Extracted from B.G. Hunter-Eastwood, “Report on the William Brown Heritage House,” Prepared for the Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia, Winnipeg, 1988, p. 61-62, 71.

“The author of [the Taylor Journals], the Honorable John Taylor, married one of William Brown’s daughters, Francis Jane, and he served as a Member of Parliament. He taught school, gave music lessons in his younger years, was a participant in the events of the Riel Rebellion, and was an acute observer of events which he recorded in daily Journal over a period of more than 40 years.”

“The Taylor Journals…clearly establish that the life of a farmer in Headingley had a certain rhythm: plowing, planting and harrowing in the Spring; weeding, haying, repairs, and construction in the Summer; harvesting in the Fall; threshing and sale/storage of crops in late Fall; politicking and partying in Winter; cutting ice, storing fish, and tending to new-born livestock in late Winter. These activities could be briefly interrupted for addition to the human family, by deaths and funerals, by disease, or be severe forms of weather, but the underlying pattern was strong, and the interruptions appear brief if only in retrospect.

The general pattern was also interrupted and supplemented by the introduction of new technology. John Taylor recorded the use of several technological developments during the time period under review and it is useful to keep these in mind as we proceed. The use of steam power for milling and, later on, for threshing was established in 1880; a self-binder was available and in use in harvesting by 1878. The disk harrow appears to have been in use by the late 1880’s and Taylor purchased a ‘horse-power’ in 1895, paying $65.00 for a 4 horse-power motor. The rail-road ran to Headingley by late 1881 and electric lights were lit up to Headingley in December 1911. Taylor also records that he installed a furnace and electric lights in the new house which his son Rupert constructed for him in the same year.

The general image that Taylor provides is one of reasonably rapid adaptation to new technology. Each new device for which Taylor record an appearance was also accompanied by visits from the neighbours who wanted to see how the equipment worked. Taylor also shows that mechanical skills were accessible and often led to the use of a home-made part which functioned better than that produced in a factory. This was particularly the case with respect to novel machinery such as the self-binder, and with respect to break-down during harvest.

William Brown Sr. and his family were very much part of this pattern. They purchased a self-binder before Taylor did; they had a mill in the early years; they ran a blacksmith shop for a short time, and they often helped to run the steam threshing machines during the Fall. William Brown’s sons helped to build the ferry which crossed the river near Headingley, as well. In the early 1900’s, the Browns also ran a Hotel and canvassed for support for a licence to serve alcohol.”