Table of Contents




Alameda

Alameda, Saskatchewan, Canada

Meaning of Name

Spanish word meaning “Avenue of Trees”

Named By:

Town named by Christopher “Chris” Troyer, a young man of the district, who came in May 1882. He had spent a winter in Alameda California. He suggested the Post Office bear this name, and so it became. He was in competition with James Walsh for the Post Master postion . Troyer got the name, Walsh got the Post Office.

Location

1927 Map of this area on the CPR line Elevator, Post Office, Telegraph Office, and Gas Station in 1927
1927 Road map

Elevators

Sept 1903 Elevators operating in the Town


Alameda part of the 1888 NWMP map in Estevan NWMP Museum,
Copy in Trooper & Redskin Book, by John G. Donkin

Post Office History

Postmaster Information

Name of Postmaster Military Status Date of Birth Date of
Appointment 		Date of
Vacancy 		Cause of Vacancy
James Walsh 1883-12-01 1895-10-10 Resignation
John J. Heaslip
(see below) 		1895-12-01 1901-01-03 Dismissal (Political Partisanship)
Frederick Broder Gibson
(see below) 		1901-02-01 1910 Resignation
James B. Gibson 1910-03-22 1912-10-17 Dismissal (Political Partisanship)
James “Edward” “Ed” Cronk
(see below) 		1912-11-27 1933-02-23 Resignation
James Frederick Corril Fisher OAS Dec,1890 1933-07-01 1953-12-31 Resignation
Robert Henry Farnden OAS 1954-08-01 Actin Resignation
“ ” OAS 1955-09-01 “ ” Resignation

Additional Information:

Post Office Information Disclaimer: This reproduction is NOT represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the National Archives of Canada. The source of this material is the National Archives of Canada

Thursday Nov 4, 1915 at about 3:30 AM, the Alameda Post Office Safe was blown with nitro glycerine, in a robbery. The suspects mede their way out of town using a stolen car from Dr. H. H. galloways garage. It was found in a straw pile at Bow Bells ND. Makes you wonder how they got there? Ed Cronk was Post Master at the time who noticed the robbery when he opened up in the morning.

Post Master Bios and Genealogy

James Walsh
sons Walter Walsh and Charlie Walsh lived in the back end of the store.

John J. Heaslip
b- Sept 25, 1858, in ON
Hardware Merchant in 1901
John J. Heaslip was a store keeper at Alameda who came west
In Mar 1882 via immigrant train to Winnipeg,
then via Brandon, then Souris (Plum Creek) in Apr.
then Moose Creek May 18, 1882.
wife Elizabeth McCaughey,
b- Jan 7, 1858 in ON
sister to James and Agnes McCaughey below

Frederick Broder Gibson
b- Apr 7, 1862
wife- Laura Anne Gibson, nee Truscott
b- 1870 in ON
daughter- Eva Florence Gibson
b- May 22, 1898, in Alameda
daughter -Mary Kathleen Gibson
b- June 14, 1900, Alameda
son- Francis Mcevoy Gibson
b- Nov 8, 1906 at Alameda
daughter- Annie May Gibson
b- Sept 1, 1904, at Alameda
daughter- Lillian Alexander Gibson
b- Aug 1, 1902, Alameda

James “Edward” Cronk
b- Apr 1870 in ON
d- ?
wife- Nora Cronk, nee Asselstine (Asseltine)
b- Mar 1869 in ON
d- ?
children:
Hazel Cronk
b- May 1893 in ON
Stanley Cronk
b- Aug 17, 1898 in Oxbow, Assa (SK)
William “Bruce” Cronk
b- Apr 15, 1900 in Sec 12, Twp 3, Rge 3, W2, Assa (SK)
Ernest Cronk
b- Aug 1903 in Assa (SK)

Pioneers, Settlers etc.

Newspaper ca 1913, the “Alameda Dispatch”,
owned by Dr. Samuel “Sam” John Dornan
b- Aug 12, 1884, in Belfast, Ireland
d- Mar 6, 1957 at his home in Alameda, age 73
1909 married Elizabeth Galbraith at Bushmills, Ireland.
He came to Canada in 1912 managing a store in Frobisher.
1913 returned to Ireland, and brought his family to Canada.
He bought the Dfrom John P. Gordon, and sold his equipment in 1951.

James Ricketson Trumpour
Is considered the First Settler in the District.
b- July 26, 1855 (1858?)
d- Oct 3, 1938 in NWT
son of Thomas Dorland Trumpour, and Almira Mallory
wife- Margaret “Maggie” May Trumpour, , nee McMurtry,
b- Nov 1865
Western Land Grant- NW Sec 30, Township 3, Range 2, W2

After Trumpour, Chris Troyer, and Joseph Guittard came

Christopher “Chris” Troyer
Justice of the Peace in the area.
see info below

Joseph “Joe” Guittard
Western Land Grants- NW Section 28, Township 3, Range 2, W2
and SW Section 24, Township 3, Range 4, W2
He was on the First Church Board
of the St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Oxbow
Lived on a farm 2 miles north of Oxbow
his wife outlived him.

