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Aalborg, Anders
Person · 1914-2000

Anders Aalborg was born in Oxville, Alberta in 1914. Graduating from Provincial Normal School in Edmonton in 1933, he taught in the Lloydminster area and also served as a school principal. He married Catherine May Burn (1914-2002) in 1939, and together they had two children, John and Roberta Mae.

After an initial unsuccessful campaign in 1945, he was elected as a Social Credit MLA in 1948 in the Alexandra electoral district. He served as Minister of Education (1952-1964), Provincial Treasurer (1964-1971) and Minister of Telephones (1967-1968). He served as Acting Premier between the terms of Ernest Manning and Harry Strom. He retired from politics at the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in 1971.

He moved to British Columbia in 1972 and died in Surrey, BC, in 2000.

Abell, Ted
Person · 1919-1982

Edward (Ted) Howard Abell was born June 22, 1919 in Edmonton, Alberta, but was raised and educated in Calgary, Alberta. He attended the Western Canada High School in Calgary. Following graduation in 1937, he apprenticed at the Palace Bakery in Calgary, becoming a journeyman baker in 1939.

After the Second World War started, Ted joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F.), training as a pilot and then as a flying instructor. From 1941 to 1943, Ted was a flying instructor, and from 1943 to 1945 he was a flight lieutenant overseas. Following the war, Ted returned to the bakery for two years, and then worked for the City of Calgary for two years. Ted reenlisted with the R.C.A.F., serving in various capacities in Claresholm, Alberta, Comox, British Columbia, Cold Lake, Alberta, Edmonton, Namao, Alberta, Resolute Bay, Northwest Territories and Lancaster Park, Alberta.

After retiring from the R.C.A.F. in June 1964, Ted worked for the Centennial Branch of the Department of the Provincial Secretary from 1964 to 1967 as the Centennial Officer on the Centennial Committee, which helped plan and promote Alberta's celebrations for Canada's 100th Birthday.

He and wife Dorothy had one son, Ted, and six daughters, Ginger, Nancy (O'Hara), Joyce (Andre), Linda (Campbell), Shirley (Senger) and June (Leechuy).

Ted died December 25, 1982.

Aberhart, William
Person · 1878-1943

William ("Bible Bill") Aberhart was born December 30, 1878 near Seaforth, Ontario; he was the son of William and Louisa (Pepper) Aberhart. He studied at Mitchell Model School, Chatham Business College, Seaforth Collegiate Institute and the Ontario Normal School in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1899, he taught at Morris School, near Wingham, Ontario. In 1901, he moved to Brantford, Ontario and taught at Central Public School; he was appointed principal of Central Public School in 1905. He was active in Brantford's Zion Presbyterian Church and for a time planned on entering the Presbyterian ministry. He married Janet "Jessie" Flatt (1878-1964) on July 29, 1902; they had two daughters, Khona Louise (Cooper) (1903-1998) and Ola Janette (MacNutt) (1905-2000). He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University in 1911; he accomplished this by correspondence beginning in 1907.

The Aberhart family moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1910, as Aberhart had accepted an offer from the Calgary School Board to become principal of Mount Royal College beginning in the spring of 1910. However, the school was not ready when he arrived so he became principal of Alexandra Public School. In the fall of 1910, with Mount Royal still not ready, he became principal of Victoria School. When ready, he did become principal of Mount Royal School and then in 1913 became the principal of King Edward School. From 1915 to 1935, Aberhart was principal of Crescent Heights High School.

He taught bible classes at Trinity Methodist Church until 1916 and attended and taught classes at Grace Presbyterian Church until 1912. The Aberhart family then attended Wesley Methodist Church and Westbourne Baptist Church where Aberhart was eventually recognized as a lay minister and baptized on May 2, 1920. By 1918, Aberhart's bible classes we so popular and well attended, the classes were renamed the Calgary Prophetic Bible Conference. In 1925, he was appointed Dean of the newly established Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute. Also beginning in 1925, Aberhart's Sunday afternoon bible lectures for the Calgary Prophetic Bible Conference were broadcast over the radio; these became known as "Back-to-the-Bible Hour." In 1929, Aberhart established the Bible Institute Baptist Church.

Beginning in 1932, influenced by personal experiences brought on by the Depression, Aberhart began to give serious thought and study to the social credit theories espoused by Major C.H. Douglas. In 1933, Aberhart began giving lectures on these theories, soon forming a Social Credit Study Group; other study groups formed across Calgary and the province. Aberhart organized the Douglas Social Credit League in 1933 (later the Alberta Social Credit League).

Initially trying to work with United Farmers of Alberta to implement social credit theories, when this failed, Aberhart organized the social credit movement into a political party, and this Alberta Social Credit Party won the majority of seat in the 1935 provincial election. As leader of the Social Credit Party, even though he did not run, Aberhart was sworn in as Premier and Minister of Education on September 3; on November 3, 1935, a by-election was held in the electoral district of Okotoks-High River which Aberhart won by acclamation. On September 5, 1937, he was appointed Attorney General. He was reelected in 1940 for electoral district of Calgary.

Suffering from illness, Aberhart and his wife traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia in April of 1943 to visit their daughters. William Aberhart died May 23, 1943 and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Acorn, Ted
Person · 1928-1992

Born in 1928, Fredrick Gerald "Ted" Acorn was a musician from Claresholm, Alberta. He married Anne, and together they had eight children: Colleen (Gaab), Jackie (1955-1973), Phyllis (Wright), Michael, Sandi (Stapleford), Debbie, Robin, and Jodi .

