Fonds 177 Ann Macklin fonds

fonds-177

 

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Summary information

Repository: South Peace Regional Archives
Title: Ann Macklin fonds
Reference code: 0177
Date: 1911-1953 (date of creation)
Physical description: 90 photographs
Dates of creation, revision and deletion: Processed by Mary Nutting June 2005Added to new database December 2025 – TD
Note: Content Warning: Fonds contains photographs featuring an ox named using racist language. The original description for these items is included under a general note for each relevant item in the database.
Note: This fonds has been identified as having Indigenous related content. Researchers may encounter language that is outdated and offensive. To learn more about Indigenous records at the South Peace Regional Archives please see our guide.

Administrative history / Biographical sketch

Ann Macklin was born at the Kathryn Prittie Hospital in Grande Prairie in 1917, the daughter of David and Annie Philips-Roberts.

Her father had homesteaded in the Clairmont area after coming over the Edson Trail in 1912. David Philips Roberts was the only son of Mr. E.M. Roberts, J.P. in Talsarnau, Merionethshire, Wales. Born in 1877, he had spent some years in Australia before coming to the Peace Country. His homestead was called Trevor Farm. He also worked out on a road crew building the Dunvegan Hill road ca. 1914.

In 1916, his fiancé Annie Roberts, a nurse and matron of a hospital in Wales, came to join him and the couple was married in Grouard on January 26, 1916. They spent their honeymoon traveling to Clairmont in a caboose pulled by two oxen.

Growing up on the homestead, Ann attended Clairmont school, then high school and business college in Grande Prairie. An only child, she enjoyed all her pets as well animals on the farm, recording each one by name.

After the war Ann married Victor Macklin, son of I.V. Macklin (the first school teacher in Grande Prairie). David Philips-Roberts passed away February 23, 1948 and is buried in the Grande Prairie Cemetery. Annie Roberts moved to Ottawa where Ann and Victor resided for their entire married life. Ann Macklin passed away in 2003.

Custodial history

The records were loaned for reproduction by Tillie Macklin Gordon, second wife of Ann’s father-in-law, I.V. Macklin, in 2005.

Scope and content

This fonds consists of digital copies of 90 photographs. Subject matter includes: the trip to Clairmont by caboose in 1916, Trevor Farm and animals, photographs of people and groups in the Clairmont area, Fletcher and Anna Bredin and their farm Twin Shacks, road crews building the Dunvegan Hill Road, Ann as a child and teenager, a trip to Aurora, Ontario, students at Grande Prairie High School and Grande Prairie Business College, and a pack trip to Nose Mountain in 1935 with two Cree families as guides.

Notes

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title of fonds based on contents.

Location of originals

Original photograph album retained by Tillie Macklin Gordon.

Conditions governing use

These photographs were donated as digital copies and are not suitable for reproduction larger than 8 x 10 in.

Related material

Colour copies of 96 photograph album pages were laminated and bound into an album for display in the Grande Prairie Museum. Reached out to Tim Moore and Rhonda Lawton at the museum on December 2, 2025; they did not know the whereabouts of this album. TD

Access points

  • Graphic material – photograph (documentary form)
  • Settlement and Immigration (subject)
  • Family and personal life (subject)
  • Childhood & Youth (subject)

Series descriptions

Reference code Title Dates Physical description
0177.001 Item – Buffalo on the Prairies  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

“Into the Land where the Buffalo Roamed”, postcard used as the cover photograph for Ann Macklin’s photograph album.

0177.002 Item – Travelling to the Peace Country  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave and Annie Philips Roberts traveling to the Peace Country on their honeymoon.

0177.003 Item – Travelling to the Peace Country  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave Philips Roberts hands a pail of snow to Annie to melt for water in the caboose while traveling to the Peace Country.

0177.004 Item – Travelling to the Peace Country  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Annie driving the oxen which took them into the Peace Country.

0177.005 Item – Travelling to the Peace Country  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave and Annie Philips Roberts beside the caboose in which they traveled from Grouard to the Clairmont area.

0177.006 Item – Travelling to the Peace Country  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave and Annie Philips Roberts traveling with oxen and caboose in 50 degree below weather from Grouard to the Clairmont area in January 1916.

0177.007 Item – Trevor Farm  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave and Annie Roberts’ first homestead buildings, a cabin and a barn for the oxen.

0177.008 Item – Trevor Farm  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave and Annie Roberts’ first homestead buildings, with the oxen and Daisy, the first cow.

0177.009 Item – Trevor Farm  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

First load of wood brought in by oxen to Dave and Annie Roberts’ first homestead.

