Fonds glen-2075 - Sears family fonds

Charles Sears, 1847-?, moved from Topeka, Kansas, USA in 1910 to settle near Nanton, Alberta. He and his wife, Marian Williams Lockhart, 1862-?, had six children, Wilbur, Warren, Snow, Harold, John and Gertrude. Marian was a charter member of the Nanton United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA), director of the Macleod constituency UFWA in 1918, provincial vice-president in 1919 and provincial president, 1920-1924. Snow was secretary of the Nanton local of the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) for a number of years and was on the provincial executive.

Joseph (Joe) Freeman Sears was born January 22, 1873 in Ottawa, Ontario; he was the son of Antoine and Katie (McCarney) Sears. In 1897, while studying engineering in Montreal, he met and married Mary-Jane Allinott; she was born June 15, 1877 in Glengarry County, Ontario. A daughter Minnie was born to Joe and Mary-Jane in 1898. Joe came west with his brother John in 1898, on their way to the Yukon during the Gold Rush; they returned to Ontario in 1899. After working in northern Ontario and Chicago, Illinois, Joe, Mary-Jane and their children Minnie, Florence, Alice, Joe Junior (Jr.), Felix and Kathleen settled in the Dapp district of Alberta, homesteading in Section 12, Township 62, Range 26, West of the 4th Meridian (12-62-26-W4). In Dapp, Joe and Mary-Jane had three more children, William, Verdon and Thomas. During the First World War, Joe served with the 218th Battalion of the Irish Guards. Minnie and Felix (born 1911) both died in 1919 from the Spanish flu. The family moved to Edmonton, Alberta in 1936. All four sons served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Florence (1901-1999) married Ray Edgar. Alice (1903-1997) married George Luxford. Joe (Jr.) (1909-?) married Gladys Lineker. Kathleen (1913-?) married Arthur Montpetit. William (1915-1973) never married. Verdon (1917-?) married Olivine Rogier. Thomas (1921-?) married Irma Piri. Joe died in 1966 and Mary-Jane in 1972.