He died in Claresholm in 1992.

Acton, J. A.
Person

J.A. Acton was from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.

Adair, Al
Person · 1929-1996

James Allen "Al" Adair was born in Edmonton in 1929. He moved to Peace River in 1953 to work as a seed dealer, later working for a catering firm and then at radio station CKYL as an announcer and an executive. He was involved in many community organizations, including baseball and hockey associations. He received the nickname "Boomer" either for his distinctive on-air radio voice or his ability to score runs in baseball. He married Joyce Johnson (1935-2019) in 1960, and together they had three children: Rick, Rob, and Cathy (Grose).

He was elected as a Progressive Conservative MLA in 1971 for the Peace River electoral district. He served as a Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for northern development and indigenous issues (1971-1975), Minister of Recreation, Parks and Wildlife (1975-1979), Minister of Tourism and Small Business (1979-1985), Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1985-1986), and Minister of Transportation and Utilities (1986-1992). He retired from provincial politics at the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in 1993.

After he retired, he co-authored a memoir about his political career, "Boomer: My Life with Peter, Don and Ralph," published in 1994.

He died in Peace River in 1996.

Adams, Clifford J.
Person · 1883-1954

Clifford (Cliff) James Adams was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on October 19, 1883. He immigrated to Edmonton, Alberta in 1914 with his wife Esther (Hetty) (née Evans) (1885-1954) and son David Clifford (1912-2002); Cliff's brother, Reginald Adams, who had come to Edmonton years earlier, had encouraged Cliff to come out.

Cliff was a bookkeeper by trade, and worked as an office manager for the Edmonton Stock Yards and was subsequently an employee of the Canadian National Railway. Cliff was also for a time the secretary-treasurer of the Heart Stooker Company Limited. Cliff was active in St. Michael and All Angels Anglican church, serving as secretary-treasurer for many years. He was also secretary-treasurer for the North Edmonton Public School Parents' Teachers' Association.

Predeceased by his wife in January, Cliff died March 28, 1954.

Adams, Fred
Person

Fred Adams lived in North Battleford, Saskatchewan during the 1940s. He later moved to Edmonton and worked as Caretaker Superintendent for the Provincial Museum and Archives of Alberta.

Adams, Martha Lena
Person · 1899-1981

Born in 1899, Martha Lena Zielinski was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Zielinski, who lived in Edmonton, Alberta. Martha graduated from the Royal Alexandra School of Nursing in 1925. She was a nurse in Edmonton, Alberta for many years.

In about 1947 or 1948, she married Thomas Adams. Martha died in November 1981.

Adams, Randall
Person · 1951-2015

Randall (Randy) Adams was born on 27 September 1951 in Edmonton, AB. Adams was a photographer whose work has been exhibited at galleries such as the Edmonton Art Gallery, the Glenbow Museum, and the South Okanagan Art Gallery in Penticton, BC. His work is also part of the permanent collections of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Art Gallery of Alberta.

Randall Adams died on 25 April 2015 in Nanaimo, BC.

Adamson, Laurence
Person · 1868-1945

Born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1868, Laurence Adamson was an officer in the Strathcona squadron of the Canadian Mounted Rifles, and fought as part of the Boer War. He lived in the Fort Saskatchewan, North-West Territories area, and was appointed Justice of the Peace in and for the North-West Territories in 1897.

A Lieutenant in 1908, Adamson attended the Provincial School of Cavalry in Edmonton, Alberta. After moving to Sidney, British Columbia, Laurence Adamson gave his farm, which consisted of the better part of a quarter section in the Ardrossan/Clover Bar area, to the Patriotic Fund of Northern Alberta.

He was married to Nellie Alanson (1878-1958) in 1903, and together they had ? children: Laurence (1904-1975), James (1905-1952), Mary (1906-1993), and Amy (1909-1984). He died in Victoria in 1945.

Adel, George
Person · 1906-1958

George Adel was born in Russia in 1906 and came to Canada with his parents in 1910. They initially settled in Rosthern, Saskatchewan but came to Medicine Hat, Alberta in 1915.

He worked at Medalta Potteries from the mid-1920s until the business closed in 1957.

He married Mary Paul (1905-1990) in Medicine Hat in 1926, and together they had four children: Betty Ann (Crocket), George (1927-1982), Kenneth (1933-2014) and Richard (1939-1990). He died in Medicine Hat in 1958.

Affleck, Alan
Person · 1921-2011

Alan Ferguson Affleck was born on September 7, 1921. He had three sisters, Elsie Rayner, Marion Tolley, and Gladys Morton. He was predeceased by his wife, Muriel Adeline Affleck (1912-2008). Affleck was a professor in the department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Alberta from 1951-1983 and was one of the earliest proponents of the Canadian Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

During and after his professorship, Affleck pushed for recreation to be available for more people and on a broader scope. He also served in numerous associations and councils, including on aging, sports, and education. Affleck passed away on February 13, 2011.

Alberts, Sam
Person · 1912-1991

Sam Alberts was born to Ed Samuel (1887-1963) and Minnie Alberts (1880-1970). In June 1930 Sam Alberts and his father left their home in Ainsworth, Nebraska to tour the irrigation district of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) near Brooks, Alberta where Ed Alberts then purchased a half section of land in the Millicent Flats district. Ed and Sam Alberts returned to Nebraska briefly, coming back to their farm in August to plow and break land for seeding the next year.

