Red River Ancestry

New Family Page: WINNIE SHAND (1918-1977)

Please post comments and queries about the life of Winnie SHAND here.

I'm currently looking up Winnifred in the Winnipeg Free Press Archives for a school project and i happened upon her obituary. in it, it states her last name as Jaenen nee shand. Any idea where the Jaenen has come from? are you aware of this as well?

also i'm just curious about your hypothesis of a fourth son, Thomas Mason; what information points to this?

Thanks very much Sheila, and no, I wasn’t aware of that obituary. I do also have access to the Free Press Archives and was able to find it thanks to your efforts and have added it to Winnie’s Family Page as an update, adding a comment of my own.

I also found a Henry JAENEN who died on Feb 16, 1984 at the Central Park Lodge, 440 Edmonton Street in Winnipeg at the age of 83 (born about 1901). He was survived by a son Alphonse of Fairlight, SK, and a daughter Ann JAENEN of Brantford, ON.

Regarding Thomas Mason SHAND: In my searches a few years ago I found this name in association with the neighborhood where Winnie lived for a time, and SHAND being a rather unique name, I added it in hopes that someone would know more about his origins.

hi Gary,
I've decided once again to delve into my father's complicated lineage in order to better understand where I come from and of course some questions have arisen.

-if Raymond was sent to a residential school, why was Winnifred spared from the system?
- have you any information on Glenn Shand in which you can privately share with me? (re: residential school)
-is there anyone I can contact who has more insight into the familial situation?
- Where did you find the photo of Winnifred and if so, do you have any other photographs of the family, (I am particularly interested in Rachel Thomas.)?

I really appreciate your dedication and research into this genealogical website. As my family situation is very complicated, and my father knows little about his own origins having gone through the alienating and systematic erasure of his aboriginal ancestry within Child and Family Services system, I find your work very helpful and illuminating. I do find however, that your language used to describe the hardships that Winnifred faced to be less than sympathetic. I know that this was not your intention, and that you come from a place of good will but would you please consider changing the tone in her profile? You define her by her coping mechanisms, by the ways in which she expressed her grief, that is by living a life of 'disfunction'. Really she was struggling under the oppression of the colonial system and with the racism she most likely faced by being a 'half-breed'.
One of my fathers earliest memories is going on a train trip to the maritimes with Winnie and his brothers to search for his father, George Soulsby, who abandoned Winnie with three young boys in Winnipeg. (The courage and desperation it must of took to take that journey with three young boys!) He remembers George turning his back and walking away from them. Not only did Winnie have to deal with systematic racism, she also had to struggle with the hardships of being a single mother- and we all know that that is a very difficult experience for many.
As for her 'illicit' affair with Oig, many people turn to intimacy from others when they are not receiving the love they deserve from their family. A child, for many young teenage mothers, is seen as a symbol of hope and a way to start over. What i'm trying to say, is that its important to place her life within the historical context in which she was born and to approach complicated cases from a place of compassion rather than of a place of judgement. Please consider changing the tone in her profile to one that honours her memory and acknowledges the hardships that she faced. I mean this in the most respectful way possible. I think too many people in her life where quick to judge her for her lifestyle, and too slow to recognize that what she really needed was healing through her culture. Even though I never got the chance to meet her, her stories which I have gleaned from my father and Gary Stilll, continue to inspire me to fight for change, reconciliation and healing.

Sincerely,

Sheila Soulsby

You’re absolutely right Shiela, we should not be too quick to judge Winnie SHAND. I have revised and updated her Family Page with a little more subtlety, and provided links to the various families (just click on the red underlined links).

The familial relationships between Winnie, her true parents and her children are very complex and confusing indeed. I frequently do reviews and discover new information which I will add to the narrative whenever anything significant is found. Keep in touch, and let me know if you find anything too.

Winnifred Shand was my grandmother. I never knew a thing about her until today. I had a copy of her and George's marriage license and knew she past away around Pine Falls MB...
This confirms many of my questions and theories sadly. The fall out of residential schools. My 'family' will forever be broken.
You had mentioned that Winnifreds biological father is in question. Is there any way to find out? I still have so many questions.

Thank you for writing this

Nice to have you aboard Peg! Unfortunately, I don’t have anything new about Winnie’s biological father at this time.
Would love to have more information about your own family connection. Was your father, Garfield or Bruce SOULSBY?

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First, the Glen Still that Sheila referred to is actually Gary Still (me).
Regarding Winnie’s obituary: I have a copy of that obit but not the link to it. What you see in the narrative is essentially all the important details in it anyway.
In 1979 Garfield SHAND married Dorothy Susan REIMER. Are these your parents?
It would certainly be helpful if you would reveal your real name and origins.

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