0177.010 Item – Trevor Farm  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Team of oxen coming out of the barn on Dave and Annie Roberts’ homestead.

0177.011 Item – Off to the Waterhole  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Annie Roberts driving the team of oxen with a water barrel on a flatbed sleigh.

0177.012 Item – Building of the Railway  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Trainload of railway ties for the building of the E.D. & B.C. Railway line in March 1916.

0177.013 Item – Building of the Railway  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Crew and machinery used for building the E.D. & B.C. Railway line.

0177.014 Item – Velma and Victor Macklin  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Velma and Victor, the children of I.V. and Nellie Macklin.

0177.015 Item – I.V. & Nellie Macklin  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

I.V. and Nellie Macklin, who came to the Grande Prairie area in 1910.

0177.016 Item – Nellie Cass Macklin  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Nellie Cass Macklin with her sisters.

0177.017 Item – Victor Macklin and Friend  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Preschoolers Victor Macklin and friend with pretend guns and dead chickens.

0177.018 Item – Dave Roberts and Oxen  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave Roberts with his oxen.

0177.019 Item – First Furrows  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The first furrows turned on Trevor Farm, the homestead of Dave and Annie Roberts.

0177.020 Item – First Seeding  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The first seeding on Trevor Farm, the homestead of Dave and Annie Roberts.

0177.021 Item – Moving House  1916 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The Ward brothers, neighbours of the Roberts family, moving their house to another location with a team of eight horses.

0177.022 Item – Mr. & Mrs. Fletcher Bredin  1921 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Fletcher and Anna Bredin met on the Hay River near Great Slave Lake. Anna Marsh was originally from Lindsay, Ontario and served as the first Anglican missionary nurse at Great Slave Lake. She was there with her brother Rev. Tom Marsh.

0177.023 Item – Mr. & Mrs. Fletcher Bredin  1933 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher Bredin at their home, Twin Shacks, on the shores of Bear Lake. Their home was built as two log cabins on two quarters of land with a breezeway in between to serve the purpose of “proving up” both quarters.

0177.024 Item – Mr. Fletcher Bredin  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Fletcher Bredin was a fur trader and buyer for Revillon Freres when he met Anna Marsh near Great Slave Lake. He went on to become the owner of a chain of trading posts with James Cornwall and a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

0177.025 Item – Mr. & Mrs. Fletcher Bredin  1939 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher Bredin at their home, Twin Shacks, on the shores of Bear Lake.

0177.026 Item – Mr. & Mrs. Fletcher Bredin  1939 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher Bredin at their home, Twin Shacks, on the shores of Bear Lake.

0177.027 Item – Twin Shacks  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. Bredin with Marjory Bradford, daughter of Dr. Andrew Bradford, at their home, Twin Shacks (also Bredin Post Office), on the shores of Bear Lake.

0177.028 Item – Shores of Bear Lake  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. Bredin with Marjory Bradford, daughter of Dr. Andrew Bradford, on the shores of Bear Lake near their home.

0177.029 Item – Boating on Bear Lake  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. Bredin with Marjory Bradford, daughter of Dr. Andrew Bradford, in a canoe on Bear Lake.

0177.030 Item – Mr. Bredin’s Goats  1921 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Herd of goats showing fenced field and shelter belonging to Fletcher Bredin. The photograph is inscribed from Mrs. Bredin to Ann.

0177.031 Item – Mr. Bredin’s Sheep  1921 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Herd of sheep with Fletcher and Anna Bredin and a tent in the background. “Camping out at Twin Shacks” is the inscription on the back of the photograph.

0177.032 Item – Mr. & Mrs. Angus Campbell 1921 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Annie Roberts with Mr. and Mrs. Angus Campbell. Mr. Campbell was the first grain buyer at the Alberta Pacific Elevator.

0177.033 Item – Peggy and Desmond Campbell  1921 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Peggy and Desmond Campbell, children of Angus Campbell, first grain buyer at the Alberta Pacific Elevator.

0177.034 Item – The Morgan Family  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The Morgan family, Welsh friends of the Roberts family: Mr. Morgan, Myfanwy, Gordon, Irene, Mrs. Morgan, and Gwen.

0177.035 Item – Mr. & Mrs. Bob Griffiths  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Griffiths with their children Ritchie and Trevor. The Griffiths were friends of the Roberts family.

0177.036 Item – Rev. Abbot’s Family  1933 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Reverend and Mrs. F.V. Abbott with their children Kathleen Amy, Edwin Vale, Harold Spencer, Margaret Anna, and Helen Irene. Rev. Abbott was with the Anglican Church at Lake Saskatoon.

