pg 646 More Big Hill Country 2009
John Phipps was born in Seagrave, Leicestershire, England, in 1852. His wife, Agnes Mary Wilson, had been raised by her aunt and uncle, who lived next door to the Phipps family in England. John and Agnes Mary had six children: Herbert, who died in infancy, George, Evelyn, Laura, and Burnard.
Emma their youngest daughter, was born in J 882 after her father had left for Canada and he was not to see her until she was six years old. Their youngest son Burnard died of complications following measles in 1884 and was buried at Selby without his father being present.
John by profession was a licensed victualler, supplying provisions for taverns and inns. As times were hard in England he decided to immigrate to Canada as advertisements were describing it as the land of opportunity. He arrived in western Canada in 1882 and worked for Sir John Lister-Kaye around the Fort Macleod area. He rode the range with John Ware, who in later years spent a winter with the Phipps family at their ranch north of Cochrane.
After a few years in the dry country around Fort Macleod John decided to ride north until he found a place for sale with good water. He came to the Horse Creek district north of Cochrane and bought the SE Sec 18 Twp 27 Rge 4 W5M. from Mr. Thompson. According to Land Titles John Phipps was the first owner to receive title to this land which he was granted in 1893. He then homesteaded the adjoining NE quarter of land for which he received his grant in 1911. He built a log shack with a sod roof.
John worked out for a few years for the Canadian Pacific Railway on the “tote road” ahead of the gang laying the tracks around Golden, British Columbia. This earned him money to pay for the passage of his wife and family from England. As the Canadian Pacific Railway would not sell food to anyone who was quitting, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Towers hid them in their woodshed, fed them and provided them some food to take along on their way.
Agnes Mary Phipps and her children joined her husband after a long tedious journey by boat and then by train across this vast country. George was nearly 12, Evelyn was 10, Laura was 9 and Emma was 6. Having seen many whiskered men during her long journey on the train, wearing rough pants, woolen plaid shirts and heavy boots, Agnes Mary remarked to her children how roughly dressed these Canadians were. She was surprised when she was greeted at the Cochrane railway station in 1889, by an eager husband with out stretched arms, dressed in this traditional pioneer garb. As he hugged each child in turn, he immediately nicknamed Emma, the daughter he had never seen ‘Vicky” in honour of Queen Victoria.
The Phipps family stayed with Jim and Gertrude Raydon for a short time until improvements could be made to their home. The house was enlarged to seven rooms and from John’s experience living on the prairies he had made it warm and cozy.
In 1890, Dora Phipps was born and 15 months later Vincent arrived to complete their family. The older girls finished their school at Mitford and Agnes Mary fretted that her two youngest children were not getting the good education that the older children got in England so land was purchased in Cochrane and a two-room log house was built. There she, Dora and Vincent lived during the school terms until their education was completed. The little house stood on the block where the old locker plant was.
The Phipps family worked hard, parents and children and built up a successful farm.
There were not many neighbours around in the early days. After the Raydens left, the Barnes family lived on their place, followed by the Tattersfields and then the Whittles came and were good neighbours for many years.
Life was often lonely but people made their own amusement. George Phipps had a guitar, Vicky and Dora took piano lessons from Miss Meridith in Cochrane and later Vicky bought an organ. Dora had a mandolin and there was always a mouth organ waiting to be played.
John Phipps passed away in the mid 1930’s and Agnes Mary spent the summers with the Hindes and the winters with another daughter Laura Perrenoud until 1940. Later, as she was becoming more frail, her daughter Laura cared for her until her death at the age of 93. Both John and Agnes Mary are buried in the Cochrane Cemetery.
