Begin forwarded message:

From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>

Subject: Fwd: EPISODE 356 OUR FARM IN 1958 AND WAY BACK IN 1914 WHEN IT WAS REALLY A FARM

Date: June 3, 2021 at 3:34:15 PM EDT

To: Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>

Begin forwarded message:

From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>

Subject: EPISODE 356 OUR FARM IN 1958 AND WAY BACK IN 1914 WHEN IT WAS REALLY A FARM

Date: June 2, 2021 at 9:40:45 PM EDT

To: Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>, Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>, John Wardle <jwardle@rogers.com>

NOTE:  I HOPE  THESE PICS MAKE SENSE…GIVE AN IMPRESSION OF THE

IMPORTANCE OF THE FREEMAN FARM AS ALL OF US TOOK OUR HUMAN JOURNEY

EPISODE 356    OUR FARM IN 1958 AND WAY BACK IN 1914 WHEN IT WAS REALLY A FARM

alan skeoch

June 3, 2021

THE TERM HARDSCRABBLE FARM WAS INVENTED TO DESCRIBE OUR FAMILY

FARM IN THE DAYS WHEN MAKING A LIVING FARMING WAS VERY DIFFICULT.

TODAY IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE ON A 25 ACRE FARM LIKE THIS…ALL SWAMPS

AND STONEY FIELDS.   BUT GRANDMA LOUISA FREEMAN AND GRANDPA

EDWARD FREEMAN MANAGED TO MAKE A LIVING AND RAISE TWO CHILDREN.

…AND ENJOY THEIR LIVES.

ALAN SKEOCH                                                             ALAN  SKEOCH AND ARNOLD ‘RED’ SKEOCH

THIS IS ELSIE (FREEMAN) SKEOCH WITH GRANDSON KEVIN.  SHE WAS THE PERSON THAT INHERITED THE FARM  IN 1958 AND MANAGED

TO PAY THE  TAXES AND THE UPKEEP AFTER GRANDMA AND GRANDPA DIED.  HOW SHE DID THAT IS A MYSTERY, FOR EVERY PENNY

SHE EARNED WAS DONE WITH A SEWING MACHINE .. MUCH OF THE TIME IN SWEATSHOPS.   A GREAT WOMAN…OUR MOTHER.

DAD’S MONEY WENT TO FEED HORSES AT RACETRACKS ACROSS ONTARIO AND NEW YORK STATE.  MOM WAS MUCH MORE CAREFUL.

DAD WAS ONE OF THE GREAT CHARACTERS OF THIS WORLD.  LOVABLE BUT IRRESPONSIBLE.   THEIR MARRIAGE WAS A GOOD ONE.

MY BROTHER ERIC AND I WERE CITY BOYS REALLY BUT THE FREEMAN FARM

WAS ALWAYS A PLACE WHERE WE WOULD BE WELCOMED…INDEED , A

PLACE WHERE WE WERE WANTED.   ANYTIME.  A SECOND HOME.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Thomas and Catherine Norris <norr-cal@sympatico.ca>

Subject: RE: EPISODE 401 CONCLUSION THE SHORT AND HORRIFIC LIFE OF GEORGEEVERITT GREEN, HOME CHILD , PART FIVE

Date: August 16, 2021 at 1:48:44 PM EDT

To: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>

Ghastly

T

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

 

From: ALAN SKEOCH
Sent: August 14, 2021 6:16 PM
To: Alan Skeoch; Marjorie Skeoch; John Wardle
Subject: Fwd: EPISODE 401 CONCLUSION THE SHORT AND HORRIFIC LIFE OF GEORGEEVERITT GREEN, HOME CHILD , PART FIVE

 

 

 

EPISODE 401    THE SHORT AND HORRIFIC LIFE OF GEORGE EVERITT GREEN, HOME CHILD ,  PART FIVE

 

alan skeoch

august 2021

 

  THIS WILL BE MY CONCLUSION OF THE STORY. THE FULL STORY OF GEORGE EVERITT GREEN’S LIFE

AND DEATH IS MENTIONED OFTEN  BY BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON THE HOME CHILDREN (BARNARDO CHILDREN)

NEVER, IN MY EXPERIENCE, HAVE DETAILS OF THIS TRIAL  BEEN USED.

 

 

I HAVE EDITED THE TRIAL RECORDS SLIGHTLY.  

862079C1-1E20-4E29-8EA7-71CE88D8428E@phub.net.cable.rogers.com” style=”width: 6.302in; height: 7.9375in;” class=””>

George Green

 

SOME FINAL WITNESSES

MR. MCKINLEY, sworn and examined by Mr. Mackay

 

Did you know the boy George Green?

Yes

Did you see him when you were sewing grass seed.

I did not see him.

Did you hear him?

Yes.

Doing what?

First he was calling the cows, then he semed to go back to the house and then I heard Miss Findlay scolding

and then I heard blows and the boy crying.

How many blows?

Several…five or six

Followed by what?

Crying

You could not see them?

They were at the other side of the house…fully 80 rods away.

Would the blows necessarily be very severe to enable you to hear them 80 rods away?

They would have been.

Do you remember pulling peas?

We were busy pulling peas and I heard Miss Findlay start to scold and I heard blows again.

Ordinary scolding?

Swearing…and I heard the blows again and the boy crying same as before.

What were the blows on the first occasion like?  Slaps of the fist?  What did they sound like?

Like as if you were chastising a horse with a stick or rope..

