Preservings 11 (1997) - Plett Foundation

gather their belongings to begin the long trek
west. Before the survey in 1872 many others
arrived.
John Mack was soon to be joined by his
sisters; Mary, Mrs. Thomas Laing, located
on NW12-7-6E, now Laingspring Farm;
Rachel, Mrs. William Laing, located
on SE13-7-6E; and Jane,
Mrs. John Langill, located on
SE10-7-6E, now
Clearspring Mall and
Brookdale Pontiac Dealership.
Also arriving to
settle due west of the
present-day
Clearsprings Mall was
Peter Keating located
on NW10-7-6E, and
John Peterson, located on
SE3-7-6E, where Edgar’s
Dinner House is presently
located.
New Arrivals, 1874.
In 1874 with the opening of the
Dawson Trail many others began arriving
- Alex Adams (NW7-7-7), John Carleton
(SE9-7-6), James and Isabelle Carleton
(SE15-7-6), Thomas Carleton, son of James
(SE2-7-6, Old Tom Road), Josiah and Mary
Ann Cohoe (SW19-7-7, Cohoe Road), James
and Mary Glover (NE30-7-7E), John and
Jannet Gorrie (NW30-7-7E, now Sunny
Glade Farm) and James and Isabelle Steel
(SW7-7-7E) appeared in the community.
Many stories can be told, for example John
Peterson took James Steel and Alex Adams
to look at a piece of land that was available.
They both wanted the same quarter, SW7-7-
7E. To settle the problem Mr. Peterson took
two matches making one shorter than the
other - the one choosing the longer match got
the quarter he wanted. The winner was Mr.
Steel. Later Mr. Adams who took NW7-7-
7E, who also did not have a wife, became
lonely so he wrote to his fiancee Jane Stuart,
Preservings
both originally from Aberdeenshire, Scotland,
to come west and marry him - she did and
The Langill family - left father John Peter Langill,
standing Mary, Dave, sitting - Joe, Dolly, Jane Mack
Langill, mother. Photo courtesy of Ed and Alice Laing.
they lived together for 37 years. Since they
had no children they took into their home an
8 year-old boy, Duncan Sproat and a 2-year
old girl, Mary Hasted.
Josiah Cohoe is recorded as being a Steam
Boat Engineer on the Lake of the Woods before
he came to Clearsprings to farm. James
Carleton was the first farmer reported to ship
wheat outside of the settlement to Steel
Briggs Seed Co., Ontario.
Community Life.
The settlement grew, the need to socialize
grew. The Presbyterian faith was very
strong among these early settlers. Soon Rev
The John Peterson family who pioneered in Clearsprings. Photo courtesy of Ed and Alice Laing.
80
James Robertson, a Presbyterian teacher,
minister and missionary was serving in
Clearsprings. The church was found to be the
best influence to raise the level of people’s
thoughts above every day problems. The
church also brought the pioneers together
and encouraged them in their
loneliness and gave them a much
brighter outlook on life.
Now, in 1874 the area
surrounding Clearsprings
was being settled by
Mennonite people.
These early
Clearsprings settlers
very much appreciated
the coming of the Mennonites
who in contrast
to the Clearsprings settlers
came in large groups.
A common expression often
used by the Clearsprings
people was, “You can’t find
better neighbours than the Mennonites”.
It is interesting to note that when these
first pioneers arrived in Clearsprings in 1869,
not one person lived on section 35-6-6 where
Steinbach began it’s village in 1874. Today
the City of Steinbach, with a population of
10,000 has expanded to cover the whole section
as well as a good part of the Clearsprings’
original settlement and has every service and
convenience their customers could wish for
and more.
Descendants.
Only a few of the early Clearsprings settlers
have descendants in the area today.
John and Mary Ann Cohoe, standing rear. Josiah was
a steam boat operator before he began farming in
Clearsprings in 1874. The couple in front are Mr. and
Mrs. Borland. Photo courtesy of Ed and Alice Laing,
Box 1088, Steinbach, Manitoba, R0A 2A0.