Robert Sutherland

M, b. March 1860, d. 1 October 1934
FatherJohn Sutherland
MotherBessie (?)
ChartsMordy Descendants
Birth*March 1860 Robert Sutherland was born in March 1860 at Earltown, Colchester, Nova Scotia. 
Marriage*10 March 1897 He married Mary Mordy, daughter of Joseph Mordy and Agnes McKillop, on 10 March 1897. 
Census1900*20 June 1900 Robert Sutherland and Mary Mordy appeared on the 1900 Census of Twp 162 Range 50, Kittson County, Minnesota, enumerated 20 June 1900. Their children John Douglas and Joseph Wesley were listed as living with them. 
Census1910*25 April 1910 Robert Sutherland and Mary Mordy appeared on the 1910 Census of Hill Twp, Kittson County, Minnesota, enumerated 25 April 1910. Their children John Douglas, Bessie Agnes, George Raymond and Bertha Marion were listed as living with them. 
Census1920*28 January 1920 Robert Sutherland and Mary Mordy appeared on the 1920 Census of Hill Twp, Kittson County, Minnesota, enumerated 28 January 1920. Their children John Douglas, Joseph Wesley, Bessie Agnes, George Raymond, Bertha Marion, Harry Daniel and Margaret Isabel were listed as living with them. 
Census1930*10 April 1930 Robert Sutherland and Mary Mordy appeared on the 1930 Census of Hill Twp, Kittson County, Minnesota, enumerated 10 April 1930. Their children John Douglas, George Raymond, Bertha Marion, Harry Daniel and Margaret Isabel were listed as living with them. 
Death*1 October 1934 Robert Sutherland died on 1 October 1934 at Hill Twp, Kittson County, Minnesota, at age 74 Certificate 1934-MN-006918.
 
Anecdote* The Story Of Robert Sutherland

by

Terry Larson

Senior High Division


America is a pioneer land made great by its people. It is a land with many stories, though its history has been short. One such story also belongs to that strip of fertile land which makes up the Red River Valley of the North and its main character is a man named Robert Sutherland.

Robert Sutherland's grandfather first immigrated to the New World in the beginning of the 19th century and settled in Earltown, Nova Scotia, Canada. Laura and Floy Chamberlain, in-laws to Sutherland descendants, researched and discovered that "Robert Sutherland (Lubec, the grandfather) and wife came from Sutherlandshire, Scotland, for religious freedom. After quarreling with the Duke of Sutherland over ministers, they came to Canada, and although the Duke later tried to make amends by sending Bibles as gifts, the Lubec Sutherlands refused. They had decided to begin in a new land in which worship was free." (1)

Robert was born in 1858, on the family farm in Earltown, Nova Scotia, where the house still stands. His father, John, and mother, Bessie, had six other children: Bella, Marion, Christy, Margaret, Daniel, and John. Robert's father died when he was in the third grade and so at the age of nine he left school and began cutting ship masts to help support the family. Their farm was small, the largest field was only about eleven acres, and it was left to Daniel, the oldest child. John and Robert decided to move on to find life somewhere else.

They then entered the United States at East Port, Maine, in November of 1881, when Robert was 23, and eventually worked for the Pennsylvania Dutch. It is thought that here they first learned English, for they previously spoke only Gaelic, the native language of Scotland. They traveled across the country stopping to homestead a timber claim in Wisconsin. They soon came north to the lumbering country of Duluth, Minnesota. Here, Robert bought his first team of four horses, animals which slowly shaped much of his life by being his most important resource. In the summer, he worked with them in Duluth. They pulled the grader which carved out Duluth's first paved street. In the winter, Robert and his horses worked in the lumber camps. Later each fall, he would also take them to the farming regions of St. Thomas, North Dakota for harvesting. This cycle continued for many years and gradually he made enough to buy what was called a horse powered threshing machine. Horses actually provided power for the machine by walking in a circle while hitched to a pulley. It drove a belt that turned a second pulley which transferred the power to the machine. It also had a hand fed separator and a straw carrier which simply dropped all the straw into a pile at the machine's rear. In a few years, Robert bought a modern advanced steam engine to power his threshing machine (steam engines were used until about 1930). With his new engine he increased his threshing area to include farms around Bowesmont, North Dakota. About 1894, he first crossed the Red River to thresh in Kittson County, Minnesota. All this time he continued lumbering with his horses in northeast Minnesota.

