| Notes |
- [Edey.FTW]
This is the story of the Alexander Mose Edey family.
It was in March of 1892 that a girl, baby daughter, was born into the
Watson family, a large family of about 12 or 13. She was of the younger
ones who lived in Ireland. Shortly after she was born, about 2 years old,
her parents died leaving her orphaned. She was raised in an orphanage. At
the age of 16 she was to set sail on the Titanic for Canada, where a
sister-in-law had moved after losing her first husband, and married again
to one named George Kilgore. She had intended to visit and then go back to
Ireland. But for some reason her passage was cancelled, so she took a
small boat which took two weeks to come across to Canada. She later heard
that the Titanic had sunk. Her name was Fanny Watson.
Now in the year of 1892 a baby boy was born to the Mose Edey family, the
first born, Alexander Mose. He grew up and attended school only in the
winter months as he had to help his parents with the farm work. While yet
a young man his mother took very sick. His father got specialists to help
her. It took thousands of dollars but of no avail and she passed away.
Meanwhile, Fanny was working for a Scottish couple named Jack MacCrae. She
had been warned not to have anything to do with the Edeys so she tried to
avoid them and her mistress told her that was not right. "The Edey's are a
fine people and respectable, you should get to know them." One day Alex
Edey came over to visit the MacCraes and they asked him in for dinner.
That was the start of a courtship and finally marriage of my mother and
dad, on Dec. 3, 1914.
My mother was Anglican and believed she was saved at her confirmation. My
dad was Presbyterian and I am told took a stand for the Lord at an early
age but because they had no fellowship, did not grow in the Lord.
Then in Sept. 22, 1915, I Morley Edey, was born. This is where my life
started.
My mother had a high respect for God and the Bible but did not know how
to pass on the good news of salvation. She did implant in our lives the
respect for God and His Word, the Bible. We lived too far away from Sunday
School to attend until 1925 or 1926. We left our home and moved to a
place near our Grandpa and near a small school. There the Salvation Army
had Sunday School and church service. WE enjoyed the Sunday School and I
remember and I got a book from my Sunday School teacher for, I believe,
good attendance. All the while, I believed God and prayed to Him. But
never really knew Him.
Then in the spring of 1928, in a hurry, my uncle John and Dad moved to the
Peace River Country to the town of Spirit River.
There we went to the United Church of Canada where I learned the Ten
Commandments and the Apostles Creed which I soon forgot.
Then in 1931 we moved to the homestead in the Bridgeview area, just one
and one half miles south of the peak of White Mountain. We were there
twelve days when a forest fire came and burned everything we owned. My
mother was home alone when it came up with one toddler and a baby in her
arms. She went to a neighbours for help. This was at the beginning of
the 1930 depression. We had to start from scratch.
Dad and we boys used to work at the saw mill just two miles from our home
and finally we started and got established again. Dad used to work out
whenever possible and we boys used to work in the harvest field for extra
or only money of any amount. In these years before radio, we boys and my
sister Agnes, used to play the violins, guitar, banjo, uke and we finally
started to play for dances and sometimes made a few dollars that way.
We often trapped a little for spending money from the time we were sixteen
years old, we boys hunted for our meat supply. We helped in this way.
There was no incentive for a young person in those days, nothing but lots
of time and nothing to show for it. I took up a homestead when I became
of age but never had any ambition to develop it.
In the winter of 1938 my brother Clarence and I had a close encounter with
a grizzly bear which made me think on spiritual things. If he made one
more jump, where would I be? In heaven or hell? I knew not where.
In the spring of 1939, PRBI team, with a tent, came to the area, Mr.
Ruark, four PRBI students came and Mr. Ruark one night led me to the Lord
with Lena, then Brummond, and Edith Brownley, came to know Jesus. Edith's
dad had forbidden her to continue at church and a year or two later, she
was dragged to death, under a jeep, while her and a friend was out for an
evening walk. Of course, Lena is my sister-in-law, Clare's wife.
