Person Page 118

He came from New Brunswick with his brother, Edward in 1878 & settled on a homestead near Gladstone, Manitoba, Canada. In 1882, he returned to Upper Gagetown, New Brunswick, where he married Mary Hobson. They came west & spent a year at Gladstone, where Sadie (Spicer), they first child, was born. In 1883 they moved to Grenfell, making the journey with oxen & covered wagon. Mary drove the wagon, while Harvey rode behind on horse back, driving the cattle. One can imagine that even at that early period when unusual things were seen in a frontier town, many eyes must have turned to watch the comely & courageous young woman purposefully guiding her oxen down Winnipeg's Main Street, with apparently no misgivings about her future in a wild & untried land. See his scrapbook for a microfilm printout of his marriage to Mary Hoben on the 9th day of March, 1882 and photos of his building. Two hundred and eighty miles west of Winnipeg, and near the centre of the district of the same name, stands the Town of Grenfell. Long sweeps of gently undulating prairie surround it on all sides, till met on the north and south at a distance of a few miles by a beautiful park-like country dotted with pretty popular bluffs, whose appearance strongly reminds them of the orchards and patches of woodland they left behind in their old eastern home. While bearing the marks of a 'hoary antiquity' in the many colored granites and other stones of which its principal buildings are now constructed, the town also evidences a very modern phase in human, or more properly speaking , Northwest, history by the paint being scarcely yet worn off its primitive buildings, if indeed they were ever so fortunate as to have had any put on them. Like many other western towns strung out in a long line between Winnipeg and the Rockies, Grenfell owes its present progressive and prosperous condition to the energy and industry of its citizens and the settlers in the neighborhood. The town dates its existence back to 1882, when the C.P.R. was carried along the prairie section, the line being dotted with the 'site of cities yet to be.' There were few buildings in Grenfell when the Coys arrived, only the station house, where George Weldon & his wife lived, & a few small shacks. Harvey's homestead was N.E. 14-17-8. Harvey fixed up living quarters over the Massey Harris Machine shop, & there three other children were born, Ethel (who died in 1921), Arthur (killed in the War October, 1916), & Dolly or Doll, born in 1886 married 09 October, 1912, Grenfell to Ellis Edmon Smalley, b. 13 May, 1877, d. 16 May, 1974 presently (1980) residing in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Lawrence, Bessie & Mary were born later. About 1887, Harvey had a harness shop where the Coy Block was built, & in 1888, it was later sold to G.G. Greenlees. They then built a new home beside the harness shop. Subsequently the shop, house & the Tryon Bank were all destroyed by fire. This time they found shelter over the Malcom & Shrine store where the Irving Store now stands. The Coy Block, & Tryon Bank were built in 1894. Mary had a Millner Shop in there at one period, new hats were always in demand, but it was customary, also frugal for ladies to bring their last years model to be re-trimmed, & thus be fashionable at a modest cost. Harvey & Mr. Powell had the Cockshutt & John Deere agency until Harvey sold out to Mr. Fitzgerald, & from the new merger the Grenfell Milling Company evolved. Harvey & Mr. Powell continued to share their real-estate interests.