In March 1931, Alberts' mother, father and siblings, Jim, Ben, and Dorothy, moved to the farm in Brooks, Alberta while Sam remained in Nebraska to finish his last year of high school before joining his family in May. In 1936 Sam Alberts purchased his own half section to the southeast of his family's farm, and in December 1940 he married Natalie McKenzie (1911-2001) who had taught at the Sutherland School near Brooks, and later taught at Brooks school for sixteen years.

In the late 1970s Alberts was manager of the Dinosaur Rural Gas Co-op in Brooks. He died there in 1991.

Alcock, Beverly
Person

No biographical information available.

Aldridge, A.R.
Person · 1865-1949

Reverend (Rev.) A.R. (Albert Richard) Aldridge was born about 1865 in Berkshire, England and came to Canada in 1884. He initially worked as a student minister in Canadian Pacific Railway construction camps.

He attended Wesley College and the University of Manitoba, graduating from the latter in 1891. He was ordained in the Methodist Church in 1895, ministering in Manitoba for a few years before returning to England. He returned to Canada in 1901 to Fort Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories. He also served in a number of Alberta areas including Vermilion, Wetaskiwin, Edmonton, and Calgary.

In 1938, Rev. Aldridge was presented with a Doctor of Divinity degree by Welsey College. He and wife Mildred (McGorman) had one daughter, Mrs. W.B. (Ruth) Crichton, and five sons: Hardy C., Lawrence, Athelstan, Edward, and Samuel Richard who died in 1917 while serving the First World War.

Rev. A.R. Aldridge died in Calgary on July 13, 1949.

Alexander, Clem
Person · 1875-1954

Andrew Clements "Clem" Alexander was born in Perth, Ontario in 1875, the son of Thomas Alexander and Mary Ann Bradley. He arrived in Dawson City in 1899 from Huron County, Ontario after taking the overland route through Edmonton and the Great Slave River to the Yukon. Clem prospected in the Yukon until 1904 when he moved to Fairbanks, Alaska. In Fairbanks, he established a mining business.

Clem married Eleanor Ethel Elland Reid (1884-1947) in 1908 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Together they had two children: Read and Jean. In 1912, he and his family moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

He died in Moose Jaw in 1954.

Alexander, Edna
Person

Edna Alexander lived in Edmonton, Alberta.

Alexander, Marjorie
Person · 1918-2002

Marjorie Alberta Ferguson was born ca. 1918, the daughter of Earle (1881-1961) and Ruth Bessie Ferguson (1888-1919). Earle arranged labour gangs for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), along with Mr. Billy Pepper, in Alberta.

She married W. Gordon Alexander (ca. 1921-2002) in 1942, and together they had three children: Wm. Earle, Lynda (Moffat) and Barbara (Schmidt). She worked as a nurse.

She died in St. Albert, Alberta in 2002.

Alfrey, Darwin (Dar) E.
Person · 1931-2004

Darwin “Dar” E. Alfrey was born in Didsbury, Alberta on September 2, 1931, to Bernard Alfrey (died 1969) and Martha Alfrey (died 1984) in the Carstairs, Alberta area. Growing up, he worked at a men's clothing store, delivered groceries, played AA baseball, and worked for the railroad as a telegraph operator near Lake Louise, Alberta. He eventually found a career with the Bank of Montreal and was transferred around the province for this position. In 1955 he was transferred to Westlock, Alberta where he met his future wife, Rita.

Rita J. Peterson was born on May 5, 1933, in Wetaskiwin, Alberta to the manager of the local Coop store (Edward Peterson, 1945-1999) and a homemaker (Winnifred Peterson, died 2006). She worked at Deer Lodge in the summer before finishing high school. After high school, she attended the Royal Alexander School of Nursing, graduating in 1955. During her work at the Immaculata Hospital in Westlock, she met Dar. The pair married on June 1, 1957, and moved to Bow Island, Alberta. Rita carried on with nursing, and Dar with banking.

They were soon transferred to Calgary, Alberta where their son, Dwight, was born in 1959. They were transferred to Regina, Saskatchewan in 1962, where their daughter Chris was born on August 27. Soon after, they were transferred again to Sioux Lookout, Ontario and then to Port Arthur, Ontario. In 1966, they were transferred back to Edmonton, Alberta where they remained. Dar worked with the Bank of Montreal, the Principal Trust Company, and the Alberta Treasury Branches, ending his banking career there.

Dar served on the executive of the Steele Heights Community League and on the executive of the Northeast Rotary Club in Edmonton for many years including work with Rotary International. He served as District Governor (District 536) in 1995-1996. Rita returned to nursing at the Royal Alexander Hospital in Edmonton, which by this time had become the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. Rita took on various roles in the community, serving on the Parents' Advisory Board for different schools, the Boards of the Edmonton YWCA and Rotary Anns, and was part of the founding group for McClure United Church.

Rita was a creative person, spending her free time sewing, quilting, knitting, doing petit point, singing in the McClure choir, rug hooking, and many other creative pastimes. Rita and Dar enjoyed doing many things together including curling, dancing, meeting with their friends, cross country skiing and camping. Camping holidays were frequent during the years that Chris and Dwight were in school, and they often spent time in the mountains.

Dar Alfrey died on February 5, 2004.

