The Peter and Duncan Henderson Outfit
- Details
- Published on Sunday, November 26, 2017
Submitted Photo
(Left to right) Peter and Duncan Henderson with a Cornell portable steam engine and a Wide Awake Separator
Submitted
Manitoba Agricultural Museum
Peter Henderson was born near Carleton Place, Ontario in 1860 into a large family. His brother, Duncan, was born in 1863. Mr. Henderson Senior died in 1874. Peter went to work in a woolen mill near the Henderson Farm.
Duncan also went to work, first on a farm, then road building and then spent seven years in the woolen mill. An older brother also worked in the woolen mill, but died in an industrial accident in the mill.
Peter decided that the woolen mill was not for him and went west in 1881 with two other men, W. H. Latimer and James Rae. From Emerson, they travelled out to the Boissevain area by foot, spending one night at the farm of William Story in the Darlingford area. That night Mrs. Story gave birth to a baby girl who, 21 years later, would become Peter Henderson’s second wife! Next morning, the three men continued west on foot to the Boissevain area. Peter Henderson homesteaded the E 1/2 of 34-3-20 and James Rae took the W 1/2, registering their claims on Oct. 29, 1881 at Old Deloraine which involved yet another journey by foot. Peter then walked to Brandon and took a job as a carpenter with the CPR for the winter. In March 1882, Duncan Henderson took train from Ontario to Brandon and joined his brother. Duncan Henderson then walked to Old Deloraine and registered a homestead claim. Peter, Duncan, James Rae and W.H. Latimer then traveled south to the Turtle Mountains where they cut trees and skidded them to Rae’s homestead where they constructed a shanty to live in while they broke their homesteads.
Peter and Duncan’s first few crops were not large in acres. Their homesteads were broken by yokes of oxen which, while hardy beasts, were rather slow. The seed had to be broadcast by hand out of a container carried by a strap around the neck and shoulders and then harrowed in or plowed in. When this crop was harvested the nearest market was Brandon and the crop was delivered there by oxen. Traveling to Brandon meant a round trip of from 100 to 140 miles, depending on which trail the Henderson Brothers took. And all perhaps for 20 Cents a bushel!
Duncan left a brief record of the crops on his homestead which tells of the struggles the Henderson Brothers faced homesteading in the 1880s:
l883-Nine acres frozen.
1884-Frozen, drew to Brandon, 20c per bushel.
l885-Frozen, sold entire crop l8c per bushel.
l886-Dried out.
l887-Very fair, but low in price, around 20c.
l888-Frozen August 8. Never cut a sheaf.
l889-Dry. Very scant crop.
l890-Hailed 100 per cent. No insurance.
1891-Fair to good. Some frosted.
1892-Fair to good.
Duncan did relate that in those days, one always had the comforting thought that as a last resort one could at least eat the oxen. He also related that his first real crop was in 1895. His wheat averaged forty bushels per acre and sold for from 35c to 40c per bushel. This crop finally placed Duncan on a solid basis for the future.
Duncan and Peter owned one of the first stream threshing outfits, a Cornell portable steam engine and a Wide Awake Separator, in the Boissevain area. They custom threshed as far as 25 miles away from their homesteads in a threshing run that lasted 3 months. Apparently the brothers had the reputation of being the fastest “feeders” in the area.
Prof. J.E. Sweet of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY developed the Cornell portable steam engine design. He licensed the manufacture of the design to Haggard Brothers of Brampton, Ontario. Haggard manufactured the design until 1891 when the company ceased operations. The company was then acquired by the Ross family and manufacture resumed. J.M. Ross and Company manufactured the Cornell in both portable and traction versions and in a variety of sizes: 14,16, 18, 20 and 22 horsepower. J.M. Ross and Company later moved operations to St. Catherines, Ontario and while there obtained the rights to manufacture a Garr-Scott threshing machine design. However the company ceased operations some time after that and disappeared.
There is suggestion that a Cornell portable steam engine design was licensed to the Brandon Machine Works and manufactured there for some period of time around 1900 to 1910.
Haggard Brothers also manufactured the Wide Awake Separator. Little is known of this separator as none have appeared to have survived.
The Manitoba Agricultural Museum is open year round and operates a website at http://ag-museum.mb.ca/ which can provide visitors with information on Museum and the Reunion including location and hours of operation.