My life had a drastic change that fall, I left home to work at Brownvale,
and then to PRBI for the winter, and next summer to Brownvale to work for
the summer, then to PRBI next fall. The next year I worked for PRBI in
improving and Maintenance work and gospel team work, the best time of my
life.
Then the army caught up with me.
About the same time a young PRBI student and I were engaged to be married
which took place that fall in Nanaimo, B.C. November 14, 1942 in a
Pentecostal Church. Barbara Bresnahan was this young lady that I married.
I worked away from her during the week but was able to be with her on the
weekends only because I was with the B.C. forestry as a C.O. or
conscientious objecter. She could not get work and she had a rough time
making ends meet with my wages of 75 cents per day. We lived like that
one winter and then in the spring, I was able to get into the army. Then
life was much easier. She was paid wages as well as my own wages. That
fall I was shipped to Eastern Canada where I took my basic and advanced
training and also a course in shoemakeing, graduating with a B trades pay
which was a lot more money. As time went on I was shipped overseas to
England. I became a full corporal with trades pay. I was as much as a
staff sergeant.
Before I went overseas we had our first son born an hour and one half
before my birthday, on September 21, 1943 Donovon Mose.
I went over to England, it must have been in the fall of 1944, the last of
August or the first of September. The war was still pretty hot but there
were still buzz bombs and rockets that fell within sounding distance.
Then in the fall of 1944, I attended a Bible School in England hoping that
it would help me with my studies here at home, but it did not help much so
I never got the chance to graduate from Bible School.
On returning home we settled in the Watino and helped Barbara's mother
with her farm. She, Mrs. Bresnahan, worked out . She was a very
independent lady. We got along very well. She was a fine Christian lady.
We farmed in Watino from 1946 - 1960. We bought a farm right next to my
mother-in-law's farm so could look after both.
In 1959, I had to borrow money in order to overhaul my tractor. I said to
Barbara, "It would be better if we were to work out instead of working the
farm with long hours and nothing to show for it." So in the spring of
1960 April, at Easter holidays, Donovan and I went out to Vanderhoof, B.C.
looking for work. We found work in a planer mill, Parks Brothers Lumber
Company Incorporated, where I worked until 1968.
Then we moved out to Vancover Island for a year with the Nootka Mission
where we worked with the native people and lumberjacks. I worked with Dr.
McLean at his mission hospital. I worked as a handiman or maintenance
man. Dr. McLean was a man who was a go go man, and I was one who took my
time and tried to do a good job. So we clashed a little but I enjoyed the
work.
I used to fly out to camp and villages and go from house to house, telling
people Dr. McLean was set up at a certain place and many times I had
opportunities to testify of my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ my Saviour.
Then in the fall of 1969 I came back home to Vanderhoof and started
carpentering with Toby Millard. Then that winter I went to work in the
bush with Corney Giesbrecht as a buckerman on the landing. This job I
thoroughly enjoyed and worked all winter and then the next summer. The
next fall I went to work for a sawmill but it was a long way from home,
over icy roads. When I got a chance to come back to Vanderhoof again, I
went to work with a planer mill but this one burned down and before it was
built up again, they transferred us to another small planer mill. This
boss I did not get along with because of his shady deals, so I got a job
back with Toby Millard and carpentered for three or four more years. Then
work slowed down so I went back to the planer mill and worked until I was
71 years old, grading lumber again.
In 1984 or 1985, started building a log house after hours. I put in 3 1/2
to 4 hours every day on Saturdays and holidays for five years. I started
out, we had about $1800 in the bank. Then in the September I was 65, I
got my old age pension so was able to keep on the building. I built the
whole house by myself. I needed some help putting up the rafters and part
of the metal. I did my own electrical wiring and plumbing. Tim helped
me whenever he had time but on the whole I built it most of it. Barbara
and I moved in about 1986 or the spring of 1987 into our new home. Oh,
the joy it was to have much room. It was 32' X 44' with a full upstairs
and partial basement for furnace and wood room.