  Can you give me another date?

 Well on or about the last of October we were busy digging potatoes and I heard a boy calling

the cattle.  Then the boy did something that displeased Miss Findlay.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        She told him she would knock his damn white head off.

  

About the 30th of october i went to lay up a prop in the line fence and heard the racket start again and

hurried over to see what was going ron,  I heard her punishing  the boy and heard him crying and

I hurried over to where I could see. I seen her coming out of the place where she kept her buggy and

I could hear him crying in there and after a while I heard him begin as if he was splitting  wood, That is

the time I heard the blows and heard him crying,,,then on the 6th of November…

How do you place the date?

I keep a journal

Do you know what you were doing on  6th of November?

Digging potatoes .   I heard Miss Findlay say  “Get up and get in there.”

How far away would you be?

At my  own house—about 80 rods distant and I looked over and I seen her

trailing him up the steps. She had him by the hands and had him on his back.

By both hands and she was dragging him up head foremost.

Yes.

 

CROSS EXAMINED BY MR. TUCKER

 

You Never saw her strike him during any of the three occasions,?

A blow that would be heard at 80 rods would be sufficient to fell an ox.

If you hit hard enough I suppose. 

A blow heard 80 rods away would crush anything?

 

You knew she had a black colt?

Yes

And you knew the black colt was in the habit of  chasing the boy?

No, sir.

Didn’t you ever see it?

No, sir, I seen him holding the horse in the field and never saw it offer to touch him.

If she struck the black colt at that time instead of the boy that would account for the sound?

That would not make the boy cry.

If the colt were chasing the boy he would cry. He was simple in the head?

A little simple perhaps.

And is it not a fact that he had some kind of impediment in his windpipe so he made a noise when he breathed.

I could not say. I didn’t hear the noise when I was talking to him.

You never went to complain to Miss Findlay ? 

NO,sir.

 

Mr, Mackay seemed to get worried.  Mr. Tucker defended Rose Findlay by creating doubt. 

Was it a horse she hit and not ‘George Green? Was George simple minded?

Did he have a voice impediment?

 

MR. MACKAY 

 

How would Miss  Findlay react if you had interfered?

She would have ordered me off the place.

(In fact she did order the McKinley’s off her farm)

Is there anything at all plausible about the theory that the woman struck the black colt?

No, sir.  The Findlays would not strike a colt.

 

NOTE TO READERS IN 2021:   THERE WERE MANY MORE WITNESSES CALLED TO TESTIFY IN  1895

MOST OF WHOM I HAVE IN MY ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT.  TOO MANY.  SO LET ME END THIS HORRIFIC

STORY WITH THE TESTIMONIES OF TWO 12 YEAR OLD CHILDREN WHO WORKED FOR MISS FINDLAY

WHILE GEORGE GREEN WAS STILL ALIVE

 

ALEXANDER GILCHRIST, JUNIOR

 

Did you know George Green?

yes

Did you ever have any conversation with Miss Findlay as to how she used him?

When she was doing the harvest she told me she got down off her load and gave him two bootings. She also told

me she threatened she would shove the pitch fork through him.

Did you see anything yourself?

No

 

CONCLUSION:   ONLY READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NERVES OF STEEL

 

THE EYE WITNESS TESTIMONY OF

MARY BROWN WHO WORKED ON THE FINDLAY FARM THE SUMMER OF 1895

 

How old are you Mary?

Twelve

Were you there at Miss Findlay’s along until the boy died?

Yes, sir.

Can you tell me how Miss Findlay used the boy while you were there?  What did you see her do?

I saw her kicking him around and I saw her taking an axe handle to him.

How do you mean she used to kick him, was it an easy or hard kick?

Sometimes she used to kick him hard.

Did he ever cry?

Yes

She used to kick him five or six times.

You mentioned an axe handle, where was that used?

We were unloading wood.

I was on the top of the  load with George Green when she struck him with an axe handle on the back.

Just once?

No, she struck him two or three times then she would stop and he would throw a piece of wood down and if he

didn’t throw it in the right place she would strike him again.

Hard? How did she hold the axe handle?

She took it at the bottom of the axe handle and fetched it right down on his back between the shoulders.

How high did she raise it?

Over the shoulder

Did the boy cry?

Yes.

Did she strike him with anything else other an axe handle?

Yes, a pitch fork.

What part of the pitchfork?

With  prongs of the fork.

Where?

Between the shoulders on the back.

How did she hold the fork?

Just by the handle. Two hands, She raised it up and hit him on the back with it.  Hard.

What did he say? Did he refuse to work?

No. He was working only not fast enough for her.

Was he in the habit of giving her impudence or refusing to do what he was told?

No sir. He was quiet. He would never speak unless spoken to.

She was often striking him in the field and threatening to run the fork through him if he didn’t hurry up

Tell me now if you ever saw her strike him with anything else?

She struck him with the broom handle and broke it.

Where was this?

I didn’t see it as I was in the bedroom but she told me se broke the broom over his back.

You heard him yelling…crying?

He just cried hard.

 

Anything else?   

We were unloading wood and a stick he threw bounced and hit my shoulder . She jumped off the rig

and started pounding him with her fist.  Then she took off her rubber boot and was pounding him with that.

Do you remember an incident around the pump?

Yes    But I was not there. She told me she hit him with her slipper and a naIL cut his head.

You saw his head bleed?

Yes.

Was he crying

Not when I got there but he might have been crying.

