Notes on Archibald Sinclair and Mary Ann Maunder

Sinclair, Archibald and Mary Ann

Archibald Sinclair was born August 16, 1864 on board ship on the way to Canada from Scotland. He married Mary Ann Maunder who was born in 1846. They lived in Lindsay, Ontario until 1889 when they moved to Cavalier, North Dakota.

Archibald and Mary Ann had seven children:

Ella, born in June, 1873, married Albert Littlejohn. They had three children: Myrtle (Woods), Fleda (Marsh), and Ruth (McIlrath)

William John Sr., born July 28, 1874, married Minnie Littlejohn, a widow with one son, Wilfred. They had eight children: Archie, Alma, Joe, Bill, Thelma, Fred, Vera and Dan.

Marietta, born in 1876, married Thomas Stull. They had seven children: Charity, Eva, Leigh, Carl, Percy, Lincoln and Myrtle.

Edward, born in 1878, married Cecile Drummond. They had no family.

Clara, born in 1886, married Sandy Creighton. They had four boys: Orval, Melval, Russell and Ray.

Pearl, born in 1888, never married.

They also had another son, Wesley, who died at an early age.

In 1903, Archibald and his sons, William and Edward, and son-in-law Albert Littlejohns came to this area to take up homesteads. Archibald homesteaded the N.W.1/4 16-5-5. William took up the northeast quarter and Edward the southeast quarter of the same section. The southwest was taken up by Thomas Cameron who had married a sister to Thomas Stull. Albert Littlejohn homsteaded the S.W 1/4 28-5-5, a mile north of William's homestead.

In 1904 the families moved up from Cavalier. For details of the moving up and building of the community, read the Albert Littlejohn history by Myrtle Woods.

The Archibald Sinclair home was a meeting place for everyone. A store and post office (Hillcrest) were set up in their house. The mail was brought once a week from Alameda to Hillcrest for distribution. Later the post office was moved a few miles east to a farm home on the S.W.1/4 25-5-5.

In 1905 the Sinclair School was built and the district was named after one of its first settlers, Archibald Sinclair.

Mary Ann was a good gardner. She knew her herbs and made remedies from natural sources. She used to make up a tonic of Molasses and sulphur for the treatment of colds. She was also a midwife and delivered many babies. An infant granddaughter (Creighton) was buried in her garden. A rose bush was planted at the head of her grave and was the marker for many years.

Archibald and Mary Ann retired and bought a small plot of land just west of Arcola where they lived with their daughter, Pearl, who stayed home to take care of them.

Archibald died March 7, 1928 at the age of eighty. Mary Ann and Pearl bought a house in Arcola. Pearl looked after her mother untill she died in September, 1936 at the age of ninety.
and at last she went to a nursing home. She died in May, 1975.

Pearl continued to live in Arcola until 1957 or 1957 when she moved to Regina. She lived at Pioneer Lodge until a year or so before her death. She spent most of her time with her sister, Clara Creighton
Archibald, Mary Ann and Pearl are buried in the family plot in Arcola cemetery.

"Poet's Corner"
Lampman, Saskatchewan
Page 896 & 897

The LITTLEJOHN/ SINCLAIR Family

In the late 19th Century, many people from eastern Canada and Europe were migrating to the western plains of North Dakota and the Northwest Territories to settle on homestwads of 160 acres and make new homes for themselves and their families.

In 1889, several families from Lindsay, Ontario moved to North Dakota and settled in the Glasston and Hamilton Districts, some twenty-five miles from the Canadian border and south of Winnipeg. Two families whose families intertwined down through the years were the Littlejohn's and the Sinclairs.

Humphrey and Harriett (Metheral) Littlejohn, who had ten sons and three daughters, moved to Glasston and settled there. Two sons later moved back to Canada - Albert and Thornley, who settled in Winnipeg.

Archie and Maryanne (Maunder) Sinclair, who had two sons and four daughters, settled in the Hamilton and later all moved to the Northwest Territories. In 1905, a portion of that territory was being divided into Alberta and Saskatchewan.

During the 1890's several families were married: Thomas Littlejohn married Minnie Budd. They had one son, Ernest Wilfred, who was a year old when his father died. Later his mother married Will Sinclair, eldest son of Archie and Maryanne Sinclair. In 1904 Albert Littlejohn married Ella Sinclair.

In 1903, Archie Sinclair and son Will, and Albert Littlejohn filed on a homestead each in the Northwest Territories, in the district now known as Browning, Saskatchewan.

In April, 1904 Albert Littlejohn, Will Sinclair and Earnest Wilfred Littlejohn loaded a freight car each with only necessities - four or five horses, two or three cows and calves and poultry with enough feed to do for the long journey to their homesteads - the household furniture was packed in, plus a cat and a dog; a corner of the car was reserved for the men. The journey to Winnipeg was slow, with the usual scrutiny of the Gretna Customs and Immigration Officers.

The settlers effects were unloaded at Alameda; the cattle were grouped together and Ernest Wilfred Littlejohn, on horseback, began the long slow trek to the homesteads, approximately thirty miles away. Darkness overcame him near a haystack, and he spent the night in the haystack, with the cattle and horse nearby - a real pioneering experience for a young boy of twelve years. The next day he and the animals arrived at the Archie Sinclair homestead, which was always the center of the community. A few days later the rest of the stock, implements , furniture and supplies arrived.

