Fonds MS-804 - Henderson Family fonds

Henderson, Thomas [ca.1837] - [after 1898]
Henderson, Margaret Oliver 1839 - [after 1882]
Henderson, Walter “Watt” [ca.1880] - [after 1950]
Henderson, Charles Allan 1877 - 1962

Thomas Henderson was born in Ontario in the mid to late 1830s. In 1866 Thomas married Margaret Oliver. Margaret was born in Scarboro, Ontario in 1869 and moved to North Oxford in 1843.
In December 1874 Thomas and Margaret relocated to New Westminster, British Columbia, where Thomas worked as a gold miner. Thomas didn’t have much luck with gold mining and in 1880 Thomas and Margaret, along with their six children, moved to Edmonton. The Hendersons began their journey to Edmonton in the spring of 1880 and arrived on October 15, 1880. When the family arrived in Alberta they began farming near Stoney Plain and then an area that was known as Little Mountain. In Little Mountain they sowed wheat and grew vegetables such as turnips. Two years later Thomas built a house in Edmonton near Fraser Avenue. During this time the children attended Edmonton’s first school and the family attended the First Presbyterian Church.
Thomas farmed crops until 1888 before traveling back to Ontario and Florida. While in Ontario he shipped a box of Italian bees to Edmonton who produced honey. Thomas is credited as being the first to introduce honey bees to the district. Thomas built up 32 hives on his farm in Edmonton after his trip.
Thomas sold his homestead in Little Mountain and the family relocated to Rabbit Hill. In 1898 Thomas built a round barn on his farm in Rabbit Hill. The barn was built with 20 slides to house purebred Jersey cattle. During this time Thomas also traveled to take part in the Klondike Gold Rush, however he never arrived and soon returned to Rabbit Hill.
Thomas and Margaret’s children included Olive, Robena, Percy, Walter, Charles, and Annette. When arriving in Alberta the Henderson's had two more children, one which passed away in infancy. Charles was Edmonton’s first newsboy, working for the Edmonton Bulletin. Charles was the last surviving member among his sibling and passed away on March 26, 1962.