Fonds 2011.18 - Atkinson, Seibert family fonds

Luisa Vollmer was born in St. Jacobs, Ontario in 1865 and Jeremiah Seibert was born at Heifelberg, Ontario in 1857. Luisa Vollmer and Jeremiah Seibert married and farmed at Port Huron on the Lake Huron coast in Ontario. They had six children including Fred, Herbert, Florence, Lulu, Marguerite and Percival. In 1917, the family moved to St. Albert and had purchased land beside the Atkinson brother’s homestead where they farmed.

Thomas Atkinson came to Edmonton from Liverpool, England with his two brothers, Jim and Ted in 1907. The brothers found work in Edmonton laying foundations for the swimming pool of Edmonton’s first Y.M.C.A. and working on the sewer system. Later that year, the brothers made their first homestead west of Edmonton near Wabamun Lake. On the homestead, Thomas Atkinson had a sawmill for which he required an Engineers certificate from the Department of Public Works. In 1911, his other brother Jack came to Canada and moved to the homestead. The brothers supplied lumber for cottages built along Seba Beach. In 1913, the brothers’ sister Mary came to Canada and lived at her brothers’ homestead.

The one brother Jim as well as Mary’s future husband, Perley Cull from Seba Beach, served in WWI. The other brothers were exempt from the war on account of their importance in food production. In 1917, the brothers moved their homestead to St. Albert. They purchased the land from Arthur Sifton who was premier of Alberta. In 1920, Mary Atkinson and Perley Cull were married. Much later, in 1945, Jack Atkinson married Eunice Holmes.

On December 18, 1919, Thomas Atkinson married Florence Seibert, daughter of Jeremiah and Luisa Seibert. Florence Seibert had been working as a secretary for the Government of Alberta until she married Thomas Atkinson and consequently, she supported the farm and her husband’s work and family. Thomas Atkinson and Florence Seibert had two daughters, Helen who was born in 1921 and Gladys who was born in 1926. Helen Atkinson married Wilfred Naundorf in 1945 and the couple had three daughters. Gladys married Keith Gibson in 1946 and they had five children. In 1952, the Atkinson brothers’ farm was sold to H.R. Milner.
Thomas and Florence Atkinson moved to Edmonton after the farm was sold and Thomas Atkinson died in 1969. Florence Atkinson died in 1972. Earlier, Jeremiah Seibert died in 1955 and Luisa Seibert died in 1947.