In 1895, Robert Sutherland bought his first half section of land in Hill Township, Kittson County, Minnesota from James J. Hill. He paid about eight dollars an acre for it.

On March 10, 1897, at the age of 39, Robert married Miss Mary Mordy, age 26, of Drayton, North Dakota. Mary's family had originally lived in Canada also, and moved from Foresters Falls, Ontario in October of 1880, when she was nine years old. They first lived in a sod house on their prairie farm 25 miles from Pembina where they got their supplies.

Mary and Robert moved into a frame house on his farm. It had been expanded into two rooms at the end of his bachelorhood. One month after they moved in they were forced to leave when it was flooded by the Red River. In later years, the house was flooded instead with children. John was born on January 1, 1898 and Wesley in 1899. Then in 1901, they had their first daughter, Bessie, who was followed by another son, Ray, in 1902. Stanley was born in 1904 and was a victim of a disease which could not be diagnosed at that time. After a tortured childhood, he died at the age of 13. Their next child was born in 1908 and was named Bertha. Harry, born in 1914, and Margaret, 1916, became the youngest child in the family. The children were all named after close relatives. Soon the children outgrew the house. "With each baby they had to add another room to the house," Bessie said. (2) Finally, in 1919, they built a new large farm house which still stands on the farm today. The oldest children spent much of their time with their grandparents, the Mordys, and went part time to their mother's school, the Pittsburg School. The rest of the children attended a small country school about three miles from the farm. Their father's horses provided transportation most of the time. Ray, Harry, and Margaret were the only ones to graduate from high school. Eventually, they all moved away or began to work on the farm.

Robert Sutherland gradually built up his farm as his family grew. His property increased to about 1,100 acres of land in Hill Township. Some of this, he cleared himself and most of it he "broke". This means he was the first man to plow the soil so that it could be cultivated. To do this, a special "breaking plow" was required. It was pulled by several horse teams or the steam engine. Water had to be hauled regularly from the river for the engine. Breaking land became Robert's specialty andhe was employed by many others. Wesley estimated that about 3,000 acres of land around Hill Township were broken by his father. (3)

The buildings on the farm were built by Robert and the family. One of the granaries is made with the tamarack beams hand hewn by Grandfather Mordy in the early 1900's and it is still standing.

On the farm, a great amount of small grain was harvested. Much of it was wheat, but barley, flax, and oats were also included. Harvest was a busy season on the farm. Grain was cut with binders and shocked by hand. Then it was fed to the huge threshing machines. At the height of this season, Robert employed as many as 25 or 30 men at one time. To solve feeding problems of such a crew, he utilized a lumber camp trick and brought the first cook car and lumber jack cook to Kittson County. The other important farm crop was hay which was used for animal feed.

The animals raised contributed much to the farm. Robert Sutherland usually raised about 200 head of Aberdeen Angus cattle, plus a large flock of sheep, but, of course, the farm's major feature was the horses. He had from 65 to 80 head and during busy days about 50 horses would be harnessed in the morning. Each year he bred from 12 to 18 mares. The horses were used throughout the farm in the spring, summer, and fall but they were not left idle in the winter. Each winter, Robert would ship many of them to northeast Minnesota to the lumber camps by train. He brought them there personally late each fall and journeyed to bring them back each spring. Other teams he would drive to the wooded land of Roseau County with several other farmers. They would gather together and bring firewood backon their sleighs. Robert Sutherland was first of the area men to have the safer and more easily handled cross chained sleigh. It could haul seven cords of wood in one trip and Robert made up to eleven trips in a winter. Each year at the county fair, Robert would exhibit his prize stock. A special contest was held each year at this time. It was called a horse-pulling contest. Teams were harnessed to weighted sleighs pulled on bare ground and people were added as the contest progressed. The horses that pulled the heaviest load the farthest won. Robert's horses continually won the contests and eventually a standing bet was made that no horses in the upper Red River Valley area could beat them. The only challenger was Walter Hill, son of James Hill, and his horses lost. Robert's reputation for fine horses was widely known and is still remembered. "I remember going with my father to the fair and seeing your grandfather's horses," said Russell Corey, son of a fellow pioneer. (4)

The life on the farm was not without its problems. There were crop failures and insect plagues. One threshing machine was lost when it caught on fire from sparks of the steam engine. Several horses were burned while stable in an old barn on a temporary camp site. The old house was bothered by rats who got into any uncovered food and occasionally frightened visiting travelers.

