Authors: descendents James Brydon and Diane Brydon.
Synopsis: Robert Brydon and Janet Young scraped together the fare for their family to escape poverty in the Scotland Borders and came to Canada in the 1820s in search of a better life. With their four sons and their two daughters, they carved out a life in the woods along the Grand River south of Galt. They became the first Brydons in their family to own the land they farmed. Today Robert and Janet’s descendants number over 1000 in North America. Many of their grandchildren, some of whom came to be known as the Stalwart Brydons, heeded the call of rich farmland in Manitoba and began the settlement process once more, in the Beautiful Plains of Neepawa and Portage La Prairie during the 1870s to the 1920s. This is the story of their struggles and their successes, pieced together using information from censuses, assessments, land records, maps, newspapers, journals, church records, wills, military service records, photographs and a variety of published information. Many images are included in the book. An extensive, annotated list of sources will be helpful to genealogists searching for records in the Scottish Borders, Galt or Manitoba.
Two upcoming presentations by author Diane Brydon:
1. Thursday, June 1, 5:30 pm – Beautiful Plains Branch. Neepawa Library (280 Davidson St.)
2. Monday, June 5, 7:00 pm – Southeast/Winnipeg Branch. MGS Library/Resource Centre
This book is available for loan at the MGS Library, the MB Legislative Library and for sale at McNally-Robinson Book Store in Winnipeg.