In Mar 1882 the original settlers of Alameda District were:
William Andrew Greer
b- 1854 (alt 1858) in East Durham (Bailieboro) ON,
d- July 1, 1922, buried in Oxbow Cemetery
married in Smith Falls ON in 1888 to Margaret McDonald,
b- Jan 1, 1856 at Smith Falls ON
d- Sept 13, 1929, buried in Oxbow Cemetery

John Clark
b- 1861, in ON, living in Chicago ca 1924,

John Alfred Deyell
b- Nov 18, 1865 in ON,
wife Marion Deyell, nee Thomson
b- Apr 30, (Aug 30?) 1865
daughter Marion Thomson Deyell
b- June 8, 1903 at Alameda NWT
I believe John was a Dr.

James Tate
b- 1864, in ON, living in the Klondike, ca 1924,

James Wilson
b- 1861, in ON, living in Ontario ca 1924,

Samuel “Sam” McKnight
b- Mar 9, 1858, in ON
wife- Janet King,
b- May 24, 1871 in ON
married in June 1888 in Alameda District.
2 sons, 2 daughters I know of.

James McCaughey
b- June 7, 1855, in USA, I think?, early middle life in 1882
lived with his sister, Agnes McCaughey,
b- Dec 14, 1856 in ON
sister Elizabeth married John J. Heaslip (see above)

John J. Heaslip
(see genealogy above),

William Nelson Hayter
b- Oct 24, 1823 in ON,
died at age 85

Charles “Charlie” Hayter
b- 1864-1866 in ON, living in Vancouver ca1924,
son of William Hayter above.

Solomon Miller
b- June 22, 1836 (1832?) in ON,
died age 73 or 74,

Charles Miller
b-Apr 8, 1863 (1864?) in ON
son of Solomon Miller, above

John Parker Miller
b- July 17, 1861 in ON.
wife Henrietta Louisea Imlach (Imlack?)
b- July 3, 1873
daughter of Henery (Henry?) Imlack
b- Apr 1820

Peter McDonald
came in Aug-Sept 1882, from Stratford ON (see below)

William Hanley
came in Aug-Sept 1882, from North East Hope ON
He ended up in Boissevain

William Langridge
came a little later from Farnham, Surrey, England

Same week the Alameda Post Office got it's name
a daughter was born to the Pioneer couple, Mr. and Mrs. Peter McDonald.
Mrs McDonald was the 2nd white woman in the Alameda District
She was the first white child to be born at Old Alameda, and for a hundred miles in any direction.
Her name “Katherine Ethel Alameda “Etta” McDonald”
b- Oct 27, 1883
d- Dec 9, 1974
she had 9 siblings.
The McDonald family moved to Estevan with the CPR in 1892
In 1911 Etta married
Charles Richard Pribble “Charlie” Boakes
b- June 29, 1876 in Hollingbourne Registration District, Kent, England
d- June 4, 1962
both buried in Souris Valley Memorial Garden, near Estevan
they lived at 1330 6th st. in Estevan.
Boakes family homesteaded on Long Creek, a little SW of Torquay.
Old Alameda was 3 miles SE of Alameda today.
Charlie and Etta owned a store on Main St in Estevan
Lot 44 -1217 4th St
http://gent-family.com/Estevan/estevanarchivepictures7.html

Christian “Chris” Troyer, who named the Town of Alameda
b- July 1, 1841 in ON
d- Oct 16,1924, in Invermere Hospital, Invermere BC., age 83
buried in Windermere Cemetery, with full Masonic Rites
Dutch farmer in 1881, Mountain, Marquette, MB
wife of Chris- Priscilla Jane Humberstone
b- July 1, 1845 (1843?) in ON
d- Mar 18, (Apr 11?), 1888
she is buried in Oxbow SK
daughter of Thomas Humberstone and Sarah Wilson
She was the first woman in the Alameda District
They were married on July 1st, same as their birthdays.
Roderick A. Troyer, became the first Post Master in Oxbow
b- 1866 (1867?) in ON
d-
in 1910 there was a Roderick Troyer in San Francisco
single, immigrating to the US in 1895
He was a geologist
son- Albert O. Troyer
b- 1871 in ON
d-
son- Edgar Troyer
b- 1874 (1869?) in ON
d- ?
I also seen info on a possible son named Edward Troyer.
b- ?
d- ?
All of their sons moved to the states.
After Chris's first wife died he moved to Moosomin SK
and ran a small hotel there, before moving back to Oxbow.
Chris was the 2nd Postmaster in Oxbow.
as well as Justice of the Peace there.
Chris's father- Christian Troyer
mother- Magdalene Cover
I believe the Troyer's were Mennonites in ON
He remarried a nurse, Hannah Smith, b- May 1848
who died in a Vancouver nursing home.
BC vital records says Victoria BC?
They had a foster girl, named Lydia Violet North.
April 1901 they left to go mining at Windermere BC.
He had left between 1897 and 1901 prospecting.
He is shown on BC 1898 voter's list as a miner at Windermere.
Lydia was married and had children in Windermere area.
Lydia Violet North
b- ca 1886, in England I believe.
d- Aug 25, 1961, in Cranbrook BC, age 75
Her family came to Winnipeg in late 1880's where her mother died.
Lydia and her brother were put into foster homes.

Rev. John Hay was one of the first Preachers in this District.
He married a Miss Colquhoun




©