I've told of most of Robert Sutherland's life and the farm he carved out but I've said little about the man. Physically, he was slight. He weighed only about 150 pounds and was about 5'9" in height but he was very strong and wirey. He loved to dance and was a marvelous step dancer. He could jig and clog and do the Scottish High Land Fling. He danced at the fairs and is said to have performed before the governor of the state. Robert was a very strong Presbyterian and a member of the Northcote Presbyterian Church. At one time he belonged to the Orange Lodge, an organization which originated in Northern Ireland and was rather anti-Catholic. He liked to joke and tell stories of his experiences. Robert became a United States citizen by taking out his naturalization papers and he enjoyed arguing over politics. He called himself a Republican until the days of Hoover at which time he became angry and switched his loyalty. Robert can well be called an action man. He did little reading and such quiet activities, particularly because of his lack of education. He had little patience with poor workers or lazy men. He liked to be busy and on the move, consequently, he was not home a great deal. However, he kept his body and mind healthy, alert, and active.

In the mid 1920's, things on the farm began getting rough. The farm depression had started. At the same time, more machinery, instead of horses, was needed and bought for the farm. Robert Sutherland's quite comfortable living standard was lowered. In 1930, at about 72 or 73, while hauling feed with horses and sleigh, Robert caught his leg and it broke. "It must have taken a year to heal," Harry remembers. (5) About a year later he began to get sick. He put off going to the doctor and then couldn't be persuaded to see a specialist, for times were hard and there wasn't enough money. His problems finally developed into cancer of the prostate and there was nothing that could be done. As his physical condition degenerated, he also became depressed. He died at the age of 76, on October 1, 1934. His obituary appeared two days later in the local paper. "Mr. Sutherlandhas long been classified as one of the bonanza farmers of Kittson County. He worked hard throughout his life gradually accumulating considerable property. His farm home today is one of the finest in the county, with large buildings and a beautiful home built thereon. He had a great many friends throughout all parts of the country who regretted to see him pass away. During his sick period he suffered considerable." (6) "Wesley considers him to have been a victim of the depression."(7)

In the same paper as his obituary, there was also an advertisement for an auction sale which John, who had taken charge of the farm, was holding to reduce the farm's machinery and cattle. (8) Four hundred acres of land had been lost when a government lending agency foreclosed on a loan and all the machinery was no longer needed.

Robert's wife followed him in death eight years later in1942 at 70 years of age.

The farm was left to the family, and John continued to manage it until he retired.

This has been the story of one of America's pioneers who came to the Red River Valley to spend most of his life. Robert Sutherland is part of the country's growth.

(1) Laura and Floy Chamberlain, personal letter, 1969

(2) Bessie Sutherland Gillie, Interviewed, January 25,1975

(3) Wesley Sutherland, Interviewed, January 25, 1975

(4) Russell Corey, Interviewed, January 18, 1975

(5) Harry Sutherland, Interviewed several times in January,1975

(6) Kittson County Enterprise, October 3, 1934, p. 1

(7) Wesley Sutherland, Interviewed, January 25, 1975

(8) Kittson County Enterprise, Op. Cit. p. 3



Bibliography

Chamberlain, Laura and Floy, From personal letter written in 1969

Corey, Russell, Interviewed, January 18, 1975

Gillie, Bessie Sutherland, Interviewed, January 25, 1975

Kittson County Enterprise, October 3, 1934, Pages 1 and 3

Sutherland, Harry, Interviewed several times in January,1975

Sutherland, Wesley, Interviewed, January 25, 1975

n County Enterprise, October 3, 1934, Pages 1 and3

Sutherland, Harry, Interviewed several times in January,1975

Sutherland, Wesley, Interviewed, January 25, 1975

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnrrvn/Essay-Sutherland-Robert.html. 

Family

Mary Mordy b. 21 Nov 1872, d. 4 Dec 1942
Children