THE CHARLTON STORY
Ernest Charlton and his two sons Dick and Raymond came from Yorkshire, England, to meet his father Frederick Charlton at Mannville, Alberta in March 1921, living with Dan Smith seven miles north until a job was found looking after Lou Green's farm. In August of the following year his wife Beatrice and son Frank arrived from England. In June of 1923 Mr. Charlton went to Vermilion to file on a homestead in the Frog Lake district. Then in the fall of 1923 the Charlton family, along with Grandpa Charlton, left in a covered wagon to find the homestead there. The trip took one week to make. One night arriving where we thought the homestead would be we decided to camp for the night. Then the following morning Ernest travelled on horseback to find the surveyor's corner marker to be sure. Failing to do so he went to see Frank Brown to help him locate it. When they found it we were already on the homestead. Then we all proceeded to chop down trees and build the log house which only had a dirt floor and sod roof. We got settled in a way for the winter months and Dad took off to the Luscar Coal Mines to work for the winter 1923-24, and 1924-25.
In the spring of 1925 we rented the Dougal George farm in the Norway Valley District, and in 1926 also rented the Millerkee farm. Renting the farms until the fall of 1929 the family decided to move to the homestead. The Charlton family now consisted of five boys and two girls; Dick, Raymond, Frank, Leonard, Beatrice, Harold and Winnie, and Grandpa Charlton.
In March 1930, while Ernest and his son Raymond were diggging a well by hand on the Nelson farm in the Lea Park District, Ernest met with an unfortunate accident, breaking both his legs when the rope broke while he was being pulled out of the well. This left him crippled for the rest of his life. After arriving home from being in the hospital, off and on, for almost a year at Elk Point, thanks to the fantastic Doctor F.G. Miller, whom Ernest thought a great deal of, Ernest and Frank Brown proceeded to get grants from the government to build the Acomb School in 1931. The Charlton family stayed at the homestead until 1937, then moving to Newbrook, Alta. taking a Watkins Route until 1939, then moving to Edmonton.
Grandpa Charlton passed away in August, 1942. Ernest Charlton passed away at the age of 81 on Aug. 18, 1970. His wife Beatrice has been residing with her children in Edmonton, now she is with her daughter at Okanagan Falls, B.C. at the age of 86, Oct. 9, 1975.
Raymond, Frank and Winnie reside in Edmonton; Leonard is farming in Wildwood, Alberta; Harold is in Penticton, B.C.; Beatrice (Girlie) at Okanagan Falls, B.C.; Dick lives in Vancouver, B.C.