Allan, Iris
Person · 1910-1987

Iris Constance Allan was born in 1910 in Stratford, Ontario, the youngest daughter of Robert and Mabel (MacDonald) Sommerville, and sister to Winnipeg, Manitoba author Nan Shipley. She was primarily raised in Transcona, Manitoba, and later moved to Edmonton, Alberta. She married Robert Fredrick Allan in 1935, and together they had a son, Ralph.

She wrote a column in the Edmonton Journal entitled “The Third Column,” and later wrote extensively about western Canadian history, which she primarily aimed at school-aged children. Her works include Boy in Buckskins: The Early Life of John McDougall (1959), John Rowand, fur trader: A Story of the Old Northwest (1963), Wop May: bush pilot (1966), Young Fur Trader (1966, for the Edmonton Public School Board), White Sioux: Major Walsh of the Mounted Police (1969), and Mother and her Family (1977). In 1979, Iris Allan received an Alberta Achievement Award for Literature.

Predeceased by her husband, Iris Allan died in Edmonton in 1987.

Allbon, Leonard G.
Person

Leonard G. Allbon was born in England in 1921. He served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War in Italy. Allbon attended the London Occupational Therapy College from 1947 to 1950, focusing on basketry. Allbon moved to York, where he was Head Occupational Therapist, responsible for the staff in several hospitals. He also taught weekend courses at the summer school in Scarborough.

By 1960, Allbon was the chairman of the English Association of Occupational Therapists. That same year, he was recruited in London, and accepted the position of Lecturer in the new Occupational Therapy Department at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In the first year in Canada, Allbon assembled the equipment for the program and taught one course. In the second year Allbon formed the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy as a combined program. Edmonton had the second OT program in Canada; Toronto was the first. The School was located in the old Medical Building. Occupational Therapy was located in the basement and Physiotherapy on the main floor.

Allbon worked with Benita Fifield in the 1960s, and she succeeded him as Head of the Department of Occupational Therapy from 1973 to 1976. She became the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Rehabilitative Medicine in 1979 and continued in this capacity until [1986]. She was also Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy from 1982 to 1983.

Allbright, Albert
Person · 1889-1976

Albert Allbright was born in Northamptonshire, England in 1889. He was apprenticed at age 13 to a millwright at Wolverton Bucks and in 1909 he moved to Lincoln Engineering Works as an improver in millwright work.

In 1911 he immigrated to Canada, arriving in Calgary, Alberta where he worked for two months before moving to an area near Hardisty and Daysland to drive a steam tractor. By 1912 Allbright was working as a mechanic in Edmonton, Alberta in a garage owned by Thomas Bellamy. In the spring of that same year Allbright married Elsie, and together they had three children: Robert, Madge and Jean.

During World War I Allbright served as a staff sergeant in the 14th Canadian Field Ambulance CEF in France, Belgium and Germany. He returned to Edmonton in 1919 and began working in the civic garage, remaining there until his retirement as superintendent in 1956.

Allbright was active with the All Saints' Anglican Church, serving as warden for three years and on the vestry for 30 years, and was a life member of the Edmonton Safety Council and the Riverdale Community League. He was considered one of the founding members of the community league movement in Edmonton.

He died in 1976.

Allchin, Annie
Person

The Allchin family (also spelled Alchin) lived in Oshawa, Ontario ca. 1891.

Allen, Hugh
Person · 1889-1972

Hugh Wright Allen was born on April 30, 1889 in Stella, Amherst Island, Ontario to William Allen and Mary Wright. He attended public school and Kingston Collegiate Institute and was trained as a schoolteacher, but worked as a chemist with the Ontario Powder Company in Tweed, Ontario for three years. He married Mable Sills (1875-1956) of Tweed, Ontario on January 8, 1911 and they moved to a farm in an area near Beaverlodge, Alberta located at Section 3, Township 71, Range 9, West of the 6th Meridian (3-71-9-W6). In 1929 the farm and environs were named Huallen in honor of Hugh Allen.

Allen was a United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) candidate for nomination for the Peace River electoral district in the provincial election of 1921 and was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Peace River electoral district in the general election of 1926. He was re-elected in the election of 1930 and appointed Minister of Lands and Mines and Municipal Affairs in 1934, but lost his re-election bid in 1935. Allen was active in various agricultural organizations and, after losing in the 1935 election, served as a director of the UFA for a time.

He was a founding member and director of the Grande Prairie Co-operative Livestock Marketing Association, and a founding member and the first president of the Alberta Livestock Cooperative, serving from 1940 to 1949. Allen was appointed as a director on the board of the United Grain Growers Limited in 1946, a position he retained until 1964 and he was also a director in the Alberta and Canadian Federations of Agriculture. Allen was also active in his community and was a member of the South Beaverlodge Rural Electrification Association, a trustee for the Lower Beaver Lodge School District No. 2812, and a subscriber to the Lower Beaver Lodge Mutual Telephone Company.

Allen sold his farm in 1964 and moved to a house on 95th Avenue in Grande Prairie, Alberta with his second wife, Lulu Sherk Edgerton (1897-1991), whom he had married in 1959. He was inducted to the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1967.

He died on March 3, 1972, survived by his wife.

Allen, Lulu Gertrude
Person · 1897-1991

Lulu Gertrude Sherk was born in Sherkston, Ontario in 1897. Her family came to the Peace River Country of Alberta in 1909 to establish a homestead.