Barbara was getting bad with arthritis by this time so we bought
mechanized power wheel chair. And finally in the fall of 1987, I believe,
or thereabouts, she went to hospital in Prince George. She wanted them to
give her a new hip, but they wouldn't. So in the next fall, 1988 I
believe it was, she wanted to go to Grande Prairie, where she heard they
did the job. So we had her moved to Grande Prairie where they did the job
in about three weeks after she was here. So I spent that winter between
Grande Prairie and Vanderhoof.
So in the early winter, some people wanted our place, in Vanderhoof, so we
sold and I moved out here.
Then, my youngest son, Victor, and family, bought a large acreage, raw
land, and asked me if I would help them build a house. I could live with
them, so that is what I did. This house is the same size as our
Vanderhoof house, only it is frame. It's double 2" X 4" walls on the
outside frame . I did a lot or work on it but also I missed a lot of time
because of surgery and sickness but I think I can say did 50 percent of
the building or more maybe. Now I have the master bedroom of the house
and live with Vic and Sandy, his wife, and four grandchildren.
I am still quite active and have a shop 28 X 40 feet long where I can
spend a lot of my time doing things on my wood lathe and many other tools
and enjoy every bit of it.
My children's names are Donovan, killed in an auto accident, Charlotte in
Washington, U.S.A., Alexander, Valley View, Alberta, Eileen, Vernon, B.C.,
Thelma, Terrace, B.C., Anne, Beaverlodge, Alberta, Tim, Vanderhoof, B.C.
and Victor, Grande Prairie, Alberta.
I could tell you many other stories but they will have to wait until next
time. I am still active and love to hunt a little but my eyes aren't as
good as they used to be but when I get my eyes on game, I can still give
them a tough time.
I am a member of Grace Bible Fellowship, Evangelical Free affiliated. I
am also a committee member for the Shantymen Christian Association. I am
also a committee member of the Bear Lake Bible Camp. I love my Saviour,
my precious Saviour, He died on Calvary's cross for me, but now He is
risen, gone back to heaven, some day He's coming back for me. I praise
His name.
Barbara has gone to meet the Lord, Jan. 5, 1994, about ten minutes to two
and was buried in the Bridgeview Cemetery a week later and now I am come
to the end of my story and I hope that this will give you an idea of my
life story. May God Bless You all, Thank you.
Well, Norma and Les, I hope this will help. There is some tape so I will
try to give you some news. Vic works on the City of Grande Prairie buses,
he is a bus driver. He has about six horses here and he has fixed up a
sleigh and goes sleigh riding and things like that. He is quite active,
him and his wife are quite active, Sandy, is quite active in the Alliance
church here, the children attend Sunday School. Today, Vic is working,
and Sandy and the kids are away at her mothers place for supper so I am on
my own.
Ann is lives at Beaverlodge, and she has five children and she does some
sub teaching, she has her teacher's certificate and she is sub teaching
some times. Dennis has had trouble finding a job but he does look after
the home . He looks after the cooking and just about everything in the
house when Anne is not around.
Alex and his family are living in Valley View. But Alex himself is out in
the bush running a faller buncher. He gets home about once every two
weeks or there abouts and otherwise he is working steady. Alex likes to
run big machinery. This Faller Buncher is quite a big machine and he
likes it and seems to be doing okay.
The weather here has been very cold for about a week and now we have more
snow again. We have about 3 or 4 inches last night and we have about 3
feet or more at the present time. We like to go ski-dooing some times,
Vic has a couple of ski-doos here but most of all he likes his horses. He
likes to ride horse back, he goes up into the mountains in the summertime,
for a week, and just rides and then in the wintertime he's got a sleigh
that he uses for sleigh rides and then in the summer time he takes people
riding with a rubber tired machine, wagon. I don't seem to be able to keep
up with my thoughts here so we'll call it just about quits. I hope this
is going to be good for you and that all these things will help. I know
there are other stories you would like me to tell but right off hand I
don't seem to be up on storytelling so I think I will close for now. I am
78 years old, I will be 79 this September. I trust you all that this will
help in the writing of the history of the Edey family so may God bless
you richly and may the Lord lead and direct you in every way, we pray, in
Jesus name.
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1915 - 2002 (86 years)
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