My "Canadian" Roots

My 4th great grandfather John M. McKee is a small branch off my family tree after you take several maternal turns in a row. I suppose that is why I haven't looked into him in a long time. He was added to my tree maybe 25 years ago and has largely sat there on his branch getting little attention since. But with newspaper being digitized onto the internet at a rapid clip, I thought I might do another search on his and see what I could find.

Prior to the search, I knew little about him. The 1850 U.S. Federal Census records indicate he was born in Quebec, Canada in November 1833 and by the age of 19, was already living across the border with the Furman family working on their farm. I still know nothing about his parentage or ancestry and I have no Canadian roots according to my DNA tests. I suspect that he might be the 2% of Scottish I have on my mother's side of the family (compared to the 39% of Scottish I have on my father's side), especially since his oldest son would be named William Wallace McKee.

I knew things must have went well for him on the Furman farm because he was married to their daughter Maryette Furman the following year and William Wallace was born the year after that. Following his record trail, I could trace him to northeast Iowa where he lived for 25 or 30 years. His wife Maryette died young at age 33 in 1866, most likely due to childbirth complications from their youngest son John McKee Jr. also born that same year. Within a couple years, John had remarried Abbie Jane (maiden name unknown) and together they would have one more child, Melvin, which would be John Sr's 6th and last child. 

Around 1882, John Sr. and family move to Kimball, South Dakota and spend the rest of his years there. The final bit of information I have on him is his death record on 22 September 1913 where he died a widower in an insane asylum of pneumonia. The record lists him as having suffered from dementia. 

While it seems like a lot of information, it really never gave me a sense of who John was. His ending, alone and unremembering in an insane asylum seemed to overshadow all thoughts I had on the matter and I knew that there was more to him. So I did a search and saw that the Kimball Graphic newspaper had been digitized and was available for free online and within 30 minutes, my questions had been answered.

The best find is a lengthy article, something rare to find in an 1883 era newspaper, and I'll transcribe a few select portions out of it.

John M. McKee's

Experimental Farm and Vegetable Garden Kimball D.T.

Thirty-four Kinds of Grain and Nearly Four Hundred

Varieties of Vegetables to be Seen Growing on One Farm 

Hearing of what wonderful things were to be seen on this farm a Graphic reporter, a few days since, accepted of an invitation from the proprietor, Mr. McKee, to visit it.

Mr. McKee came here from Butler Co., Iowa, in the spring of '82, filing on his two claims of 320 acres in May of that year. His farm lies four miles south-east of Kimball and is in the midst of as fine a country as the sun ever shone upon. At an early age he developed a love for horticulture, it amounting to almost a passion with him, and in his school boy days was noted as always having the best garden for miles around. He has therefore been in his present business for 25 years and has sent his grains and vegetables to fairs and expositions all over the United States and Canada for which he has received many prizes. Hearing and reading so much about the wonderful soil of Southern Dakota, he sold out his business and came here and is more than pleased with the change. He says the soil is of the very best quality, in fact the best he ever saw. This is his experimental year, hence the raising of so many varieties of grans and vegetables. Another year he will raise only the varieties best adapted for this soil and climate......

Nevertheless, Mr. McKee says he will show people, this year, some vegetables and grains that will astonish them, and he will. He has now growing on his farm 11 varieties of oats, 7 of wheat, 11 of corn, 4 of barley and 1 of flax, making a total of 34 varieties of grains....

After leaving the grain fields we walked over to the vegetable garden. Here was a sight indeed. No pen of ours can give an adequate description of all that is to be seen at this place. We can only say to those who can do so, go and see for yourselves, and to others "blessed are those who see not yet believe." Here may be seen growing 78 varieties of potatoes, 19 of onions, 32 of cabbages, 7 of turnips, 10 of lettuce, 12 of beets, 39 of peas, 31 of beans, 8 of radishes, 7 of asparagus, 22 of cucumbers, 31 of melons, 3 of parsnips, 6 of carrots, 15 of tomatoes, 7 of squash, 5 of cauliflower and 5 of celery making in all 389 varieties of vegetables. In addition to which Mr. McKee was growing broccoli, cress, eggplant, endive, kale, kohlrabi (a cross between a cabbage and a turnip, and delicious eating), leek, okra, parsley, peppers, salsify, spinach and herbs....

Among the many wonderful things in vegetables may be mentioned the "Canadian Pea" which has a pod three feet long. "Telegraph Peas" with pods 6 inches long and as large around as a man's thumb. Turnips that measure 36 inches in circumference. Radishes of the "White Giant Stuggart" variety that after 14 days from the time the seed was planted weighted two pounds and will, when matured, weight 5 to 6 pounds. Mr. McKee has watermelons growing that were started from see of a melon that weighed 103 pounds and 5 oz. Also squash from the seeds of one that weighted 200 pounds, and pumpkins from the see of one that weighted 320 pounds... Among other specialties in the vegetable line he has the "General Garfield" tomatoes which weigh as high as 2-1/2 pounds each. "Mammoth Marble Head" cabbage which grows to the weight of 50 pounds and over. Cucumbers that mature to the weight of 12 pounds, said variety being a hybrid cross between the "White Spine" and "English Frame" and called the "Tailby." Squash of the "Mammoth Chili" variety that reach the weight of 200 pounds and have been raised to weigh 300 pounds. Also many other kinds of vegetables that grow to enormous size. We mention a few to give an idea of what is to be seen.....

Next year Mr. McKee will lay out his farm and gardens into walks and drives and otherwise improve it. As a landscape gardener he probably has but few superiors and we predict that within the next few years the fame of his farm will extend to all points of the United States. A trip to his place will enable one to fully realize for the first time what South Dakota soil will produce in the hands of an intelligent horticulturist.

Given the time frame of when it was written and the tendency of newspapers of that era to sensationalize, I'm a bit skeptical of all of John's accomplishments, especially the radishes that can grow from seed to 6 pounds in 14 days.  But I think it is safe to say, he was quite the gardener/farmer nonetheless and that perhaps there is a genetic predisposition he passed down to me through my DNA.