Amasa
DRIGGS was a grandson of Serling Driggs who was one of the original
settlers to travel into the Salt Lake Valley in Utah, USA with the Mormons,
under the leadership of Brigham Young, in the year 1847.
In 1875 Amasa married Catherine FORBES in Salt Lake City. Later, in 1889
Amasa and Catherine, along with their four children - Olive, Asael,
Catherine & Appolos - and accompanied by other families, travelled
by covered wagon from the Salt Lake Valley to Canada, driving their herd
of 300 dairy cattle with them.
The Diggs family then settled in the Fort Macleod area in southern Alberta,
and ranched there for five years. There, they had 2 more children, son
Samuel was born in 1889, and daughter Louise in 1892.
In 1894 they again moved, this time to the Lacombe area in central Alberta.
They drove their cattle with them fording rivers and lakes where there
were no bridges. Their first home was a log cabin with a dirt floor.
A few years later, they bought a farm with a large home located near the
Edmonton-Calgary Trail, in the Morningside District of Ponoka County.
Here 2 more children were born, daughters Laura in 1895 and Sylvia in
1901. The family home was used for church services on Sundays, and for
neighborhood dances. Amasa played the violin, and was often accompanied
by members of his family playing a variety of instruments. Because of
its location close to the Edmonton-Calgary Trail, many travellers on their
way to the Klondike gold rush, stopped at the Driggs home to ask for assistance,
food or lodging. In all, Catherine and Amasa had 8 children.
Amasa remained in the Lacombe area until his death in 1929. Catherine,
returned to Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. where she died in 1941. |
Bits
& Pieces.... As their home as located close to the Edmonton-Calgary
Trail, daughters, Louise and Laura, remember rushing to the roadside
to watch a car roar by on its first trip from Calgary to Edmonton.
The younger children in the Driggs family attended Milton School.
One teacher stood out in Laura's memory - Mr. Malcolm. He was a
teacher who commanded strict discipline and who had the respect
of his students. He had a fine understanding of children whose lives
had been limited to their home area. He spent many hours aside from
regular school subjects telling the students of his travels and
of the outside world they would one day see.
Louise (Driggs) Jackson tells of an occasion when there was a new
building, probably a school, hauled in. At recess the students all
began pushing on one side until it fell over on its side. |
Olive
- Born in Utah
in 1878, Olive came to Canada with her parents and settled in the
Lacombe district. She worked on for the Canadian Pacific Railroad
(C.P.R.) building cars in the cook cars where she met and married
Tom WALSH, Bridge Inspector for the C.P.R. In time Olive and Tom
moved back to his family home in Fort Williams, Ontario, Canada.
They had no children.In 1936, Olive passed away. |
Asael
- In the fall
of 1914, Asael was working on a threshing machine inthe Symonds
district of Ponoka County when he met his future wife, Bessie SKEELS.
A few months later they were married, made their home in Morningside
that winter, and Asael cut and hauled firewood from near Gull Lake,
and sold it to people in town.
In 1915 they returned to Rimbey, and Asael worked for Dave Adams
breaking land. Once he completed the work, Bessie wanted to move
back to Lewiston, Idaho, USA where 2 of her brothers lived, so they
sold their few possessions in an auction in Ponoka before moving
to the US, where Asael worked as a labourer. In 1916, their son
Eugene was born.
Later, in the fall of 1916, Bessie came home to her parents in Morningside,
and Asael went off to Nome, Alaska, USA to try and make a stake.
He made good wages working as a longshoreman, so in the fall of
1917 Bessie and Eugene joined him in Nome.
In the spring of 1918, Bessie again wanted to return to her parents,
so she brought Eurgene home and Asael stayed in Alaska in order
to save up enough money to purchase machinery and horses to farm
with. Bessie bought horses from both Ben RIMBEY and E.A. CONNELLY,
and rented the SE quarter of 21-41-2-W5 from Mrs. HALL. She also
rented the NW quarter of 28-41-2-W5 from Charles LINDAHL, about
a mile south of Symonds School, and lived there for 2 years.
In the winter of 1918, daughter Viola Katherine was born and in
1921, another daughter Ruth arrived. Asael farmed for a while, but
money shortages caused him to go out to work again. He broke land
for various farmers, and worked on a variety of projects until due
to living apart and moving around so much, Bessie and Asael decided
that a separation was necessary. Bessie moved back to Lewiston,
Idaho, USA to be near her brothers, later moving to California where
the children married and lived for a time. Bessie passed away in
1975 at the age of 81. Asael moved to Shoshone, Idaho, USA where
he lived for several years before he passed away in about 1940.
In the early 1980's, Eugene was living in Los Angeles, California,
USA while Viola and Ruth were living in Reno, Nevada, USA. |
Appolos
- (Paul) - Born in Kaysville, Utah, USA, in 1887, Appolos came with
his parents and family to Canada when he was 2 years old. In 1919
he moved to the Ensign district, near Vulcan, Alberta to the farm
of his sister Louise. He remained in th earea until 1946, farming
and raising purbred horses adn Hereford cattle. He also served as
an elevator agent for 13 years. Paul never married. He passed away
on 13 February 1971. |
Catherine
- (Kate) - Born in Utah, USA in 1885, she married Albert
TOLMAN in Lacombe, Alberta, and they did missionary work for the
Mormon church in the U.S.A . Later they owned an ice cream parlour
in Hillspring, Alberta near Cardston. They had one daughter who
moved to the USA. Kate passed away in Claresholm in 1938. |
Samuel
- Born in Fort Macleod in 1889, he met and married Lottie
CLINK from Lacombe, Alberta. They later moved to the U.S.A.
finally settling at Moses Lake, Washington. They had 6 children
in the USA. Sam died in 1959. |
Louise -
Born at Fort MacLeod in 1892, she attended Milton School and Morningside.
She married George JACKSON in Morningside in 1914, and they moved
to Ensign near Vulcan, Alberta. George passed away in 1919. Louise
remained on the farm for many years, but moved to High River in
1960. They had one daughter, Nettie Johnston who lived in Richmond,
British Columbia, Canada. |
Laura -
Born in 1895, Laura attended Milton School, and lived with the Leonard
family, helping out after hours and attending school during th day.
In 1923, she married Ernest LOXTON of Calgary. Together they owned
a shoe store in Claresholm until 1931 when they moved to Vulcan,
Alberta where they stayed for some 28 years. Laura passed away in
1960, surviving her husband who died in 1959. They had one daughter,
Viola who married Kenneth Reitan of Edmonton. |
Sylvia -
Born in 1901, Sylvia married Royal BURT in Salt Lake City, Utah,
USA. They had 3 children. Sylvia passed on in 1953. |
|