The Phillip Willems Family 1904-1906

Frank, age 20, the oldest of Phillip and Katherine's offspring still living at home, had met a young woman named Mary Louise Ehrlenspiel who was 22 years old.  Born in Baden, Germany on November 17, 1881, Mary Louise had immigrated to the US in 1885 with her parents Richard and Hortensia Schuler Ehrlenspiel. The family settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan where the family grew with the addition of four more children.  Grand Rapids was known for it's furniture factories,  so Mary Louise's father Richard Ehrlenspiel, a German craftsman, found a job in the furniture industry as a veneerer before relocating the family to the Fort Smith, Arkansas area. Frank Willems and Mary Louise Ehrlenspiel were married on January 26, 1904, at Sacred Heart Church in Charleston, Arkansas.

The newlyweds stayed in the area until at least early autumn when their daughter Emma was born, but by March of the next year they were living in Winfield, Kansas as proven by the 1905 Kansas Census.  Frank's occupation was listed as "Teaming" in this census that was begun on March 1, 1905.  Mary Louise was housekeeping.  Young Emma was listed as being 5 months old putting her birthday sometime from September 2nd to October 1st if the enumeration is correct.  It incorrectly lists Frank and Mary Louise to both be 22 years old.

Phillip Willems bought 160 acres of land December 23, 1902 for $1300 and turned around and sold two 40 acre parcels the following February for a total of $775.  Then on January 2nd of 1905 Phillip and Katherine sold approximately 246 acres for a total of $3600 in installments.  He still owned land in the Charleston area and but was trying to sell at least some of it.  Certainly some of it was farmed in cotton, the main crop in the area.  There was always a need for pasture for livestock, and the women of the house would have tended a kitchen garden in addition to their household duties.  Most families planted fruit trees or other fruit bearing plants and family lore suggests Phillip Willems did as well.

1905 was an exciting year for the family.  They had word from a far off place called Annaheim, Saskatchewan of land that could be yours for a $10 registration fee paid to the Dominion Government. This would entitle the family or individual to a 160 acre parcel of land.  As a bonus, Annaheim, German for "Anna's Home", had a Catholic church called St. Anne's, established by a Benedictine priest two years before their arrival.  Though it was sparsely settled, there was the promise of adventure in a new beginning.  The abundant game and fish were certainly an attraction to the young men, and while $10 seemed incredibly cheap for that amount of land, the government, who extended the offer in hopes of populating Western Canada with hard working people willing to cultivate the land had stipulations to the grant.  Following is the requirements of the 1886 Land Act which was in effect at the time Phillip Willems and family began homesteading:

The settler must commence cultivation of his/her homestead withing six months of date of entry or, if entry was obtained on or after the first day of September in any year, before the first day of June following.

Within the first year after entry, the settler must break and prepare for crop no less that 5 acres.

Within the second year, the settler must crop the initial 5 acres, and break and prepare for crop no less than 10 additional acres.

The settler must build a habitable house before end of second year and at the beginning of the third year must commence residence on homestead.

The settler must give six months notice in writing to the Commissioner of Dominion Lands of his/her intention to make application for patent.

Eligibility requirements changed over the years.  At the time the Willems family filed their claims, called entry in Canada, men could file for a homestead at any age if they headed a family.  Single men of 18 or older were also eligible. Only women who were the sole head of family were allowed to file for a homestead.

Millions of immigrants flocked to Canada to file patents.  Those from our Willems family were: Phillip Willems, Frank Xaver Willems, and Aloysius Joseph Willems.  Anytime following three full years after entry, the claim was granted.  
Below is the date the grant was  received,  the land description, and applicant's name.

24-Sep-1910 NE 34-38-21-2 Frank X. Willems
17-Sep-1909 NW 34-38-21-2 Aloysius John Willems
14-Jul-1908 SE 34-38-21-2 Philipp Willems


So using the earliest date, we can see that the Willems family would have arrived in Canada in Spring or early summer of 1905 to file entry on the land they would farm.  According to family lore Phillip, Katherine, and family, with the exception of eldest son John Martin Willems, packed up what household goods they would need in crates, barrels, and trunks. These, plus their livestock, and farm machinery, were loaded into a railroad boxcar in Charleston, Arkansas that several days later arrived in Rosthern,  a town in Saskatchewan midway between Saskatoon and Prince Albert.  Phillip chose his claim and filed for it- a parcel of 160 acres about four miles west of the tiny village of Annaheim.  Alois, just 17 years old when they arrived, filed an adjacent claim to his papa and older brother Frank the following year.

The land had never been plowed and turning it would have been arduous work done with a team of horses or possibly oxen.  The typical crops were wheat, oats, barley and the like, though other crops were planted as well.  While farming only a few acres using horses and oxen, homesteaders were subsistence farmers.  Once they had a tractor they tended to farm cash crops in addition to or in some cases instead of what crops they needed to live.  Land on the Canadian prairie was flatter with fewer trees than the Willems family was accustomed to.  To read more about homesteading in Saskatchewan go to http://www.saskarchives.com/collections/land-records/history-and-background-administration-land-saskatchewan/homesteading .

Willems claims are on the upper left of the page-click to enlarge

The Willems family had been residents of Canada for about a year when the 1906 Canadian Census was enumerated.  No record of Frank and Mary Louise Willems in this census.  A look at the border crossing document when they returned to the USA reveals the possibility they first settled in Canada in 1907.  
Phillip, Katherine and family were listed as follows:
Philipp, age 47, born- Germany, yr. of immigration to Canada 1905, PO address- Annaheim
Catherine,   54, born- Germany, yr. of immigration to Canada 1905, PO address- Annaheim
Joseph, son,  age 19, born- USA, yr. of immigration to Canada 1905, PO address- Annaheim
Aloyius,son,  age 18, born- USA, yr. of immigration to Canada 1905, PO address- Annaheim
Mary, daughter,  16,  born- USA, yr. of immigration to Canada 1905, PO address- Annaheim
Catherine, daughter, age 14,born- USA, yr. of imm. to Canada 1905,  PO address- Annaheim
Living with the family were:Katie Niesen, a servant, age 19, USA, who immigrated in 1906
and a single male lodger Frank Prodal,  22 from the USA, who came to Canada in 1905.
This census also counted livestock. According to the census the Willems family had 6 horses, 2 milk cows, 6 other horned cattle, and two hogs.

Not long after arriving in Annaheim, young Anna Willems caught the eye of a bachelor originally from Millerville, Minnesota who had immigrated in 1903 with his parents to the Lake Lenore area.  His name was Michael Hoffman.  He was 25, and she 20 when they married in 1906 in the Catholic Church.  The 1906 census enumerated them on their farm in the Lake Lenore area near his parents and siblings claims.  Their farm was Section 14-Township 40-Range 21- Meridian w2.  It noted that Michael and Anne Hoffman had 3 horses and a milk cow.  

Coincidentally--or maybe not, Frank Willems mother-in-law's maiden name was Schuler.
Were there members of Mary Louise's family in Annaheim?
The Schuler School was approximately 3 miles NNE of the Willems farms.

Phillip was visiting family in Arkansas the winter of 1906/07.  He took care of business, too, as he bought more land in the vicinity of Charleston.  It soon became Phillip and Katherine's habit to spend the summers in Canada and winters further south with family.