She married Charles Francis Edgerton (1886-1944) in Beaverlodge, Alberta in 1914. Together they had children: Kenneth (1917-1981) and Viola (Benson) (1919-2014), Reta (Eckstrom), and Dorothy (Dewar).

In 1959, Lulu married Hugh Wright Allen (1899–1972), a former Member of the Legislative Assembly.

She died in Grande Prairie, Alberta in 1991.

Allen, W.G.P.
Person · 1899-1976

William G.P. Allen was born in England in 1899. His family immigrated to Alberta circa (ca.) 1905 and took up a homestead at Lawton, six miles west of the Pembina River, near Barrhead, Alberta. The family built a store that became known as Lawton Post Office and Allen's father became postmaster, a post he held until 1937.

Allen attended school locally and was taught by Oblate missionaries. He married Torilla May Phillips (1903-1994) in 1920, and together they had a son, George Allen. William and his wife divided their time between Seattle, USA and Banff, Alberta. Allen was an author and historian and he wrote a number of treatises on the history of the Pembina Valley area in Alberta.

He died in Seattle in April 1976.

Alleyne, Johwanna
Person

Johwanna Alleyne owned and operated J. Alleyne Photography for fifteen years in Edmonton, Alberta. In the 1990's, Johwanna Alleyne also worked in the photography department of the City of Edmonton archives. Her work has appeared in Great Canadian Wedding, West Jet Airlines Magazine, The City Pallet, The Edmonton Sun, The Edmonton Journal, BWI Airlines Magazine, and Studio Photography Magazine.

Johwanna has received the following awards for her photography work: Canada Council for the Arts Apprenticeship Award - Photographic Archives 1993 Nominee Women's Entrepreneur of the Year - 2003 Template Collection - Queensberry Leather - 2004 Nikon Award - Excellence in Digital Imaging - 2005.

A jazz vocalist, she was involved with the Cari-West and Slow Food Edmonton organizations. She started Mojo JoJo Pickles in 2012 and has operated several other food-related businesses since then.

Allin, Kay
Person · 1918-

Katherine “Kay” Alice Allin was born on January 26, 1918 in Lacombe, Alberta. Allin had one brother, named Bill, who was one year older than her. In 1926 their father died of suicide, and Allin’s maternal grandfather, named Schilling, took on a larger role in raising Kay and Bill. In 1932 Allin’s mother died of cancer, and she and her brother lived with several relatives and family friends for the rest of their childhoods, with some time in Edmonton and some in Lacombe.

For most of her life, Allin was close with Edith (Ash) Miller and Edith’s parents who Allin referred to as “Mom and Dad Ash.” This family was one of those that Allin referred to as her three families, especially important to her as she lost both biological parents quite young.

After high school, she stayed in Edmonton for several years, first taking courses at McTavish Business College then working as a receptionist at the Baker medical clinic. She left this job in 1940 and took training as a nurse, though she worked in many other positions over her life. She finished her career working as an accountant, first taking a position in 1970 at Pro-Western Plastics Ltd. while taking accounting courses at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Allin then worked at RAM Mortgages until 1982 when the company closed, but she soon took a job balancing books at High Level Natural Foods after several months stocking shelves there. She traveled with friends and found family during her retirement years and was living at Edmonton’s Rossdale Manor in 2013.

Allison, David Neil
Person · 1884-1952

David Neil Allison was born on October 22, 1884, in Greenlock, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada as a child with his family, settling in the Ottawa Valley. He moved to Alberta in 1906, but returned to Almonte, Ontario in 1910 to marry Susanna MacPhail (1882-1964). Susanna and David had three children: David MacPhail (1912-1973), Ruth Togan (1915-1942), and Hugh Alexander Bennett (1917-1987).

During travels in Alberta in 1906, Allison also traveled to the Yukon (ca. 1906-1910) and took photographs. Susanna and David lived in Vancouver, BC, for several years before returning to Alberta in 1915. In 1918, they moved to the Peace River country in Alberta and settled on land in the Appleton district. David served as Secretary for the Appleton School District in the 1920's.

David and Susanna stayed in the Peace River until David's death on June 23, 1952

Allison, Ed
Person

Ed Allison lived in Delburne, AB and was involved in the Alberta Historical Society.

Amerongen, Gerard
Person · 1914-2013

Gerard “Gerry” Joseph Amerongen was born on 18 July 1914 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and was raised in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied law at the University of Alberta and graduated with an LLB in 1943. He met Helen Elizabeth “Betty” Fetherstonhaugh during his student years and the two were married on 6 December 1943.

Amerongen was admitted to the Alberta bar in 1946 and practiced law for more than 60 years. He first ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the Progressive Conservative Party representing the Edmonton riding in the 1951 provincial election but was not successful. He unsuccessfully ran again in the next three provincial elections and was finally elected as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Edmonton Meadowlark riding in the 1971 provincial election. He was subsequently appointed to Speaker of the Legislative Assembly by Premier Peter Lougheed and remained in that position until losing his seat to Grant Mitchell of the Alberta Liberal Party in the 1986 provincial election.

Amerongen was an active community member from early in life, having served as president of the University of Alberta Students’ Union as well as being involved with the Native Friendship Centre, St. Joseph’s Hospital Board, a founding member of the Urban Reform Group of Edmonton, Edmonton City Centre Church Corporation, and a board member for Caritas High School among others. He was also a devout Catholic and was an active member of St. Joseph’s Parish.

Gerard and Betty Amerongen had eight children: Mary, Peter, Margaret, Monica, Helen, Michael, Elizabeth, and John.

