Remembering our roots ~ Keith and Marilyn Clayton

By John Godsman Times Contributor

The Clayton family name originated in Wigan, Lancashire during the second half of the 1800s. Keith’s great-grandfather Thomas Clayton was born around 1850, and his grandfather William was born in 1876, also in Wigan.
Thomas, William and Harold came to Calgary in 1899 and homesteaded in the Chestermere area, before the lake was formed. Harold passed away suddenly in a logging accident in the Okanagan, and Thomas returned to England. Grandfather William was a skilled tradesman, a master caster. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was looking for experienced casters to sandcast steam locomotive drive wheels without cracking. None of the casters currently employed knew how to do this. They hired William to perform this job in Ontario which he did successfully during the next several winter months.
When the Canadian National Railway (CN) started construction across Canada, they wanted to put a right-of-way across William’s land near Chestermere, but he would not permit them to do this unless they paid him $35 per acre, versus their suggested price of $15 per acre. After barricading the end of the line for a significant time, he eventually got his $35 per acre.
William returned to England where he met Ethel Barker of Derbyshire and they were married in 1910. They returned to the farm at Chestermere and had four children. To this day it is being farmed by Keith’s cousin Barrie and wife Carol Clayton. This farm celebrated 100 years of farming in 2004.
Keith’s father was Avery Clayton, born in Calgary in 1917, who continued to farm one mile south of the original homestead. Avery married Elsie Johnson in 1939, and they had three children. Keith was born June 3, 1944 in Calgary, the middle child. He attended school in both Indus and Chestermere through Grade 12, then attended the University of Alberta, graduating with a degree in chemical engineering in 1967. He joined Cominco in Trail, B.C.; he worked in fertilizer plants for the next seven years and assisted in the design of the new Cominco plant in Carseland.
Marilyn’s grandfather Harry Groves, born in Swanby, Yorkshire in 1871, came to Canada in 1892. Her grandmother was Jean Patterson, born in 1881 in Yorkshire. Harry came to Calgary in 1892 and Jean came in 1886 at the age of five. Her family settled in Keith, now known as Bowness in Calgary. They met and were married in 1898 and had 10 children. Harry worked for the CPR originally, and the family spent time in what is now known as Kananaskis Country, before they purchased a farm (south half of 18-23-25, west of the 4th Meridian) in 1903.
Marilyn’s father, Bob Groves, was born in 1904. He married Laura Kennaugh of Carseland who was born in 1906. Laura’s parents, Joe and Catherine Kennaugh, came from the Isle of Man, and settled on a farm north of Carseland. In 1934, Bob and Laura were married, and they had two children: Joan born in 1940 and Marilyn born in 1945. Marilyn attended school in Strathmore through Grade 12, then attended the University of Calgary on a two-year education course, before teaching at Standard.
Keith and Marilyn met at a dance in Langdon in 1962 and were married July 8, 1967. They have a daughter, Jolene, and a son Bruce who married Heather Hirsche in 1998, and they have provided three grandsons. Keith and Bruce now run the farm together. While still living in Trail, Keith and Marilyn had purchased her mother’s farm, and in 1974, they moved from Trail to the current farm so Keith would be closer to the new Cominco Plant at Carseland, where he assisted in the startup and operation of the plant for the next 25 years. He also spent four years as Cominco’s worldwide director of technology which has taken him to every corner of the world. He and Marilyn started buying the land around them, including the original Groves homestead, so that today they have a medium cow-calf and grain operation. The Groves farm received the Centennial Farm Award in 2003.
Keith was president of the hockey association when the old arena was condemned and the new arena was opened in 1992. He coached minor league hockey for 10 years, and is past president of the Wheatland and Area Hospice Society. Both Keith and Marilyn are very active in the Cairnhill Community Association.
The main changes they’ve seen in this area is the growth of the Town of Strathmore and the number of acreages taking over.