Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1888-1905 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
12.5 cm of textual records. -- 19 photographs
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles Sharples, 1856-1909, was born in Quebec. He came to Montana, USA in 1878 and joined a cattle drive bringing livestock to the Cochrane Ranche in Alberta. He remained in Alberta and worked for the Department of Indian Affairs, then in 1884 was appointed manager of the Winder Ranche near Claresholm, Alberta. The ranch ran up to 1100 head of horses, selling most to the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). When the Winder Ranche Company was dissolved in 1892, Sharples filed as a homesteader on the site of the ranch headquarters. He married Barbara Macdonald in 1892 and they had four children. In 1902, he was appointed brand inspector, coroner and Justice of the Peace for the Claresholm district. For further information see Alice Sharples Baldwin's article, "The Sharples" in Alberta Historical Review. -- vol. 21 (Winter 1973), p. 12-17.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gifts of Charles and Henry Sharples, 1960-1961.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of letterbook, notebook, accounts and legal agreement pertaining to the operation of the Winder Ranche, and records relating to cases (liquor traffic, prairie fires, theft, drunkeness, etc.) heard by Sharples as a Justice of the Peace.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.