Gerard Amerongen died on 21 April 2013.

Anderson, Anne
Person · 1906-1997

Dr. Anne Anderson was born on a river lot farm east of St. Albert, Alberta in 1906. Her efforts to pass on and promote the Cree language began as private lessons for those who responded to a newspaper ad, and she would later go on to open Dr. Anne Anderson Native Heritage and Cultural Centre in 1984.

At the same time as this teaching she also worked to preserve the Cree language in writing and would found Cree Productions, in order to spread Cree language instruction beyond her own classes. Anderson passed away in 1997.

Anderson, Charles
Person · 1901-2003

Charles (Charlie) Anderson was born August 25, 1901 in Paisley, Scotland. His family moved to Edmonton, Alberta in 1911. At the age of eleven, Charlie worked as a substitute paperboy for the Edmonton Journal; he received his own route four years later.

In 1918, he began work for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railways. He joined the staff of accounting department of the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway (A & GWR) in 1923. In 1926, he became chief clerk of the Edmonton Duvegan and British Columbia Railway (ED & BC). In 1942, he was appointed assistant auditor for the Northern Alberta Railways; he became chief accounting and finance officer in 1950 and remained in that position until retiring September 1, 1967.

In 1971, he was asked by Premier Peter Lougheed to become a member of the Board of Directors of the Alberta Resources Railway Corporation; he became managing director in 1973. He retired from his position as Managing Director of the Alberta Resources Railway in 1995 at the age of ninety-four; at this time, the Alberta Resources Railway was being sold to the Canadian National (CN) Railway Company.

Charlie was a founding director of the Edmonton Symphony Society in 1952 and was a past-president of Edmonton Theatre Associates (Walterdale). In 1980, he was named Transportation Personality of the Year by the Northern Alberta Transportation Club. A park in the Edmonton community of Duggan was named for Charles Anderson in 1984. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1996.

He married Jennie Corbett (d. 1978) in Edmonton in 1925, and together they had three children: John Corbett, Jean Margaret (Toole), and Audrey (Luck) (1929-1962). He married his second wife Roma (Downey, McNally) (1923-2014) in 1994.

Charles Anderson died November 29, 2003.

Anderson, Charles James
Person · 1888-1976

Charles James Anderson was born in Prince Albert, Northwest Territories in 1888. He lived in Tofield, Alberta before moving to Edmonton.

He married Nora Rachel Anderson (1894-?) in Logan, Alberta in 1916; they divorced in 1920. He then married Nellie Korbie (1904-1991) in Mundare, Alberta in 1929, and the couple had five children: William "Bill" (1930-1976), Jack, Mary (Bell), Alice (Anderson), and Percy. He died in Edmonton in 1976.

Anderson, Dennis
Person · 1949-2019

Dennis Anderson was born in Edmonton in 1949. He attended Rochdale College in Toronto, where he volunteered as the director of the Rochdale Employment and Drug Aid Centre from 1968-1969. Upon returning to Alberta, he studied communications at Mount Royal College, later working for CHFM Radio and CKUA. He served as the Executive Director of the Alberta Drug Education and Aid Society as well as as a board member of the Project Recycling Society and the Calgary Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. He became involved with politics, initially with the Social Credit party, and ran for school board in 1971 and 1974. He married Barbara Lupasko in 1971.

He was elected as Progressive Conservative MLA in 1979 for the Calgary-Currie electoral district. He served as Minister of Culture (1986-1987), Minister responsible for the Status of Women (1986-1987), Minister of Municipal Affairs (1987-1989) and Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1989-1992). He retired at the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly in 1993.

After leaving politics, he established a media production firm. He also advised on democratic systems and mental health issues in Russia, Peru, China and India. He was a co-founder of the Alberta Alliance for Mental Illness and Mental Health and served on the boards of the Alberta Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Glenbow-Alberta Institute, and other organizations. He also served as Consul-General for Thailand for the prairie provinces and was appointed as a Companion of the Order of the White Elephant. He received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Alberta in 2017.

He died in Edmonton in 2019.

Anderson, Gerald S.
Person · 1920-2003

Gerald Stanley Anderson was born in Camrose, Alberta on May 30th, 1920, to Luella (née Harrington) and Herman Anderson. He had a brother named Archie who was 5 years older and another who died at birth. The family farmed in the Dried Meat Lake district of east-central Alberta where Gerald attended school until grade 10 and left thereafter to work on the family farm.

Gerald joined the army in 1942. He was stationed in London, Ontario and then at various locations throughout Newfoundland. Upon leaving the army, Gerald moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where he worked at Canadian Canners for the next 18 years. He enjoyed square dancing, played guitar at dances and became a square dance caller. He was well travelled, visiting various parts of Europe and Egypt and attended healing institutes' in California. He studied first aid when he left the cannery to work for Pacific Forest Product in 1963.

Gerald met Elsie Aitken while working at Canadian Canners and married her on December 9th, 1967. Elsie had two children from a previous relationship. Following Elsie's daughter's passing, Gerald and Elsie now in their 50's, became the guardians of Elsie's granddaughter, Colleen. These circumstances made Colleen distraught and angry and in response, she wrote poetry. Upon seeing this, Gerald responded to her in verse and this is when he began to write poetry on a regular basis. Colleen would give him a bound volume each year at Christmas and he would spend the following year filling it with his observations, thoughts and predictions about world events and his own experiences.

