Mabel Burton came from England and landed at New Jersey. She was only 18 but had to say she was 20 or she would be returned to England. She and George Shorten had to be married on the boat otherwise the authorities would not let her land. They lived in the States for awhile, coming to Canada in 1908, homesteading in the Darwell area on NW36-54-5-W5. They lived in a tent until they cut logs and built a house.
Mr. Shorten was a bricklayer, stonemason, and plasterer, doing beautiful work. He built on several buildings in Edmonton at this time, the University, Marshall Wells building, gov. elevator at Calder and many more. Not many buildings of this type and age in Edmonton that he didn't work on. He made numerous fireplaces, chimneys, etc. in this area, also the stone shrine at the R.C. Mission at Lac Ste. Anne.
Their daughter Clarice (me) was born in 1912 and they went back to Chicago in 1913 where their second daughter Doris was born. They returned to their homestead in 1916 and remained in Canada. He proved up on his homestead and carried on a mixed farming operation.
Mrs. Shorten and the girls carried on with the farm work, milking cows, feeding pigs, looking after the horses, chickens, etc., while it was necessary for him to be away working. He built a beautiful stone house on their farm which they moved into in 1926.
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I married August Batke and we had two children, Billy and Bernice. After August passed away I married Art Rose in 1961. Doris married Walter Rosskopf and they had four children, Mabel, George, Joyce and Bobby.
Mr. Shorten passed away in December, 1948 and Mrs. Shorten passed away in March, 1968, both are buried in Darwell Cemetery, as is their grandson George Rosskopf who passed away in December, 1953.