Collection wet-59 - Miquelon family collection

L.T. (Louis Timoleon) Miquelon was born in St. Camille, Quebec in 1861. He came west when his father, J.Z. Cyr-Miquelon was appointed Immigration Agent for the Northwest Territories in 1883. During the second Riel Rebellion he worked with General Strange as an interpreter due to his ability to speak English, French and Cree. After the rebellion, L. T. Miquelon filed on a homestead near Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. In 1888, he married Olivine (maiden name unknown). In 1892, L.T. Miquelon and J.Z.C. Miquelon moved to Wetaskiwin when J.Z.C. was appointed the first postmaster. L.T. built the first commercial building in Wetaskiwin, a combined store and residence along with the post office at the southwest corner of Railway Street West and Lansdowne (50th Street and 49th Avenue). J.Z.C. Miquelon also served as Registrar and Subland Agent and acted as a surveyor and surveyed the lake that is named after him (Miquelon Lake, northeast of Wetaskiwin). In 1893, Nancy Miquelon and her daughter-in-law Olivine and her three children, Rosario (Bill), Edward and Marianne arrived. A year later Phillip was born, one of the first settler babies born in Wetaskiwin. In 1899, J.Z.C. Miquelon died. By 1899, three more of his sons had moved to Alberta --Camille, Athanase (P.A.) and Romeo (J.R.) (in Calgary). P.A. took over as postmaster and sub-land agent. In 1909 L.T. was appointed Government Road Foreman and Weed Inspector. L.T. and Olivine had thirteen children, eight living to adulthood. Olivine died in 1924 (62 years). L.T. Miquelon died in 1942.