 

Was there any other occasion that you recollect?

Yes, with a table fork. I was outside the door when she struck him with the table fork.  

 There was blood on his cheek when he came out.   The fork was lying there broken.’

I never saw it broke until she struck him.  Blood was running down his cheek when I went in.

She never said anything about it.

 

You were in his bedroom from time to time throughout the three months you were there?

Yes

Did you ever make George’s bed up?

No sir.

Did you ever know her to make it up?

No sir.

Do you recollect anything being the matter with George before he took sick in bed?  Take

his fingers for instance.

As far as I know his fingers got sore when the first snow came.

It would be a month or so ago

What do you mean by his fingers got sore?

The skin all came off.

From the first joints to the points?

Yes.

What about his nails.?

Well I saw one of his nails come off when we were splitting kindling  wood.

 

 

Did you ever see Miss Findlay take him into the house?

I saw Miss Findlay dragging him up the steps a week before he died.

How did she drag him?

Well, I thought she took him by the collar

The week that he was sick…the week he died?

 

Was there ever a doctor called?

No sir

Who took care of him? What did you ever do for him?   How often did you take water to him to wash

during the time that he was sick?

I never took it unless Miss Findlay did.

Did you ever see Miss Findlay take water up to him while he was sick?

No only the Saturday morning he died.

What did she do that morning or did she do anything?  Was he changed from one room to another?

Yes , she changed his room Saturday morning.

Where did she go that day?

Owen Sound

What time did she get back?

About 9 0’clock

What time did she leave?

About 12 o’clock (noon)

 

What was the boy doing?

He was moaning…could not speak.

 

Was that bed made up or changed during the week he was sick?

Not that I saw.  It was dirty all week.

I believe he dirtied it himself?

Yes

 

 

Do you know if Miss Findlay supplied him with a crock as a toilet?

One chamber pot broke  Replaced with a pail.  Not emptied.

Can you tell me whether the boy was dead when Miss Findlay got home at nine o’clock Saturday?

Did she go up to see him?

After she got warmed she went upstairs  She said he was was either dead or dying and she didn’t know which. 

Then she went out to tend the cattle then came in again and made herself a cup of tea and went to bed.

Did you sleep with her?

Yes.

Did she get up again that you know of?

No sir

When did she learn that he was dead?

When she went up in the  morning she said he was stiff.

Did you see him”

Yes.

Were his eyes closed?

No

Was his mouth closed?

No.

Both open?

Yes.

You gave evidence at the Coroner’s inquest in Big Bay, didn’t you?

Yes

Did you tell the same story at the inquest you are telling now?

No sir.

You didn’t tell the same story, why?

Miss Findlay scared me.

 

NOTE:  Fear is the enemy of truth.  Mary Brown, a 12 year old farm labourer spent the summer of 1895 watching

the abuse and terrible death of George Everett Green.   Mary Brown was afraid of Rose Findlay.  They shared the 

same bed. She saw the violence Miss Findlay directed to the boy.  With great courage and no doubt, careful

priming by Mr Mackay, Mary Brown explained why her evidence in Owen Sound contradicted her statement in 

Big Bay.

 

MARY BROWN

 

MISS Findlay told me that I was to tell that she didn’t abuse the boy, or didn’t kick him around and them bruises was 

from him falling down.

Were you or were you not afraid of Miss Findlay ?

Yes.

Do you remember when she was arrested, when Mr. Pearce came for her?

Yes, I remember when he came. She told me I was to tell the same thing as I told in Big Bay.

 

CONCLUSION

 

I HAVE DECIDED TO END THESE EPISODES ABOUT GEORGE GREEN WITH THE  TESTIMONY

OF MARY BROWN WHO, YOU WILL REMEMBER, WAS ONLY 12 YEARS OLD IN THAT TERRIBLE

SUMMER AND FALL OF 1895.   MUCH MORE COULD BE SAID.  LIKE THE CONDITION OF GEORGE 

GREEN’S BED IN THE WEEK HE DIED.  THE BED WAS ‘IMPROVED’ ONCE BY THE ADDITION 

OF DIRTY STRAW FROM THE STABLE.  GEORGE GREEN’S CLOTHING WAS FILTHY BUT

HE HAD NO OTHER CLOTHES.  THE BODY  OF GEORGE GREEN WAS FOUND CURLED UP

IN A NEST OF DIRTY STRAW . FOULED BY GEORGE AS HE LAY DYING.

 

THIS TESTIMONY STARTLED MANY CANADIANS AS THE TRIAL PROCEEDINGS WERE  REPORTED

BY NEWSPAPERS ACROSS CANADA.

 

MARY BROWN’S TESTIMONY IS MUCH LONGER THAN I HAVE QUOTED BUT I THINK

READERS HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS HORROR.

 

THE JURY COULD NOT AGREE.  A hung jury. THE PREJUDICE AGAINST HOME CHILDREN

WAS SO PREVALENT THAT EVEN THE TERRIBLE TREATMENT OF GEORGE

GREEN COULD NOT PERSUADE SOME JURY MEMBERS TO CONVICT 

ROSE FINDLAY OF MURDER.  

 

IN A SUBSEQUENT TRIAL SHE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN CONVICTED OF A LESSER

CHARGE…PERHAPS CHILD ABUSE…AND SENT TO THE MERCER

PRISON FOR WOMEN IN TORONTO…FOR A YEAR.   

