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In 1883, Abram Adsit arrived from Michigan as Manager of Louis Sands Sawmill near Elkwater Lake. Upon expiration of his contract with Sands in 1884, Adsit toured the United States as far south as the Gulf of Mexico evaluating the country for ranching. In 1885, he obtained a homestead in the Cypress Hills area. Accompanying Abram west to his new homestead were his wife Mary (nee Dietz), whom he had married in 1854, and two of their sons, William Nelson "Nels" and George Earl (additional children were added to the family at a later date). Upon Abram's death in 1891, at 57 years of age, his sons continued to operate the ranch. The oldest son "Nels", was born in Traverse City, Michigan. In the late 1880's he secured land north of Elkwater Lake and also made arrangements to secure the sawmill in 1889. In late 1892, he dismantled the mill and shipped it east because the timber in this area was too thin. In 1892, he opened one of the first butcher shops in Medicine Hat. He sold his ranch in 1898, and became Secretary-Treasurer and Clerk of the newly incorporated town of Medicine Hat, serving for 13 years. He died in 1913. His widow Mattie, moved to California. Nels and Mattie had a family of four. Their eldest son Charles Abram, was also born in Traverse City, and later moved to Los Angeles. Their second son Thomas Nelson, farmed near Medicine Hat where he died in 1923. He married Pearl Hutchings in 1914. Their two children were born in Medicine Hat: William Nelson (1915), and Dorothy Agnes (1916). Nels and Matties' third son Walter Ray, was born in 1887, in Medicine Hat and remained single. He enlisted during World War I and was killed in France. A daughter Alice, was a employed as a Clerk at the Brand Office in Medicine Hat. She married Mr. Snowdon. The second son of Abram and Mary Adsit, George Earl, was born in 1870, in Traverse City. Earl apparently spent most of his time near his homestead just east of Elkwater Lake. He spent a few winters hunting and trapping north of the Red Deer River with Charles Lennox. In 1896, Earl sold his land to Jimmy Crooks of Gros Ventre Creek. Earl took part in quest for "gold and glory" during the Klondike gold rush, and spent the rest of his life in the Yukon and British Columbia. In 1905, he married Da-Col, daughter of Ka-Gota and Lath-Ga of Tahl-Ton. She was of the Wolf clan of Cassiar, B.C.. They had five children. Earl died in Vancouver in 1944. A grandson, Bill Adsit, presently lives in Edmonton.

Sherman Porter Albertson was born October 24, 1887, in Rainstown, Indiana. At an early age, he moved with his family to Rolla, North Dakota, where he received his education. In 1907, Sherman immigrated to Canada and settled at Grassy Lake. After filing for a homestead southwest of the town, he did odd jobs, one of which was draying. He moved to Foremost in 1913, and in 1914, he married Edith May (nee Arnold) and they had two sons: Stanley Arnold and Everett Grey. Edith passed away in 1935. In 1937, Sherman remarried Helen (nee Murray) and they had two children: William and Marjorie. Sherman became a member of the Grassy Lake Lodge of Masons in 1912, and received his 50 year life membership from the Foremost Lodge. Sherman and Helen retired to Lethbridge in 1954. Sherman Porter Albertson passed away in June 1968.

Ruth Daw (nee Hulland) was raised on the British Block prior to expropriation in 1941. Having a keen interest in local history, Ruth naturally became interested in the history of the British Block, and with capturing its people, sense of place and time. The 1960s and 1970s saw the creation of numerous community history books. These projects were undertaken in reaction to an ongoing loss of living memory of pioneer life, due to an aging population. Ruth was likely inspired by these undertakings and sought to compile the history of the British Block herself. She began compiling material and contacting the relocated British Block settlers, as early as 1967. Her project would span decades, resulting in the amassed material within this fonds. Ruth's intention was to create a community history book, a feat normally taken on by numerous members of a society. While, many notes, partial rough drafts and chapters can be found within her research materials, Ruth never completed a full and finished book. Regardless, her ultimate goal of capturing and preserving the people and character of the British Block was met when she donated all of her material to the Esplanade Archives.

Ruth Daw (nee Hulland) was the daughter of John Cuthbert Hulland and Helen "Nellie" Brown Hulland (nee Sneddon). John was born around 1894 in Egginton, Derbyshire, England to parents Thomas John Hulland and Elizabeth Hulland (nee Bath). John had three siblings, Sarah, Ronald and Thomas. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1913, at the age of 22. He was a farmer and a rancher. He settled around Bingville, Alberta and married Nellie Sneddon on July 8, 1928 in Redcliff. This was the last of the "old time" style settler weddings for the British Block area.

