Starting Sept. 30, 2014, Genealogy.com will be making a big change. GenForum message boards, Family Tree Maker homepages, and the most popular articles will be preserved in a read-only format, while several other features will no longer be available, including member subscriptions and the Shop.
 
Learn more


Home Page |Surname List |Index of Individuals |InterneTree |Sources


View Tree for Michael FilewichMichael Filewich (b. Oct 26, 1896, d. Nov 09, 1990)

Michael Filewich (son of Kyrylo CHARLIE Filewich and Paraska (Polly) Cupak)2 was born Oct 26, 1896 in Yablonov, Ukraine, and died Nov 09, 1990 in Roblin, MB. He married Annie Halowaty on Nov 07, 1921 in Roblin, MB.

 Includes NotesNotes for Michael Filewich:
Pioneer of Timber District — Michael Filewich: Sixty Years a Farmer
I was born in the village of Yabluniv and started school there. My father died and my mother was finding it hard to carry on alone. In our village people talked about the letters that were received from Rev. Iwan Volansky. He had grown up in our village and when he became a clergyman he went to America and visited Brazil. He cautioned the people about the unsatisfactory conditions in Brazil and many from our village decided to go to Canada. So did our family.

I came to Canada in 1904 with my widowed mother who took a homestead in Wroxton, Saskatchewan. I was eight years old and spent my first winter in Canada in a hovel, a type of a sod cabin. I helped on the farm and after two years, there was a school organized and I attend-ed school for a short time. My first teacher was Mr. Dmytro Yakimischak (from Pleasant Home).

We all worked hard and Mother was making some headway on her farm. When I was 13, I went to work for a farmer and earned $12.00 a month. That same year my mother remarried and sold her homestead as my stepfather took a homestead in Manitoba in the area north of Roblin that was opened up for settlement. I finished working in Saskatchewan and moved closer to my people. I worked as a porter in a Roblin hotel and got $35.00 a month, but when spring came I went to work on the track as a section-hand. It may be that that was the time I developed a rupture and was later rejected by the army. Carrying ties was far too heavy work for a 14 year old boy.

A couple of years later I again worked for Mr. Spear in Roblin. He was a good man. He said to me, "Michael, you have to go to school and learn English." I attended school that winter and did chores for him, receiving board and room free. At that time I was the only one of Ukrainian extraction to live in Roblin. When World War I started, the boys were joining up and I went with them. They started me as kitchen help in Shilo, and then I was given a medical. When my rupture was discovered, I was sent home.

My mother was getting older and so was my stepfather. They suggested that I take over the farm. In 1921 when I was 25, I married a nice girl who was used to hard work. She told me that when she was 11 she had to milk seven cows; she was well-prepared for farm life, and our marriage and farming was a success. For nearly 60 years we farmed on the west side of the Duck Mountains in the school district called Timber which was some 20 miles from Roblin. The last few years we farmed from town where we built this nice home for our retirement.

I got interested in community affairs, served as a trustee, helped in a co-operative store organized by the Ukrainians and managed by a teacher Mr. Michaluk. The store went bankrupt like other early co-operatives, and Mr. Michaluk left teaching and became a lawyer. I was a councillor of Hillsburg until the municipality went into receivership. They blamed the secretary-treasurer, Bain, for the shortage of funds; he served a term in jail over this affair.

It was far from Timber to Roblin — 20 miles; and by the time one circled all the sloughs on the way it was more. People found it hard to get their mail and supplies, so we opened up a small store. People were able to get their supplies more easily and we made a little money.

I do not think that we would have succeeded in our farming enterprise had we not gone into mixed farming — mostly cattle raising. Even at that we nearly went under during the depression years. I have a statement dated the 23rd of October, 1935, when we shipped 23 animals, mostly steers and heifers, to the Union Stock Yards in St. Boniface. The total weight of the animals was 21,555 pounds; and the total sale price was $539.81. From this amount they deducted: $56.24 for freight; $8.24 for yardage; $16.00 for 14 bales of hay; 88 cents for half a bag of chops and a selling commission of $17.00. The total deductions were $98.56, that is, over 18 percent. The net settlement was $441.25. You can't buy one cow for that money now. .
As things improved we made better progress and finished up with eleven quarters of land. We sold our farm and retired. Now my wife complains, "Why is this Axworthy bringing more people from all over, and opening the land to Americans — the land we developed? Shouldn't it be made available to young Canadians first?

I am eighty-four and have been in good health, but a couple of weeks ago had to have my appendix out; and now my wife is facing a gall bladder operation. These things seem to come when you stop working hard.
This article was in the book called Pioneer Profiles - In Search of New Lands and Opportunities, circulated at Roblin & District, MB.

More About Michael Filewich:
Occup.: Farmer, General Store at Timber, MB.

More About Michael Filewich and Annie Halowaty:
Marriage: Nov 07, 1921, Roblin, MB.

Children of Michael Filewich and Annie Halowaty are:
  1. +Joseph JOE Filewich.
  2. +Charles CHARLIE Filewich.
  3. +Polly Filewich.
  4. +Mary Filewich, b. Dec 06, 1932, Roblin MB farm, d. Jul 23, 1990, Winnipeg MB.
Created with Family Tree Maker


Search for Family - Learn About Genealogy - Helpful Web Sites - Message Boards - Guest Book - Home
© Copyright 1996-99, The Learning Company, Inc., and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.
© Copyright 1995-97 by Matthew L. Helm. All Rights Reserved.