 

alan skeoch

august 2021

 

PICTURES BELOW ARE NOT FROM THE GEORGE GREEN STORY.  BUT THESE 

PICTURES REINFORCE ELEMENTS OF THE STORY.

 

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Thomas and Catherine Norris <norr-cal@sympatico.ca>

Subject: RE: EPISODE 401 CONCLUSION THE SHORT AND HORRIFIC LIFE OF GEORGEEVERITT GREEN, HOME CHILD , PART FIVE

Date: August 16, 2021 at 1:48:44 PM EDT

To: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>

Ghastly

T

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

 

From: ALAN SKEOCH
Sent: August 14, 2021 6:16 PM
To: Alan Skeoch; Marjorie Skeoch; John Wardle
Subject: Fwd: EPISODE 401 CONCLUSION THE SHORT AND HORRIFIC LIFE OF GEORGEEVERITT GREEN, HOME CHILD , PART FIVE

 

 

 

EPISODE 401    THE SHORT AND HORRIFIC LIFE OF GEORGE EVERITT GREEN, HOME CHILD ,  PART FIVE

 

alan skeoch

august 2021

 

  THIS WILL BE MY CONCLUSION OF THE STORY. THE FULL STORY OF GEORGE EVERITT GREEN’S LIFE

AND DEATH IS MENTIONED OFTEN  BY BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON THE HOME CHILDREN (BARNARDO CHILDREN)

NEVER, IN MY EXPERIENCE, HAVE DETAILS OF THIS TRIAL  BEEN USED.

 

 

I HAVE EDITED THE TRIAL RECORDS SLIGHTLY.  

862079C1-1E20-4E29-8EA7-71CE88D8428E@phub.net.cable.rogers.com” style=”width: 6.302in; height: 7.9375in;” class=””>

George Green

 

SOME FINAL WITNESSES

MR. MCKINLEY, sworn and examined by Mr. Mackay

 

Did you know the boy George Green?

Yes

Did you see him when you were sewing grass seed.

I did not see him.

Did you hear him?

Yes.

Doing what?

First he was calling the cows, then he semed to go back to the house and then I heard Miss Findlay scolding

and then I heard blows and the boy crying.

How many blows?

Several…five or six

Followed by what?

Crying

You could not see them?

They were at the other side of the house…fully 80 rods away.

Would the blows necessarily be very severe to enable you to hear them 80 rods away?

They would have been.

Do you remember pulling peas?

We were busy pulling peas and I heard Miss Findlay start to scold and I heard blows again.

Ordinary scolding?

Swearing…and I heard the blows again and the boy crying same as before.

What were the blows on the first occasion like?  Slaps of the fist?  What did they sound like?

Like as if you were chastising a horse with a stick or rope..

  Can you give me another date?

 Well on or about the last of October we were busy digging potatoes and I heard a boy calling

the cattle.  Then the boy did something that displeased Miss Findlay.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        She told him she would knock his damn white head off.

  

About the 30th of october i went to lay up a prop in the line fence and heard the racket start again and

hurried over to see what was going ron,  I heard her punishing  the boy and heard him crying and

I hurried over to where I could see. I seen her coming out of the place where she kept her buggy and

I could hear him crying in there and after a while I heard him begin as if he was splitting  wood, That is

the time I heard the blows and heard him crying,,,then on the 6th of November…

How do you place the date?

I keep a journal

Do you know what you were doing on  6th of November?

Digging potatoes .   I heard Miss Findlay say  “Get up and get in there.”

How far away would you be?

At my  own house—about 80 rods distant and I looked over and I seen her

trailing him up the steps. She had him by the hands and had him on his back.

By both hands and she was dragging him up head foremost.

Yes.

 

CROSS EXAMINED BY MR. TUCKER

 

You Never saw her strike him during any of the three occasions,?

A blow that would be heard at 80 rods would be sufficient to fell an ox.

If you hit hard enough I suppose. 

A blow heard 80 rods away would crush anything?

 

You knew she had a black colt?

Yes

And you knew the black colt was in the habit of  chasing the boy?

No, sir.

Didn’t you ever see it?

No, sir, I seen him holding the horse in the field and never saw it offer to touch him.

If she struck the black colt at that time instead of the boy that would account for the sound?

That would not make the boy cry.

If the colt were chasing the boy he would cry. He was simple in the head?

A little simple perhaps.

And is it not a fact that he had some kind of impediment in his windpipe so he made a noise when he breathed.

I could not say. I didn’t hear the noise when I was talking to him.

You never went to complain to Miss Findlay ? 

NO,sir.

 

Mr, Mackay seemed to get worried.  Mr. Tucker defended Rose Findlay by creating doubt. 

Was it a horse she hit and not ‘George Green? Was George simple minded?

Did he have a voice impediment?

 

MR. MACKAY 

 

How would Miss  Findlay react if you had interfered?

She would have ordered me off the place.

(In fact she did order the McKinley’s off her farm)

Is there anything at all plausible about the theory that the woman struck the black colt?

No, sir.  The Findlays would not strike a colt.

 

NOTE TO READERS IN 2021:   THERE WERE MANY MORE WITNESSES CALLED TO TESTIFY IN  1895

MOST OF WHOM I HAVE IN MY ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT.  TOO MANY.  SO LET ME END THIS HORRIFIC

STORY WITH THE TESTIMONIES OF TWO 12 YEAR OLD CHILDREN WHO WORKED FOR MISS FINDLAY

WHILE GEORGE GREEN WAS STILL ALIVE

 

ALEXANDER GILCHRIST, JUNIOR

 

Did you know George Green?

yes

Did you ever have any conversation with Miss Findlay as to how she used him?