0177.037 Item – Mr. & Mrs. S.D. Griffiths  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. and Mrs. S.D. Griffiths, friends of the Roberts family.

0177.038 Item – On the Dunvegan Ferry  1914 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave Roberts on the ferry crossing the Peace River at Dunvegan.

0177.039 Item – Road Crew  1914 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Road crew working on the roads leading down to the Peace River at Dunvegan. Road crews were usually made up of homesteaders in the area.

0177.040 Item – Road Crew  1914 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Road crew working on the roads leading down to the Peace River at Dunvegan. Road crews were usually made up of homesteaders in the area.

0177.041 Item – Charlie  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The Roberts’ first horse was Charlie, “a noted and lovable character. He came to Trevor farm in 1916. He featured in nearly all the runaways. He was the most brilliant thinker of his time.”

0177.042 Item – Nurse Grant and Ann  1917 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Philips Roberts was born at the Pioneer (Kathryn Prittie) hospital in 1917. Nurse Grant is holding her.

0177.043 Item – Leaving Grande Prairie Hospital  1917 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave and Anne Roberts leaving the Pioneer (Kathryn Prittie) hospital with their daughter Ann.

0177.044 Item – Pioneer Baby  1917 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Philips Roberts in a fur lined baby reclining chair.

0177.045 Item – First Pets  1918 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Philips Roberts and her first cats outside the family home.

0177.046 Item – Ann and the Cows  1918 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Roberts at age two with the family cows.

0177.047 Item – Ann and the Chickens  1918 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Roberts at age two feeding the hens and turkeys.

0177.048 Item – Hunting for Dinner  1918 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Annie Roberts hunting for prairie chicken on a snowy trail.

0177.049 Item – Roberts Home near Clairmont  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

In the early 1920s, the Roberts family returned back home to the Clairmont homestead. Inscription reads “Back to the Little Gray Home in the West.”

0177.050 Item – Riding in Style  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Annie Roberts, Aunt Noo, and Ann riding in a buckboard behind Charlie.

0177.051 Item – Homestead Yard  1922 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Annie and Ann Roberts in the yard of their homestead near Clairmont.

0177.052 Item – Mr. Longear & Children  1922 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Mr. Longear, the first bank manager at Clairmont, with his two sons.

0177.053 Item – United Farm Women Meeting  1924 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Meeting of United Farm Women of Alberta (accompanied by their families) at Bredin on Bear Lake. In the background is Twin Shacks, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bredin.

0177.054 Item – Women’s Auxiliary Meeting June 29, 1926 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The Grande Prairie Women’s Auxiliary Deanery being entertained by Holy Trinity Bredin Branch at the Twin Shacks.

0177.055 Item – “Cap” Roberts Family  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dick, Jack, and Mrs. “Cap” Roberts, with Mrs. Bredin, Margaret, and Ted.

0177.056 Item – The MacKinnon Children  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The MacKinnon children.

0177.057 Item – Tour of the Dam  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Roberts and her friend Gwen with a home-made raft on the farm dug-out.

0177.058 Item – Swimming in Bear Lake  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Roberts swimming in Bear Lake with Jessie and Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Cameron.

0177.059 Item – Skating on the Dam  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Roberts skating on the farm dug-out surrounded by farm animals.

0177.060 Item – A New Family Car  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Ann Roberts with the Durant, the new family car.

0177.061 Item – Grande Prairie High School 1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Grade eleven and twelve class at Grande Prairie High School including Mr. Sterle-Smith, Mr. Fowler, and Miss Saunders. Ann Roberts stands in the center of the middle row.

0177.062 Item – Grande Prairie Business College  1936 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Grande Prairie Business College class of 1936. Mrs. M. Stokes, P.C.T. was the principal and the subjects taught were short hand, typing, book keeping, and letters. Ann Roberts is the fourth to the left of the second row.

0177.063 Item – Ploughing with Horses  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave Roberts ploughing with a team of five horses, with a sixth pulling a harrows at his side.

0177.064 Item – Drilling Outfits  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave Roberts seeding with a John Deere Tractor, with his eight horse team in the background.

0177.065 Item – Binding the Grain  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dave Roberts binding with a team of four horses. Saskatoon bushes in the background.

0177.066 Item – First Threshing  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Tractor from the Harris brothers’ steam rig for threshing grain.

0177.067 Item – First Threshing  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Threshing machine from the Harris brothers’ steam rig.