THE NORTH WEST REBELLION

When the North West Rebellion broke out in 1885 there was great anxiety among the settlers in the village, and those who were widely scattered in the rural areas. The Indians of Crooked Lake Reserve far outnumbered the white settlers, and no one could predict what their attitude would be. If they chose to join the rebellion, the colonists' lives would be in jeopardy. A few of the women with children returned to the East till the trouble the trouble was over. Mrs. Armstong was one who did this, while her husband joined the Transport. The Birds, Faulkners, and Turners were packed to go when Mrs. Gil Faulkner gave birth to a son, Claude (who was later years the manager of the Beaver Lumber Company, Regina). When Mrs. Faulkner was unable to leave, the other families decided to remain also. The men were all issued rifles and rounds of ammunition, and took training under Colonel Lake. They slept with their rifles beside their beds at night, in case of surprise attack. A large pile of wood was stacked on the prairie near the Presbyterian Church, which would be lit as a warning beacon if the Indians took up arms. Outlying families would then gather as quickly as possible. Most of the women and children of the village stayed in the church at night, while a guard was stationed at Broadview ready to rush to the rescue, if necessary. Harvey used to tell a rather amusing story which indicates the tension in the settlement at the time. A rural family, afraid of Indians, left a trap door open in front of their house, as a first line of defense against 'skulking savages.' One cold stormy night three men had become lost. They wandered around until they found a fence, & followed it until it led to a settler's shack. The three of them, half frozen & blinded by the storm, pushed in the door & dropped unceremoniously into the cellar. It took a long time before they could convince the inhabitants that they were not Indians, but neighbors. Many of the men joined the 'transport,' hauling supplies from the railroad to the area north where the fighting was taking place. Col. Lake and George Weldon under took a recruiting campaign, and several young men volunteered for active service. Among these were Dan and Jim McDonell, Bob Copeland, and Harry Sayer. It took great courage for the women to remain in their lonely shacks, under threat of a local uprising. The Indians of the nearby reserve didn't join the rebellion, due largely to the good influence of the missionaries, the Indian agent, and other white settlers who had treated the Indians as friends. Osawe Pejkeese (Yellow Calf) was chief of the Sakimay Band at the time of the rebellion, but decided to keep his followers neutral. His bow and arrows have been preserved and placed in a museum. Mr. Riel Acroose has a copy of Treaty Number Four which applies to all of the Qu' Appelle Valley area. The original was written on parchment which had been carelessly folded, making it barely legible in the creases. Mrs. H. Ainger made an accurate copy of the document for Chief Baptiste McLeod. It wasn't until 1894 that Grenfell was incorporated as a village. Up until that time Mr. W.H. Thompson was the assessor, collector, & local manager, & he was also secretary of the schools. He received a salary of $25.00 a year, plus a three percent commission on collections. As the Hamlet grew, certain public works were urgently needed, & some form of Civil Government was required. A meeting of the citizens was called to discuss matter. As a result, on 27, March, 1894, a petition for the erection of a town site of Grenfell, as an unincorporated town comprising 320 acres was submitted to the Lieutenant-Governor of the North West Territories, with a statutory declaration by two of the leading merchants, namely Osmund Skrine & John Love. The application was submitted by W. Peel, advocate, Grenfell, Assiniboia. The Order of Incorporation of the Hamlet, Grenfell was approved 12 April, 1894. The tract of land was described as follows: 'That portion of the North West Territories comprised within the limits of the SOUTH HALF OF SECTION 8, TOWNSHIP 17, RANGE 7, WEST OF THE 2ND MERIDIAN.' NOTE - The southern limit of the village was Wolseley Avenue. Wednesday the 25th of April, 1894 was the date set for the election of an Overseer, and Harvey Coy was appointed & served a term as overseer for the Village. In 1910 in the village council, a motion was made by John MacLeod & seconded by Isaac Jones, that Grenfell be incorporated as a town. On the 25th of July, 1911 the application was acknowledged & the council was advised that, 'all requirements having been met, the village of Grenfell should be erected into a town on the 1ST DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1911,' The municipality now included the North half of Section 5, & the South half of section 8, Township 17, Range 7 West of the 2nd Meridian. The town limits had moved a half mile farther South. Harvey was postmaster for many years & was the town's first Mayor. On the school board, he served as trustee & secretary. A Justice of the Peace for many years, he was considerate & fair in his judgements, & had been known, where extenuating circumstances entered the case, to pay the fine which he imposed. His life may be summed up this way - he put all into life that he had, & took all the joy out of life that there was in it. It took a long time before they could convince the inhabitants that they were not Indians, but neighbors. Harvey established an implement business on the west side of Desmond Street & had as his partner Mr. Courtland Aggett. Later Mr. Powell became associated with the business. In April, 1979, the Grenfell Chamber of Commerce received an award for being the most active Chamber in the Province representing a population of over 500 & under 2500. The plaque was presented to the President, Ralph Unerrich, during the awards presentations at the 32nd annual meeting of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. All the stained glass windows in St. Micheal & All Angel's (2nd church to be built in Grenfell), was consecrated by the Bishop of Qu' Appelle on the 25, October, 1885 are memorials installed by pioneer families. The Harvey Coy family is one (1980). Harvey & Mary had eight children, Harvey was sixth born to William & Sarah (Cowperthwaite) Coy. This account is found in the book , 'Grit and Growth, the Story of Grenfell', by Annie I. Yule, 1970 edition, privately published by the Grenfell Historical Committee, pages 38, 42, 46, 58, 59, 126 for some of this biography.