When she was doing the harvest she told me she got down off her load and gave him two bootings. She also told

me she threatened she would shove the pitch fork through him.

Did you see anything yourself?

No

 

CONCLUSION:   ONLY READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NERVES OF STEEL

 

THE EYE WITNESS TESTIMONY OF

MARY BROWN WHO WORKED ON THE FINDLAY FARM THE SUMMER OF 1895

 

How old are you Mary?

Twelve

Were you there at Miss Findlay’s along until the boy died?

Yes, sir.

Can you tell me how Miss Findlay used the boy while you were there?  What did you see her do?

I saw her kicking him around and I saw her taking an axe handle to him.

How do you mean she used to kick him, was it an easy or hard kick?

Sometimes she used to kick him hard.

Did he ever cry?

Yes

She used to kick him five or six times.

You mentioned an axe handle, where was that used?

We were unloading wood.

I was on the top of the  load with George Green when she struck him with an axe handle on the back.

Just once?

No, she struck him two or three times then she would stop and he would throw a piece of wood down and if he

didn’t throw it in the right place she would strike him again.

Hard? How did she hold the axe handle?

She took it at the bottom of the axe handle and fetched it right down on his back between the shoulders.

How high did she raise it?

Over the shoulder

Did the boy cry?

Yes.

Did she strike him with anything else other an axe handle?

Yes, a pitch fork.

What part of the pitchfork?

With  prongs of the fork.

Where?

Between the shoulders on the back.

How did she hold the fork?

Just by the handle. Two hands, She raised it up and hit him on the back with it.  Hard.

What did he say? Did he refuse to work?

No. He was working only not fast enough for her.

Was he in the habit of giving her impudence or refusing to do what he was told?

No sir. He was quiet. He would never speak unless spoken to.

She was often striking him in the field and threatening to run the fork through him if he didn’t hurry up

Tell me now if you ever saw her strike him with anything else?

She struck him with the broom handle and broke it.

Where was this?

I didn’t see it as I was in the bedroom but she told me se broke the broom over his back.

You heard him yelling…crying?

He just cried hard.

 

Anything else?   

We were unloading wood and a stick he threw bounced and hit my shoulder . She jumped off the rig

and started pounding him with her fist.  Then she took off her rubber boot and was pounding him with that.

Do you remember an incident around the pump?

Yes    But I was not there. She told me she hit him with her slipper and a naIL cut his head.

You saw his head bleed?

Yes.

Was he crying

Not when I got there but he might have been crying.

 

Was there any other occasion that you recollect?

Yes, with a table fork. I was outside the door when she struck him with the table fork.  

 There was blood on his cheek when he came out.   The fork was lying there broken.’

I never saw it broke until she struck him.  Blood was running down his cheek when I went in.

She never said anything about it.

 

You were in his bedroom from time to time throughout the three months you were there?

Yes

Did you ever make George’s bed up?

No sir.

Did you ever know her to make it up?

No sir.

Do you recollect anything being the matter with George before he took sick in bed?  Take

his fingers for instance.

As far as I know his fingers got sore when the first snow came.

It would be a month or so ago

What do you mean by his fingers got sore?

The skin all came off.

From the first joints to the points?

Yes.

What about his nails.?

Well I saw one of his nails come off when we were splitting kindling  wood.

 

 

Did you ever see Miss Findlay take him into the house?

I saw Miss Findlay dragging him up the steps a week before he died.

How did she drag him?

Well, I thought she took him by the collar

The week that he was sick…the week he died?

 

Was there ever a doctor called?

No sir

Who took care of him? What did you ever do for him?   How often did you take water to him to wash

during the time that he was sick?

I never took it unless Miss Findlay did.

Did you ever see Miss Findlay take water up to him while he was sick?

No only the Saturday morning he died.

What did she do that morning or did she do anything?  Was he changed from one room to another?

Yes , she changed his room Saturday morning.

Where did she go that day?

Owen Sound

What time did she get back?

About 9 0’clock

What time did she leave?

About 12 o’clock (noon)

 

What was the boy doing?

He was moaning…could not speak.

 

Was that bed made up or changed during the week he was sick?

Not that I saw.  It was dirty all week.

I believe he dirtied it himself?

Yes

 

 

Do you know if Miss Findlay supplied him with a crock as a toilet?

One chamber pot broke  Replaced with a pail.  Not emptied.

Can you tell me whether the boy was dead when Miss Findlay got home at nine o’clock Saturday?

Did she go up to see him?

After she got warmed she went upstairs  She said he was was either dead or dying and she didn’t know which. 

Then she went out to tend the cattle then came in again and made herself a cup of tea and went to bed.

Did you sleep with her?

Yes.

Did she get up again that you know of?

No sir

When did she learn that he was dead?

When she went up in the  morning she said he was stiff.

Did you see him”

Yes.

Were his eyes closed?

No

Was his mouth closed?

No.

Both open?

Yes.

You gave evidence at the Coroner’s inquest in Big Bay, didn’t you?

Yes

Did you tell the same story at the inquest you are telling now?

No sir.

You didn’t tell the same story, why?

Miss Findlay scared me.

