmother as a "petite, fine-boned" woman. She was Catholic, French Canadian, born in Quebec. I often wonder how she met Great grandfather George Elliott, what attracted them to each other in spite of their different religions -- which at that time, and in their circumstances were great differences. He was a Protestant, an Orangeman, born in Ireland. Aunt Jean said she believed Jane must have been disowned by her family when she married. George never allowed a Catholic priest in the house, but he let her go to Mass once a year at Easter. When Jane died in 1912, she was living in the village of Elzevir, her neighbors were French and Catholic.

As you can see, I'm fascinated by Jane Leprade. Someday, I'll find out more about her. Maybe, someday I'll meet her.