The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-03-08
WHOLESALE MARRYING,
Manitoba Matrimonial Bureau
That Did a Big Business.
5omelcss Girls Exported from England
to Viii tho Demand of Bachelors for
Wives = short Courtships
Werc tho Rule.

81 Not many years ago I was in the
'sEholesalc matchmaking business" said
|BRn ex-oiliccr of the army, according To
l&he Elmira IN. W Telegram. at was
matchmaking of the matrimonial kind.
sSt that timc--in 1879 and 1SSO-Manito-
$f5n was being opened to settlement. and
Where was IL rush of colonists thithcr
&$rom Ontario and Quebec and from
Sreat Britain. The settlers were
'3&hostly men. Some of them had falni-
&Ecs and would send for them as soon as
SBhey had got somewhat fixed, but very
<Sbiany of them were bachelors. They
89f$rere making homes for themselves. and
shaturally they found that they needed
]$rives. Not IL few of them were sons of
&English farmers, and nearly all were
Respectable aud Woodworking fellows.
<%rhey could not afford to go aud get
f&vlves, and SO hclpmatcs had to be inn
ported for them. Young women, guar
bntced rs to responsibility, were
brought over from England in great
s4umbcrs, and the business rapidly grew
10 be an important branch of the immi-
2&Tation traffic. One philanthropic lady
8ln England devoted her attention to eX-
sjporting homeless but worthy girls by
3thc shiplond to Quebec, whence they
3wcrc forwarded to Manitoba Trains
Awould come into st. Bonifacc, across
Z The river from Winnipeg, bringing two
8or three carloads of available wives ut
IN time. They were chapcroned with
2fluc regard to propricty and were con-
'}igncd TO the land and mining agents,
who conveyed them to Winnipeg, Where
asnitable quarters were provided For
thcir temporary accommodation. The
accommodation WAS very temporary
jbecausc they were soon dis
aPosed of. The settlers, who
were bachelors, applied for the
3girls as fast as they were brought in
dTheir applications were not considered
jrnless they were properly guaranteed
4 las to their character and ability to sup
1 port n wife. Few of them came to Win
8nipeg from shorter distance than two
hundred and fifty miles. Most com
9monly they were certified by letters
from land agents, stating that John
1Snith, for example. was located on such
land such II tract of land, was the owner
Iof fifteen hundred horses, was sound
land kind and SO forth. On making
formal application for q wife John
3Smith was asked what sort of woman
4 he refcrrcd-whcthcr blonde or bru-
]ncttc. tall or short, plump or thin, etc
Having stated his preferences he was
introduced TO one of the awaiting ladies,
lwhercupon matters were quickly ar
ranged. A remarkable point was that
nc sutton had ever TO he introduced to i
iecond girl. Invariably he was content
with tic first one and Immediately mar
fied her Apparently The men c5onsd-
Tered that when they had gone so far us
/ an introduction they had committed
themselves irrctricvably. In this way,
Thy y process of artificial selection, NY
lself and other persons officially in
Icharge ut Winnipeg made matches by
wholesale. The young women were
given free transportation, of course. the
object being TO make homes i'll Mani
toba and thus secure the permanent
settlement of the country. incidental
~ the natural increase of the popula-
tion was provided for. remember one
man who drove seven hundred miles to
get n wife. He was present when IL
train load of girls arrived and spotted
the young woman he wanted Otf-hand.
Within seven minutes after the train
came in the pair were united in matri-
mony, and the bridegroom started away
with his bride in a blackboard wagon"