 

NOTE:  Fear is the enemy of truth.  Mary Brown, a 12 year old farm labourer spent the summer of 1895 watching

the abuse and terrible death of George Everett Green.   Mary Brown was afraid of Rose Findlay.  They shared the 

same bed. She saw the violence Miss Findlay directed to the boy.  With great courage and no doubt, careful

priming by Mr Mackay, Mary Brown explained why her evidence in Owen Sound contradicted her statement in 

Big Bay.

 

MARY BROWN

 

MISS Findlay told me that I was to tell that she didn’t abuse the boy, or didn’t kick him around and them bruises was 

from him falling down.

Were you or were you not afraid of Miss Findlay ?

Yes.

Do you remember when she was arrested, when Mr. Pearce came for her?

Yes, I remember when he came. She told me I was to tell the same thing as I told in Big Bay.

 

CONCLUSION

 

I HAVE DECIDED TO END THESE EPISODES ABOUT GEORGE GREEN WITH THE  TESTIMONY

OF MARY BROWN WHO, YOU WILL REMEMBER, WAS ONLY 12 YEARS OLD IN THAT TERRIBLE

SUMMER AND FALL OF 1895.   MUCH MORE COULD BE SAID.  LIKE THE CONDITION OF GEORGE 

GREEN’S BED IN THE WEEK HE DIED.  THE BED WAS ‘IMPROVED’ ONCE BY THE ADDITION 

OF DIRTY STRAW FROM THE STABLE.  GEORGE GREEN’S CLOTHING WAS FILTHY BUT

HE HAD NO OTHER CLOTHES.  THE BODY  OF GEORGE GREEN WAS FOUND CURLED UP

IN A NEST OF DIRTY STRAW . FOULED BY GEORGE AS HE LAY DYING.

 

THIS TESTIMONY STARTLED MANY CANADIANS AS THE TRIAL PROCEEDINGS WERE  REPORTED

BY NEWSPAPERS ACROSS CANADA.

 

MARY BROWN’S TESTIMONY IS MUCH LONGER THAN I HAVE QUOTED BUT I THINK

READERS HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS HORROR.

 

THE JURY COULD NOT AGREE.  A hung jury. THE PREJUDICE AGAINST HOME CHILDREN

WAS SO PREVALENT THAT EVEN THE TERRIBLE TREATMENT OF GEORGE

GREEN COULD NOT PERSUADE SOME JURY MEMBERS TO CONVICT 

ROSE FINDLAY OF MURDER.  

 

IN A SUBSEQUENT TRIAL SHE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN CONVICTED OF A LESSER

CHARGE…PERHAPS CHILD ABUSE…AND SENT TO THE MERCER

PRISON FOR WOMEN IN TORONTO…FOR A YEAR.   

 

alan skeoch

august 2021

 

PICTURES BELOW ARE NOT FROM THE GEORGE GREEN STORY.  BUT THESE 

PICTURES REINFORCE ELEMENTS OF THE STORY.

 

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Begin forwarded message:

From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>

Subject: EPISODE 395 DUEL….ROUND BALES OR SQUARE BALES July 2021

Date: July 23, 2021 at 6:59:53 PM EDT

To: Alan Skeoch <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>, Marjorie Skeoch <marjorieskeoch@gmail.com>, John Wardle <jwardle@rogers.com>

EPISODE 395    DUEL…ROUND BALES OR SQUARE BALES

alan skeoch

July 23, 2021

There seems to be a bit of a duel going on between round balers

and square balers….on fifth line today

Begin forwarded message:

From: Norman Paterson <normanreedpaterson@gmail.com>

Subject: Re: EPISODE 387 THE PERPLEXING CASE OF THE LUBICON CREE: THE FORGOTTEN TRIBE

Date: July 13, 2021 at 9:15:47 AM EDT

To: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>

A very interesting story. Top marks to Rachel Notley.

Norm

On Mon, Jul 12, 2021, 9:18 PM ALAN SKEOCH, <alan.skeoch@rogers.com> wrote:

EPISODE 387   THE PERPLEXING CASE OF THE LUBICON CREE: THE FORGOTTEN TRIBE

alan skeoch

July 2021

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Chief Bernard Ominayak of Lubicon Cree…attempt to negotiate land claim in 1998…his sister Rose made speech to United Nations officials. Bernard in suit, unsure 

of other person

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Cree men as seen in 1898…Lubicon cree Never signed Treaty #8

One nice result of researching a book is that nice people surface now and then to offer help.

That’s what happened with the Lubicon Cree…. became Chapter 12 of YOUR HOME ON NATIVE LAND.

Let me quote part of the chapter written in 2008.  Remember the book is a dialogue between a young Mississauga First

Nations boy and his wise grandmother from the New Credit Reserve in Ontario.  The story may make you cry.

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CHAPTER 12

QUESTION: “Have you ever heard of a cross-cut saw?”

“Of course! What has that to do with land claims?”

“Keep the saw blade in mind, back and forth. Cutting.’

“There is a tribe in Northern Alberta called the Lubicon Cree.  When Treaty

Number 8 was signed in 1898 the officials did not know this tribe existed.

They were missed because the were remote.  They were not found until

1939 when two government men reached them.

Since they had not signed a treaty, they still had rights to their land…if they

could prove they were native people.  There were only 154 of them, which a

government official reduced to 30…too small a number to merit a reserve.

Problem solved.  Right?”

“Doesn’t sound right to me. Why make a big deal ? Why not recognize the Lubicon

and set up a reserve…get a new agreement?”

“The federal and provincial government just wanted to get rid of the problem

because there was oil on the land where the Lubicon live. Lots of it.

