It is very interesting to know what was going on in the North West Territories, especially in the years just before settlement of the Yorkton area in 1882. There were more men from Eastern Canada than we think who were roaming these parts. One occupation that grew from the fur trade was that of the freighter. These men were usually working for the Hudson’s Bay Company, but also other independent businessmen, especially after the founding of Manitoba as a province in 1870.One of these freighters was an early resident of Yorkton — William S. de Balinhard.
William was born in Eastern Canada in 1866.He came west at an early age and had passed through the area to be known as Yorkton before its founding. He had colourful work experiences, such as working as a horse trainer with the Buffalo Bill Circus — the year or years are unknown. He was obviously employed by the Hudsons’ Bay Company when he did freighting between Fort Pelly and Fort Ellice in Manitoba. Each trip took four days of travel with oxen and one day to rest. It was not much faster with horses, because they needed more rest breaks than oxen. His accommodation consisted of a bed roll under the wagon. For that work he received three cents per pound of freight goods In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Mr. de Balinhard was a cowboy and wrangler. He herded cattle from Texas to the Canadian North West, in what became Alberta. He worked on ranches there and in the Buchanan and Punnichy area.He finally settled down in Yorkton in 1896. He married Maude McFarline at her parental home at 44 Gladstone Avenue North. (The house still stands today.) Until he retired, Mr. de Balinhard worked for the Town/City of Yorkton doing transporting work, the occupation terminology of the day was “teamster.” William and Maude de Balinhard belonged to the Holy Trinity Anglican Church. They are both interred in the Yorkton cemetery.
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]
