Henk Wieringa, his brother Theo Wieringa, and sister Jet Slagter-Wierenga were residents of the town of Bloemendaal, North Holland, Netherlands. In 1995 they contributed illustrations and articles to publications celebrating the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the town from the German occupation.
Jared Cecil Wilkinson was born in Richfield, Utah on July 30, 1886. Lura Thompson was born in Amery, Wisconsin on July 4, 1882. The two met in Washington state where J.C. was working with horse teams and they were married in the town of Redmond in 1909. In 1914 they moved to Peace River Crossing where there first son, William Jared, was born on November 13, 1914. Shortly thereafter the family decided to move back to Washington and settled in the Wenatchee Valley. Their daughter Ethel Lougene was born on March 17, 1917. Lura Thompson's brother Bill had come to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. He worked for a short time as a pilot on the Yukon River, guiding boats through Miles Canyon and the Whitehorse Rapids. After that he moved to Fort Selkirk and began prospecting and mining on the nearby Selwyn River. Bill Thompson invited the Wilkinsons to join him and they arrived in Fort Selkirk in 1917. Not finding much gold on the Selwyn River, the family settled at Fort Selkirk where J.C. trapped in the Winter and did odd jobs during the Summer. The Wilkinsons' second son, Byron Edwin (Eddie), was born in Fort Selkirk on March 19, 1919. In 1927, the family moved to Plateau Mountain near the MacMillan River, just below Russell Creek, where Jared continued to be a trapper. On June 14, 1940, the family left the MacMillan River for the Pelly Farm, located six miles west of Fort Selkirk along the Pelly River. There, they pursued a life of trapping, hunting, farming, and guiding until 1954 when they sold the farm and moved to Pelly Crossing, where they lived at the site of the old Pelly Roadhouse. In 1956 Ethel met Andy Porterfield, whom she was to marry a few years later. In 1957 Jared ran boats for the topographical survey crews. In 1958 the family left the Yukon to live in Edgewood, British Columbia. From 1962-1964 Jared worked as a logger and farm hand in B.C. In 1964 Jared and Eddie returned to the Yukon and to the Pelly Crossing area where they farmed, hunted, and trapped. J.C. and Lura returned to the Yukon in 1967 and settled with their sons near Pelly Crossing. Ethel remained in B.C. for the rest of her life, only returning to the Yukon for a holiday. Lura died in 1970 and J.C. died around 1976. In 1976 Jared and Edwin moved to Lansing, an abandoned settlement near the confluence of the Stewart and MacMillan Rivers. Edwin was killed by a bear at Lansing in 1977, Jared died in a car accident in Whitehorse in 1980, and Ethel died in B.C. in 1985.
Jesse Wilkinson, an industrial blacksmith by trade, immigrated from England and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the 1900s. He worked in the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) shops in Winnipeg, where he invented a more efficient furnace for blacksmithing, the Wilmow Oil Burner. His son Gordon Wilkinson, 1905-1973, worked as a machinist in the railway industry in Winnipeg and Vancouver, eventually becoming an organizer for the International Association of Machinists and an executive of the Canadian Labour Congress. Gordon's son Barry Wilkinson worked as a technician for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and was an active member of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET).
Norman Willans, 1870-1950, was born at Rochdale, Lancashire, England. He came to Canada at the age of 16 and attended the Ontario College of Agriculture at Guelph, Ontario, graduating in 1888. Two years later he came to the Calgary district of Alberta and worked for De Vere Hunt and the Wilkins family before homesteading near Millarville in 1891. Willans called his ranch the Anchordown. In 1898 he married Alice Maud Deane-Freeman, 1879-1950, and they had four children: Norman Trevor, 1899-?, Maude Dorothy Deane (Smith), 1900-?, Thomas Reginald Freeman, 1909-1909, and Elizabeth Daphne (Whiteford later Longstaff), 1920-2006. The Willans moved to Calgary in 1901 and in 1910 Norman took over management of the Bow Valley Ranch (Farm) for Pat Burns. In 1918 the Willans moved to Priddis, in 1926 to Calgary and back to Millarville in 1932. For further information see Sheilagh S. Jameson's article, "Mr. and Mrs. Norman Willans, Pioneers" in Canadian Cattleman, December 1948.
The William C. Marshall family were long time residents of Edmonton, Alberta. William C. Marshall was born in Belfast, Ireland and attended the University of Edinburgh. He moved to Edmonton, Alberta in 1905 and joined the firm of Killen and Gilbert, real estate and insurance brokers shortly after he arrived. He later formed the lumber firm Balfour, McClennan and Marshall. He was also part-owner of the Western Land Company. William C. Marshall and his wife Katherine had a daughter, Louise and a son, Sam. They were members of Robertson United Church in Edmonton. William was also a member of the Odd Fellows Club and a past secretary of the Associated Canadian Travellers. William C. Marshall died October 30, 1957. At his death he was survived by his wife Katherine, his daughter Louise Marshall and four grandchildren.
The Williams family were long-time residents of Banff, Alberta, Canada. Percy A. Williams, d.1955, came to Bankhead, Alberta in 1913. He later moved to Banff, where he operated a painting and decorating business with his son Nelson. Percy and Elizabeth Williams, 1883-1959, had six children. Nelson "Nellie" Williams, 1908-1963, and Jean Williams, d.1963, had one son, Roger.
Thomas Willows was born in Lincolnshire, England, on July 28, 1843, and Helen Willows (nee Farris) born July 24, 1841, in London, were married September 25, 1865, at Pond Mills, Ontario, and came from Nebraska around 1892-93 to settle seven miles southwest of Wetaskiwin. They also purchased some property on Thusis Street (now 45th Avenue). Mr. Willows continued in his trade as a miller. Mrs. Willows was involved in the church and the community, often taking on the role of nurse and midwife since the doctors of the early days had a large area to cover and were not always available. The Willows had three children, Jeanette Murray (Mrs. Dodson), James Ferris and John Razon. As well, they adopted an orphan girl named Anna and when Mr. Willows' sister died, raised her twin boys, Virgil and Leslie Williams. Thomas Willows died in 1926.