The Alberta government passed a law banning the Lubicon from their land.

One hundred oil companies came in, cut road, set up drills…in five years 

there were 400 oil wells pumping crude oil.  Then a huge Japanese pulp and 

paper mill was built consuming millions of trees each year.”

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QUESTION:“Who owns the oilfield? Who owns the trees?”

“Right! One young Lubicon, Bernard Ominayak decided to fight the paper war.

It is not easy for one man…or a small group of Native people…to take on 

governments and oil companies.   He was pushed back and forth like

that cross-cut saw we talked about.  No agreement.  Nothing happened.  His

leadership was badmouthed and undercut.

“His people were split.  depressed.  No clear title to their homes.  Not sure

they were even Natives.  Drinking, suicides…a downward track for a depressed

people.”

QUESTION: “What could they do?  Nothing!”

“Years passed.  Decades passed.  No settlement.  Finally in 1998, they took

their case to the United Nations and the World Council of Churches.”

QUESTION: “Did they win?”

“I won’t tell you just yet, but picture this. A big room…there are a lot of important

United Nations representatives in the room. Chief Ominayak speaks:

    ‘I Would like Rose Ominayak to speak for my people.’

Rose is shy and afraid.  She will not look at the officials but she begins to

read her statement.   There is an electric silence in the room as she

speaks softly .. barely audible at first:

ROSE OMINAYAK: “My name is Rose Ominayak. I am Lubicon Cree. 

We, the Lubicon Lake Naton, are tired.  We are frustrated and angry. We feel

we cannot wait another minute to have our land claim settled.  Fifty years is

too long.  In those 50 years, we have watched our land and lives be destroyed

by Canadian governments and corporations.   Our children are sick from

drinking water that oil has spilled in.  They are sick from breathing the poisoned

and polluted air the pulp mill has made.  We are sick from eating animals, animals

that arse sick from disease from poisoned plants and water.  Our children have

nothing.  they cannot breathe – even that has been taken.  Their culture, the bush life,

has been destroyed by development. When we were young, we lived in the bush.

It was a good life. Now we have no trap lines, nothing to hunt. There are no jobs,

no money to live a decent life.  We see ourselves, our men and our children falling

into despair, hopelessness, less self-esteem and drinking.  Families are broken

like never before.  Drinking and violence rise as our spirits fall.

ROSE CONTINUES

“We live our lives in constant danger…we have been afraid since the blockade

(the Lubicon people blockaded roads for a time) …afraid to go to certain places in 

town.  Our sons have been beaten by white men when they say they are Lubicon.

We are even afraid to say what we are!  The roads are dusty and dangerous to travel.

The logging and oil trucks run us off sometimes…we are not even safe in the bush.

We are afraid to go into the bush because the white sports hunters shoot at 

anything that moves.”

ROSE CONTINUES

“We ask why?  Why us? What have we don to deserve such treatment?  Why can’t 

the government settle with the Lubicon?  We are not dogs, but we are treated like dogs.

We are people just like you.  We are equal.  We have every right to be here.”

QUESTION: “S0 what happened to the Lubicon Cree?”

“Do you want the short answer or the long answer?”’

“The short answer.”

“Both answer are the same.  Nothing happened.     By 2007, not a thing had changed.

Canada was condemned for its treatment of the Lubicon.  Some other tricks

were used to break their spirit, which partially worked.   The blockade was lifted and 

the trucks continued but the Lubicon did not get their reserve or payment for oil

and lumber.  The Six Nations people in Ontario protested in sympathy as did the

Mohawks in Montreal….stopped traffic and handed out pamphlets but noting was

achieved.  it is a sad case.”

QUESTION: Does no one care outside of our First Nations people?”

“There are people who care.  Ron Kaplansky and Liz White in Toronto formed

the Lubicon Legal Defence Fund to help the Lubicon people pay for their legal

bills and help the children.  They sent more than $170,000 over eight years.

No change had happened.  “The government has beat this tribe so much,” stated

Kaplansky in 2006, “I don’t think they have any fight left…” The defence fund has

now closed down and there is still no settlement.

QUESTION:  “What exactly do the Lubicon want?”

“They want $50 million to create a reserve of 10,000 square kilometres of land around

Little Buffalo….and also $120 million as compensation for the oil, gas and timber

taken from the land.”

QUESTION:  “That sounds like a big demand for 500 people.?”

“Well, 500 people, 50,000 people or two people: if it’s their land it’s their land.

And the oil, gas and forest resources taken off it represents a huge sum.”

(The situation as of 2008)

POST SCRIPT:  2011 OIL SPILL  then finally  2018 SETTLEMENT OF LAND CLAIM

On April 29, 2011, a rupture in the Rainbow Pipeline resulted in a spill of about 4.5 million litres of oil in our territory – one of the biggest oil spills in Alberta’s history. When the pipeline broke, oil went down the corridor and into the forest, but the majority of it was soaked up into the muskeg, which is like peatland moss and takes thousands of years to be generated. The muskeg is not an isolated system. It’s not “stagnant water,” as the government claims. It’s actually a living, breathing ecosystem that supports life and is connected to all the water in the region.

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Jimmy Jeong/Greenpeace

On the first day of the spill, the school was not notified. When students started to feel sick, they were evacuated from the school under the assumption that it was a propane leak. When they got outside into the field, they realized that the problem was extended throughout the community.