Helen Sneddon, better known as Nellie, was born March 17, 1905 in Kirkliston, West Lothian, Scotland, to parents Thomas Sneddon and Marion Sneddon (nee Meikle). Nellie immigrated to Taber, Canada with her family in 1906. She had three sisters, Elizabeth, Georgina, Margaret, and one brother, Charles. She was a teacher in the East Springs school district.

Nellie and John Hulland had six children together, namely: Esther, Marion, Nellie, John, Ruth, and Thomas Jr. The children were raised on the British Block around the Bingville District. The family left the area after expropriation of the land in 1941 by the Federal Government for military use. John and Nellie resettled in Medicine Hat, where they resided until John died on October 26th, 1954. After John's death, Nellie married Otto Berrnardus Butterman on June 16, 1956. The couple lived in Calgary until Nellie's death on August 3, 1985. Both John and Nellie are burried in Medicine Hat. Otto, born March 24, 1898 in the Netherlands, died March 1988 in Kimberly, British Columbia.

Born around 1929, Ruth Hulland married Clifford Daw of Lethbridge on July 4th, 1953. Both Ruth and Clifford had attended the Unviersity of Alberta. Clifford's parents were Charles and Gertrude Daw. He was born in Calgary and attended North Hill Schools until the age of 18, when he quit and joined the Navy. Subsequent to his university training, Cliff spent the remainder of his career as a physics teacher for Winston Churchill High School in Lethbridge. Cliff and Ruth had three daughters, Carolyn, Evelyn, and Lorraine. Clifford died on April 11, 1997, at the age of 72.

Arthur Ion was born in England in 1867. He came to Canada as a young man, as a stowaway on a sailboat. He was soon discovered, and was put to work scrubbing floors and packing water for the Captain of the ship. Once on land, he eventually found employment in Quebec on a dairy farm. In 1900, he was married to Emma Booth, and the couple had two children; Albert and Mary. His wife Emma, died early in the young family's life, and Arthur suffered a devestating head injury at a neighbours barn raising at Barwick, Ontario, when a beam fell and fractured his skull. The notable Dr. Bethune of Emil, Ontario, performed a life-saving operation, but as a result of the injury, Arthur experienced severe headaches for the remainder of his life. On July 6th, 1904, Arthur married Mary Ion, a trained RN at Barwick. The couple had two children: William and Dorothy. The Ion's operated a hardware store there before eventually coming west in 1909. After a brief farming venture at Marquis, SK., they eventually settled on a homestead in the British Block near the Carlstadt (Alderson) area north of Medicine Hat. Arthur and Mary Ion kept letters and diaries of their homesteading experience, recording daily chores, family events, crop results and prices, weather etc., a practice Arthur Ion faithfully recorded until he passed away on November 6, 1944.

George Warren Pingle was born in 1885. His wife, Violet Mamie, was born in 1893. The date they married is unknown. They had two children, Bubs and Mary. George was an active member in the Cypress Club (ca. 1912), and was involved in curling. Violet passed away in 1966; George in 1972.

Fred Pitts was born in South Wales in 1920. He served in the RAF from 1940 -- 1946. While in basic training at # 34 SFTS, Fred met Ruby and they were married and made their home in Medicine Hat. They had a daughter, Janet, who was later married to Michael Jarvis. Fred worked at Beny Motors for many years, and also at Bill Thompson's. Mr.Pitts was actively involved in the community as a member of the SFTS Association, the Memorial Branch #17 of the Legion, Past Master of the Masonic Lodge #35 and Past President of the Medicine Hat Shrine Club. He was also a member of the Shrine Band. Fred enjoyed curling, golf and fishing and spent many hours with his friends , including cruises and golf trips. Fred passed away on May 3, 1999.

George Pollock was born in La Chute, Quebec in 1859, the son of Robert and Martha Pollock. He had six brothers, Jerry, Thomas, William, Robert, John, and Simon, two sisters Mary Jane and Nancy. Their parents died while the children were still young. In 1873, Mary Jane (age 19) and George (age 14) came west to live with their eldest brother, William, on a ranch 20 miles west of Austin, Nevada. Arriving in Austin, they spent the next ten years in and around there and Winnemucca. With a desire to move on, the Pollock brothers, Bill, George and Bob, trailed up through Salt Lake City, up to Helena, to Fort Benton and into the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories near Maple Creek. In 1885 or 1886, George and Bob took up homesteads in that area. James Warnock from Ireland was engaged in the railway business. Having established himself, he sent for his widowed mother, his sisters, Margaret, Rachel and Sarah and brothers, Matthew and John. Rachel Warnock became the bride of George Pollock on January 24th, 1893. A family of twelve was born: Jennie, George, William, Louise, Rachel, John, Charlie, Myrtle, Reta, Howard, Eveline and Ruth who died in infancy. George Pollock died in 1927; his wife, Rachel, passed away in 1948.