Gerald was particularly interested in alternative healing techniques and became a reflexology practitioner in 1972. Frustrated with the inability of conventional medicine to explain and cure his wife's health problems, he experimented with the healing power of pyramids.

In 1990, Gerald suffered a stroke that left one side of his body paralyzed. Determined to regain mobility, Gerald exercised and forcefully moved through his regular routine. Thre years later, his wife Elsie became deaf and the couple adapted by learning to communicate using sign language they developed between them. Elsie passed away on September 2nd, 1993 a few months after their 25th anniversary.

Gerald published poetry in 1960 but it was his poetry inspired relationship with his new step-daughter Colleen that really motivated him to write more prolifically. His journals from 1982 and on show that poetry became his way of recording the world. The majority of his writings were in verse and some evolved into published poems which have appeared in a number of publications. He also compiled 6 booklets of poems between the years of 1986 to 1993. The poems documented family events like his 1985 retirement and walking on coals to celebrate his 60th birthday.

He continued to live on his own until 1999, when he was persuaded to move to Edmonton. He resided at the Mewburn Veterans' Centre where he was involved in recreational and physical therapy programs. Gerald passed away in Edmonton in October of 2003.

Anderson, Peter
Person · 1868-1945

Peter Anderson was born on the island of Funen, off the coast of Denmark, on April 24, 1868. In 1888 he immigrated to Canada and began to work in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Later he hunted and trapped in northern Manitoba before moving west and arriving in Edmonton in 1891.

After working on a variety of construction jobs, he eventually formed his own brick company in 1899 called Anderson's Brickyard. Anderson married Mary Allan (1866-1931) on January 2, 1895, and together they had one son, Bert (1897-1970), and three daughters, Ethel (Moore) (1899-1977), Jeanne (Irvine) (1895-1974), and Fransine (Patterson) (1904-1994). He married Frances "Fanny" Willis (1888-1976) in Vancouver in 1935.

In 1907 Anderson wrote the military officers examination and joined the 101st Regiment, Edmonton Fusiliers as a Captain. In 1914 he was part of the first contingent of Canadian soldiers in World War I to go overseas. In England his regiment was dismantled and Anderson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, Queen's Own Regiment. He was captured on April 24, 1915 at the second battle of Ypres in Belgium, and spent three months in a German Prisoner of War (POW) Camp. In September of that year Anderson escaped from the camp and made his way back to England via Denmark where he was then received by the King of England and decorated. He was the first Canadian to successfully escape from a German POW Camp in World War I. He was later promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel.

Later in the war, Anderson organized a sniping and training school, conducted troops to France, and became a member of the Canadian Syren Force, helping to command the operations of Allied troops for the Murmansk expedition into the Russian Arctic. At the end of his service, Anderson returned to live in Edmonton, Alberta until the 1930s when he retired to Vancouver, British Columbia. He died there in 1945.

Anderson, Terry
Person · 1920-2008

Born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta in 1920, Terry Anderson moved to the Peace River region shortly after the Second World War. He married Joyce Williams (1926-2015) in 1946, and together they had four children: Beverly, Douglas, Ron, and Glenda (Groom). He went into business in High Prairie, Alberta in 1953.

He ran in the 1968 federal election for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the newly-created Athabasca federal electoral district. He owned a plumbing business and had formerly served as president of the High Prairie Chamber of Commerce and Mayor of High Prairie. He placed third in the election.

In 1969, he left High Prairie for a job at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton as an instructor of plumbing and heating. He later moved to Red Deer and, after retiring, moved to Medicine Hat in 2005.

He died in Medicine Hat in 2008.

Anderson, Victoria
Person

Victoria Anderson was born in 1890. In ca. 1898, her family and the family of Mary Barnett (b. 1890) traveled from Manitoba to Alberta in search of homesteads. The Anderson and Barnett families settled in Vermilion and Red Deer areas. In 1906, Victoria and Mary traveled by wagon from Waskasoo, Alberta to Vermilion, Alberta.

Andrews, Gordon S.
Person · 1922-2005

Gordon S. Andrews married Clara (Stainton) (1924-2010) in Edmonton, Alberta in 1958, and they lived there for several years. He died in 2005.

Andrews, Joy
Person

No biographical information available.

Annett, R. Ross
Person · 1895-1988

Ronald Ross Annett was born in Watford, Ontario in 1895. In 1914, he came to Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

During the First World War, he served with the Western Universities Battalion and the Royal Flying Corps. He married Lenore Thomas in 1922 in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. After living in New York for a time, they returned to Alberta where Ross worked as a principal in Consort, Alberta during the 1930s.

He quit teaching in 1938 after the success of his first story, “It’s Gotta Rain Sometime.” His first thirteen stories, originally published between 1938 and 1942, were gathered together in a book titled Especially Babe in 1942. He published over seventy stories in the Saturday Evening Post between 1938 and 1962. The Writer’s Guild of Alberta offers an annual R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature.

R. Ross Annett passed away in Edmonton, Alberta on January 6, 1988.

Ansley, Earl
Person · 1908-1965

Ronald Earl Ansley was born in Killam, Alberta in 1908. He was educated at Killam and Camrose. He worked as a teacher and principal in Blackfalds, Alberta. He married Ethel Roe (1908-2000) of Blackfalds in 1930, and together they had three children, Thelma (1933-1986), Ronald (1937-2006), and Clifford (1940-1948)

He was elected as a Social Credit MLA in 1935 for the Leduc electoral district. He served as Minister of Education (1944-1948) until he resigned from cabinet over policy differences. After claiming that the party no longer adhered to Social Credit philosophies, he was expelled from party caucus in 1952. He subsequently ran as an independent candidate and was re-elected in 1952. He retained his seat until he was defeated in 1963.