During the first week of the spill, community members experienced physical symptoms: their eyes burned, they had headaches, they felt nauseous. We were told that air quality was not a problem, even though Alberta Environment didn’t actually come into the community until six days after the spill. This is problematic since a government granting permits for this type of development, often without the consent of the people, has an obligation to take care of those whom they are directly putting at risk. A lot of people were left wondering what they should do, and if pregnant women and small children should even be in the community.

//alanskeoch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/4712e1b0a24aa2a338632325c7a85843-1.jpeg268ADFF4-D097-4DD9-AAE7-1C4E703EA2ED@phub.net.cable.rogers.com” class=””>

A Significant Human Rights Event for the Lubicon People

JANUARY 3, 2019 BY LINDA MCKAY-PANOS

Reading Time: 4 minutes

//alanskeoch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/4712e1b0a24aa2a338632325c7a85843-1.jpeg1CC97DB7-CFDD-4894-9EB9-865C05C76925@phub.net.cable.rogers.com” class=””>In 1899, Treaty 8 was negotiated with several First Nations groups in Northern Alberta—North East Saskatchewan, Southwest parts of the Northwest Territories and later Eastern British Columbia—resulting in land surrender to the Crown. However, members of the Lubicon Lake Band were left out of the negotiations. This launched several decades of claims and disputes between Lubicon people and the federal and provincial governments. While the Lubicons continued to live in their traditional ways, the province of Alberta leased areas of the disputed lands for oil and gas development and provided permits for harvesting lumber using clear cut methods. These activities had negative impacts on the Lubicon people. The dispute became known across Canada and the world when Amnesty International and the United Nations became involved.

The situation faced by the Lubicon Cree was one of the longest unresolved human rights issues in Alberta. While a reserve was promised to the Lubicon people in 1939, 40 years after Treaty 8 was negotiated, it was never established. The subject of the dispute was 10,000 square kilometers of oil-rich forested land, which is north of Lesser Slave Lake and east of the Peace River. Traditionally, the Lubicon Cree lived almost entirely off the land. Considerable oil extraction, which started in the 1970s in the region, together with extensive logging, had significant reported impacts on the health, way of life, and culture of the Lubicon Cree. Yet, they never consented to this development on traditional lands for which they claimed to have never surrendered their rights.

Since about 1985, there were several attempts at negotiations with the federal and provincial governments regarding Lubicon land rights, but these talks all broke down. Hopes for a solution were raised in 1990 when the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) concluded that this situation endangered the way of life and culture of the Lubicon Cree. Further, the Committee said that “so long as they continue”, the threats to the Lubicon way of life are a violation of the Lubicon’s fundamental human rights (United Nations Human Rights Committee Communication No. 167/1984: Canada 10/05/90 CCPR/C/38/D/167/1984. Ominayak and the Lubicon Lake Band v Canada.) The UNHRC was assured by the Canadian government that it was negotiating a settlement that would respect the rights of the Lubicon Cree. Despite this, a settlement was not reached at that time.

The situation faced by the Lubicon Cree was one of the longest unresolved human rights issues in Alberta. While a reserve was promised to the Lubicon people in 1939, 40 years after Treaty 8 was negotiated, it was never established.The United Nations relied upon Canada’s desire to maintain its international reputation as a great respecter of human rights. However, bringing the Lubicon Cree situation to the attention of the international community in 1990 did not seem to produce the desired results.

The Lubicon Cree, however, did not let the initial disappointment deter them and approached the UNHRC again in 2003 and 2006. As noted by Alphonse Ominayak, Lubicon band counsellor, “They have to deal with this as soon as possible so we can get on with our lives before everything is totally destroyed. People are hoping the government will live up to its responsibilities” (Cotter).

The Lubicon people were able to negotiate agreements with two private oil and gas firms, giving the band a veto over some oil and gas drilling on the claimed land. The Lubicon claimed that they were able to negotiate these agreements despite the Alberta government’s urging the firms not to negotiate with the band (John Cotter, “UN Wants Ottawa to resume talks with Alta’s Lubicon band” 2 November 2005 [Cotter]).

On November 2, 2005, the UNHRC responded to the representations of a delegation from the Lubicon Cree, who had appeared before it in Geneva on October 17, 2005, to ask for further comment on the situation. In its report, the UNHRC said: “The Committee is concerned that land-claim negotiations between the Government of Canada and the Lubicon Lake band are currently at an impasse…. The state party should make every effort to resume negotiations. It should consult with the band before granting licences for economic exploitation of the disputed land” (United Nations Human Rights Committee, Considerations of Reports Considered Under Article 40, Canada 2005: CCPR/C/CAN/CO/5). These are quite strong statements which raised the hopes of the Lubicon Cree that the negotiations would resume and result in an appropriate settlement.

In late October, 2018, a historic land claim agreement was signed between Chief Billy Joe Laboucan, Premier Rachel Notley and Federal-Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett. The agreement sets aside 246 square kilometers of land in the area of Little Buffalo. It also provides $113 million compensation from both provincial and federal levels of government. See: CBC News “Alberta Band settles long-standing land claim for $113 million and swath of land”[CBC News]. The enormity of this event seems to have been largely overlooked as many Canadians seem to be mesmerized with what is going on south of the border.

While the current settlement can never address the terrible living conditions suffered by the Lubicon Cree for decades, the Lubicon people are hopeful that it will improve the lives of future generations (CBC News). This significant human rights event was a long time coming but should be celebrated nevertheless.