The Finegan Faimly (1885)

My mom found this old book in the study today.  It is an odd book but really interesting.  It is called "Along the Mission Trail".  It was published in 1988, and give the history of the Mission Trail.  Mission Trail was one of the trails that went through Bonnie Doon and Lake Francis before Manitoba became a province.   The book talks about local industry, education, disasters and family history.  It even has old property maps showing who owned which acres of land  (we found both my Great grandfather and  his brothers land).

My Great Great Grandparents, George and Elizabeth Finegan, came to Bonnie Doon on June 29th, 1885.  They had two sons, William and Sam. 

William (my Great great uncle?  I am not sure what the exact term is) carried mail for the post office between 1905-1918.  After George and Elizabeth passed away, William ran their farm until he moved to Edrans, Manitoba.    
   
Sam married Martha nee Hill (Irish decent) and had two children; George and Rita. George is the man that served in the 100th Overseas battalion.  The Finegans ran the Bonnie Doon Post Office from June 1st, 1897 until April 16, 1918.

I have not found much information on Rita, other then she moved with her parents to the United States.    

L. to R.: George, Ray, Ellen Finegan

When George returned from WWI, he married Ellen Stewart in 1919.  Miss Stewart had grown up in Oakville, Manitoba.  She was a school teacher in a one room school house.  She taught the Bonnie Doon school from 1915-1917 until it closed due to small enrollment.  She also taught Ossowa and Glennie school districts.  Growing up we always called her Great Grandma F.  We would go and spend summers there. 

This past summer my girlfriend and I drove across Canada.  During this trip we tried to find her old house.  I was unable to recognize it from memory (it has been probable over 15 years since I was last there), but I did find the White Horse statue which was just down the road.  George and Ellen had one son, my Mothers father, Ray (Born 1922).

 Kevin