On a Virtual Walk - Visiting the Old Homestead

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 39 (MAP IT OUT)


I sent away for the homestead grant information for my great grandfather, Alexander Pellack. When the envelope arrived from the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan I was very excited to see what had been sent.


My grandfather claimed to have been born in San Francisco. He was born in Gronlid, Saskatchewan, Canada. A small town in the northern part of Sasksatchewan. His parents arrived from Ukraine (part of the Austrian Empire at the time) in 1909 with their three oldest children. My grandfather was the first born in Canada. He was born on the homestead that would eventually be the family farm. I can find no records of grandpa's birth being registered. His younger brother registered his own birth as an adult. Having never been registered it would have been easy for Grandpa to choose a new name for himself as he did.

I had previously found these two maps and record at the Library & Archives website.. 

Name:

• Alexr Pelyck

Part:

SW

Section:

1

Township:

48

Range:

17

Meridian:

W2

Folio:

38

Liber:

633

Microfilm Reel Number:

C-6439

Item Number:

87918

I opened the envelope to find a Cummins map noting the homestead plots with the associated name. This is a very small piece of the 4 page map.

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Cummins Map

Also included was all of the pages of the complete Homestead Grant file. I noticed that my great grandfather did not sign the document. His mark was recorded. I now understood how the name Pellack ended up spelled in so many different ways: Pellack, Pelyck, Pelack, Pelec, Pelyk, 

His mark, Alexander Pelyck (Pellack) 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

I loved seeing the farm grow

Pellack Family Farm is growing 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

On October 9th 1914 my great grandparents became landowners having met all the requirements of the homesteading terms.

Pellack Family Homestead 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

I tried to use Google Maps for a street view of the farm my grandfather had grown up on, but was not successful.   


I took a look to see where I might be staying if my virtual visit was real.

I then went looking for the church my grandfather attended as a child. The Ukrainian Catholic parish of St. Michael at Gronlid. His father wasn't included in the original church planning names, but his uncle was. Many of the names included are found throughout this part of my family tree. The original settlers began arriving in 1908, and by 1919 decided that a local church was needed. They began the planning and financing, and 

"By April 18, 1919 the framing was completed. On Palm Sunday
of that year the parishioners, without a priest, were directed by
Tymko Bodnarchuk and John Buriock in their first holy
service in the church. Subsequently, they met every Sunday
and on holy days for prayer services, hymns and Molebni.
There were very few priests in this area and they visited
the parish once or twice a year" 1

Using Google's Street View I decided to walk the streets of Gronlid, Saskatchewan finding:

The SALOON 

The FIRE HALL

The COMMUNITY HALL

I then took a walk down a rural road, and imagined my grandpa growing up on a farm that looked a lot like this one

Presumably not the family farm
I couldn't find the address using the homestead details
will need to visit in real life to see the family homestead

My first time visiting my grandpa's hometown via Google Street View!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***





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https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/first-things-first.html

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Max Pellack ~ I'm Not a Diamond Heiress with a Tiny Flluuuffy Dog in a Sparkly Flllluuufffy Handbag!

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Footnotes:

1 Church of St. Michael constructed 1949-1951 near Gronlid; R.M. 458. Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from

https://www.skeparchy.org/wordpress/about-us/parishes/gronlid-st-michael/



Sources:

Alexander Pellack, Homestead Record, Libraries & Archives Canada, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/land/land-grants-western-canada-1870-1930/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=87918&


Gronlid hotel, Google Maps, Retrieved September 16th 2019 from
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Gronlid+Hotel/@53.1565402,-104.5444177,11z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1shotel+near+Gronlid,+SK!3m4!1s0x0:0x9720b62a7a558922!8m2!3d53.1638578!4d-104.4314218?hl=en&authuser=0


Streetview, Gronlid, Google Maps, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from https://www.google.ca/maps/@53.1012373,-104.4652601,3a,75y,101.76h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1se4AErGQd1vairtOFANbXZA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3De4AErGQd1vairtOFANbXZA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D109.11898%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Homestead Documents, received 2017

Church of St. Michael constructed 1949-1951 near Gronlid; R.M. 458. Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from
https://www.skeparchy.org/wordpress/about-us/parishes/gronlid-st-michael/





Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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