A week after Albert and Will left on the freight, Ella (Sinclair) Littlejohn, with Myrtle and Fledda; and Minnie ( Budd Littlejohn) with Archie Jr. , Alma and Joe left by train for their new homes via Winnipeg, where they had to wait for a train running a day late because of spring floods - flat lands were lakes and bridges were washed out. The bridge over Moose Creek, between Oxbow and Alameda was gone so they were rerouted by Regina, Moose Jaw, Weyburn, Estevan and finally Alameda. They stayed in a hotel for several days waiting for someone to come and get them. There was no communication of any kind, so no one knew when they would arrive. Finally, Andrew Fornwald arrived in town for supplies. Whenever anyone when to town he stopped and got the mail for all the neighbors. After he had a load of lumber, shingles, groceries and any other conceivable necessity, they loaded on board his wagon also, along with suitcases and bags. They left about one o'clock in the afternoon, on the long tedious journey to their new homes. There was a prairie trail the first few miles. As they proceeded in the spring sunshine, the trail grew fainter, till only a faint wagon track was visible. It was after dark when they arrived at Archie Sinclair's Homestead. They were tired and hungry - a good hot meal and a happy reunion took place.

Many old timers and their works will be remembered down through the generations. May this brief history of the Littlejohn- Sinclair families bring pleasant thoughts and happy memories.

"Poet's Corner"
Lampman, Saskatchewan
Page 727

1900 Census - View Census
Name: Arch?? Sinclair
Home in 1900: Hamilton, Pembina, North Dakota
Age: 49
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1851
BirthPlace: Canada English
Relationship to head-of-house: Head
Spouses's Name: Mary A
Race: White
Immigration year: 1892

Name: Mary A Sinclair
Home in 1900: Hamilton, Pembina, North Dakota
Age: 52
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1848
BirthPlace: Canada
Relationship to head-of-house: Wife
Spouses's Name: Arch??
Race: White
Immigration year: 1892

Saskatchewan Homestead Index
File Number 759755
Name Sinclair, Archibald
Part NW
Section 16
Township 5
Range 5
Meridian W2

1906 Saskatchewan Census - View Census
Name: Archie Sinclair
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Age: 57
BirthPlace: Ontario
Family Number: 115
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouses's Name: Mariana
Province: Saskatchewan
Sub-District Description: Townships 4, 5, 6 In Ranges 4, 5, 6 West of The 2nd M
Sub-District: 9
Page: 13

Name: Mariana Sinclair
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Married
Age: 57
BirthPlace: Ontario
Family Number: 115
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Spouses's Name: Archie
Province: Saskatchewan
Sub-District Description: Townships 4, 5, 6 In Ranges 4, 5, 6 West of The 2nd M
Sub-District: 9
Page: 13

Census of Canada, 1911 View Census
Name: Archibald Sinclair
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Age: 65
Birth Date: August 1847
BirthPlace: Ontario
Family Number: 49
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouses's Name: Maryann
Tribal: Scotch
Province: Saskatchewan
District: Assiniboia
District Number: 207
Sub-District Number: 13
Census Year: 1911
Page: 4

Name: Maryann Sinclair
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Married
Age: 65
Birth Date: July 1847
BirthPlace: Ontario
Family Number: 49
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Spouses's Name: Archibald
Tribal: English
Province: Saskatchewan
District: Assiniboia
District Number: 207
Sub-District Number: 13
Census Year: 1911
Page: 4
ArchieAndMaryAnneSinclair
Golden Wedding Anniversary
December 25 - 1920
Taken at Albert and Ella Littlejohn home - Arcola, Sask
I.D.'d by Ruth (Littlejohn) McIlrath


Dec. 25, 1920
Golden Wedding Anniversary of
Archie and Mary Ann (Maunder) Sinclair
At the home of Albert and Ella (Sinclair) Littlejohn, Arcola, Sask.

Front Row Fledda (Littlejohn) Marsh, Orval Creighton, Melval Creighton, Russel Creighton - little guy, Ruth Littlejohn, Lincoln Sutll, Percy Stull
Second Row Clara (Sinclair) Creighton, Carl Stull, Pearl Sinclair, Archie & Mary Anne Sinclair, John Maunder (Mary Anne's brother), Mairetta (Sinclair) Stull, Ed Sinclair, Ella (Sinclair) Littlejohn, Cecile (Drummond) Sinclair wife of Ed Sinclair
BackRow Eva (Stull) Nelson, Charity (Stull) Robertson, Albert Littlejohn, Sandy (E.A.) Creighton, Tom Stull holding Myrtle (Stull) Edwards - 3 years old, Jim Nelson, Haezal Wood, Harison Creighton, Leigh Stull
In Doorway Myrtle (Littlejohn) Wood holding Fern (Wood) Irwin 1 year old
ID made by Myrtle (Littlejohn) Wood

Archie & Mary Anne Sinclair Golden Wedding Anniversary Dec. 25, 1920
Taken at Ab and Ella Littlejohn home on farm at Arcola, Sask.
This is the Sinclair Family
Archie and Maryanne Sinclair (Center)
Girls from Left to Right
Ella Littlejohn, Mary Etta Stull, Clara Creighton, Pearl Sinclair
Uncle Edward beside Grandpa
Not present - William Sinclair
I.D. Ruth (Littlejohn) McIlrath Vancouver BC date unknown
Probably taken on the occasion of 50th Anniversary of their marriage Dec 25/ 1920 at Albert Littlejohn Hime


Back of photo says:
Grandpa Archie Sinclair
Arcola Sask

Thanks to Fern for the above photos.

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