0177.068 Item – Combine Threshing  ca. 1920 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Hauling grain from Mr. Kehr’s Baldwin combine.

0177.069 Item – Trip to Nose Mountain  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Violet Jebb, Mr. Bredin, and Ann Roberts starting out from Rio Grande one beautiful September morning. “We crossed the Wapiti at Pipestone Creek by means of fording. It was a swift current and in spots the horses almost had to swim.”

0177.070 Item – Cree Family Guides  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

A photograph from a trip to Nose Mountain. Ann Roberts writes on the back: “Two Cree families accompanied us on our trip. They killed out meat – moose, deer, bear, porcupine, and skunk – and picked cranberries and blueberries for us. They pitched our tents and packed our horses. Last, but not least, they were our guides.”

0177.071 Item – Cree Family Guides  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

From a trip to Nose Mountain. Ann Roberts writes: “Two Cree families accompanied us on our trip. They killed out meat – moose, deer, bear, porcupine and skunk – and picked cranberries and blueberries for us. They pitched our tents and packed our horses. Last, but not least they were our guides. The children usually rode three bareback on a horse. The babies were carried on their mothers’ backs.”

0177.072 Item – Moose for Supper  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The moose Daniel shot during Ann Roberts’ trip to Nose Mountain.

0177.073 Item – Drying Meat  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Image shows Mrs. Pinto and Little Joe drying meat on drying racks on the Upper Pinto. The caption beneath the photograph says, “Drying meat at an Indian’s log cabin.”

0177.074 Item – Preparing a Moose Hide  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Two Cree women fleshing a moose hide.

0177.075 Item – Drying Moose Meat  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Drying moose meat for preserving while on the trail.

0177.076 Item – Fish for Supper  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Violet Jebb with the speckled trout caught in Nose Creek. Mr. Bredin, in the background, is preparing to cook the trout.

0177.077 Item – Charlie the Pack Horse  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Violet Jebb with Charlie and his pack on the trip to Nose Mountain.

0177.078 Item – Nose Lake  1935 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Nose Lake, the destination of Ann Roberts’ trip into the mountains. The white speck across the lake is her tent.

0177.079 Item – Vermilion School of Agriculture  ca. 1933 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

School Fair winners throughout Alberta were treated to a short course for ten days at Vermilion School of Agriculture.

0177.080 Item – School Fair Winners  ca. 1933 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

School Fair winners throughout Alberta were treated to a short course for ten days at Vermilion School of Agriculture.

0177.081 Item – Skating Party  1938 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Skating party given by Miss Ann Philips-Roberts was attended by: Earl Parrish, Dorothy Newton, Ann, Art Southworth, Gwen Grant, Gordon Wilson, Doris Gant, and Dennys Law. Mrs. Philips-Roberts, Scott the dog, and Evelyn Knight are in the front row.

0177.082 Item – Skating Party  1938 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Skating party given by Miss Ann Philips-Roberts was attended by: Earl Parrish, Dorothy Newton, Ann, Art Southworth, Gwen Grant, Gordon Wilson, Doris Gant, and Dennys Law.

0177.083 Item – Trapper and Dog Team  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

The Roberts family, on a trip to the Wapiti River, meet up with a trapper transporting his fur catch with a dog team.

0177.084 Item – Trapper and Dog Team  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Trapper and his dog team coming through the bush on the banks of the Wapiti.

0177.085 Item – Victor and I.V. Macklin  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

I.V. Macklin came to the Grande Prairie area in 1910. His son Victor married Ann Philips-Roberts in the early 1940s.

0177.086 Item – Victor Macklin and Ann Philips-Roberts  ca. 1930 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Victor Macklin and Ann Philips-Roberts, here on horses Birdie and Una, were married in the early 1940s and lived in Ottawa, Ontario for the rest of their lives.

0177.087 Item – Yellow Cabs, Grande Prairie ca. 1950 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Street view of the Yellow Cabs taxi office and three cabs on Richmond Avenue just down from the Capitol Theatre.

0177.088 Item – I.V. & Tilley Macklin  ca. 1950 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

I.V. Macklin with his second wife Tilley and their three oldest children: Irwin, Arthur, and Ann.

0177.089 Item – Dr. & Mrs. O’Brien  ca. 1945 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

Dr. and Mrs. O’Brien in the yard of their Grande Prairie home.

0177.090 Item – Orphaned Trumpeter Swans 1953 1 TIFF : b&w
Scope and content:

“Foster mother” feeding three trumpeter swans which were raised on the Tomshak farm north of Clairmont.