After leaving office, he served as the secretary-treasurer of Canmore, having previous served in that position in Calmar. He died in Canmore, Alberta in 1965.

Apikoke, James
Person

James Apikoke was a Siksika Chief. He died in August 1940 at approximately 60 years old.

Arends, Peter
Person

Peter Arends lived in Edmonton, Alberta where he earned degrees in Education and Civil Engineering Technology. He then worked as a draftsman and as an instructor of Architectural Technology at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). He later moved to Ontario and joined the Algonquin College of Arts and Technology.

While living in Edmonton, he researched the history of architecture in Edmonton.

Argue, Lois
Person · 1920-2017

Lois Winnifred Argue was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1920, the daughter of Winnifred and Robert Alan Argue. She attended schools in Rouleau, Corning, and Regina as well as in Edmonton.

She moved to Edmonton in 1941, joining the Royal Canadian Air Force and serving as a Medical Clerk. After her military service, she worked for the University of Alberta, first as a secretary in the Office of the Registrar from 1947 to 1960 and then as a secretary in the Office of the Superintendent of Buildings from 1960 to 1964. She later worked for CFRN FM Radio, University Hospital, Schlumberger of Canada, the Cross Cancer Institute, and the provincial Department of Public Works. She retired in 1985.

She was involved in a variety of community organizations, including the Alberta Fish and Game Association, the Army, Navy and Air Force Association, and the Alberta Writers Federation. She was also the newsletter editor for the Edmonton Treasure Hunters Association.

She died in Edmonton in 2017.

Arliss-Andrews, Dorothy
Person · 1889-1976

Dorothy Nellie Reynolds Hayman was born ca. 1889. She married Eric Osterfield Arliss-Andrews (1892-1917) in England in 1916.

She later moved to Calgary, Alberta where she was working in the Sheriff's Office in the Department of the Attorney General in 1921. She later moved to Edmonton and worked as a stenographer for W.V. Newson, Deputy Treasurer for the Government of Alberta, from 1922 until her resignation in 1925.

She later lived in England and Ontario. She died in Maxville, Ontario in 1976.

Armstrong, Jack
Person · 1917-2003

John Frederick "Jack" Armstrong was born on April 25, 1917 on a farm near Sunnynook, Alberta. In 1924, during a drought, the Government of Alberta moved Jack F. Armstrong's family to a farm near Tail Creek, Alberta. Later, the family rented a farm near Erskine, Alberta. John finished his high school education in Erskine.

In 1941, John joined the Canadian Army, and in June 1941, he arrived in England. During World War II, John served in Italy and North Africa, and fought in Dieppe. He met his wife Peggy Winnifred Bailey (1921-1999) in England, and they married in 1945. In 1945, he and his wife returned to Alberta, and John worked for a garage in Stettler, Alberta as a receiver. He later became a manager of the garage.

In 1997, he wrote his memoirs. He died in Stettler in 2003.

Armstrong, Ralph C.
Person · 1936-2014

Ralph C. Armstrong was born in Ontario in 1936. Ralph grew up in foster care in Ontario but received financial assistance to attend Pickering College, a private boarding school. He later attended the University of Toronto, studying chemical engineering before getting involved in journalism. In 1960, he moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he worked as a copy editor for the Edmonton Journal in Edmonton until his retirement in 2002.

He was married to Olive, and together they had three children: Alexandra, Kim and Peter. He died in Edmonton in 2014.

Arnason, A.
Person

Biographical sketch is unavailable.

Arnold, Katherine
Person · 1897-1990

Katherine (Kate) Bansemer was born May 6, 1897 in River Hebert, Nova Scotia; she was the daughter of Carl Augustus Hugo and Annie Bell (Read) Bansemer. Carl came west in 1896, and was joined by his eldest son Rufus the following year. In 1901, the remaining family joined Carl and Rufus in Frank, North-West Territories. The family's house in Frank was pushed off its foundation by the slide in 1903. The family then moved to the Lundbreck area of what was later Alberta.

Kate later moved to Saskatchewan, where she was joined by her family. In 1919, she married John W. Arnold, who was born in Indian Head, Saskatchewan. They had three children: Chris, Katherine (Buffam) and Rose Marie (Wright, later Dann). The Arnolds moved to Calgary, Alberta in 1943.

John died January 8, 1970. Kate died in Calgary in 1990.

Arthurs, Ronald C.
Person · 1886-1974

Born in Bath, Somerset, England in 1886, Ronald C. Arthurs served in the Devonshire Regiment of the British Army. He came to Edmonton in 1914 but soon enlisted in the 49th Battalion, serving until his discharge in 1919. He was awarded the Military Cross in January 1919.

He then joined the provincial civil service, working as an auditor and accountant. He served as Executive Director of the Veteran's Volunteer Reserve from 1940-1945, for which he received an M.B.E. He served as Deputy Provincial Secretary from 1946 until his retirement in 1950.

He was married to Alice Louisa Arthurs (1886-1936), and together they had three children: Jean (Stewart), Joan (Chowne), and Ronald (d. 1944). He died in Calgary in 1974.