George Ivall (1888-1931): Canadian killed with a shotgun.

George Ivall was a grandson of Alexander “Sandy” Ival (1831-1911), who emigrated to Canada from Scotland in about 1837. George’s parents were Alexander’s third son, also called Alexander (1855-1922) and his wife Sarah nee Baldwin (1859-1941). My third cousin Val (who lives in Canada) helped me with the research for this item.

In 1983, Margaret Ivall Bymoen compiled a family history of the Ivall family in Canada. This says that George was born on January 17^th 1888 in the Mille Isle municipality of Quebec, a rural area about 50 miles NW of Montreal. The 1891 census showed Alexander Ival, aged 36, a farmer, living in Morin Flats (now called Morin Heights), near Mille Isle, with his wife Sarah (28) and children Joseph (11), James (6), George (3) and Thomas (1 month). George’s family moved to Rainy River, a small town in NW Ontario, near the US border, sometime between 1891 and 1907. Many Canadians moved westwards in the early 1900s to farm previously uncultivated land.

The spelling of the family surname in Canada seems to have changed from Ival to Ivall over the years. In the 19th century, Ival is the most common spelling in records that have survived. In the 20th century, the name is normally (but not always) recorded as Ivall.

I can’t find George or his parents in the 1901 census of Canada. The 1911 census shows George as a lodger, aged 22, living at Rainy Lake in the district of Rainy River, Ontario. The census return can be viewed (for free) at the Library and Archives Canada website but the image is poor quality and so some of it is difficult to read. He was a labourer in a lumber camp. He was paid $550 for 50 weeks work in 1910.

On 4^th April 1916, aged 28, George signed on to join the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. He would have done this voluntarily, as compulsory enlistment was not introduced in Canada until 1917. His service record can be viewed (free) on the Library and Archives Canada website. The attestation form gives his address as Rainy River, Ontario, he was a farmer and not married. He had previously served for 2 years in the 96^th Regiment. It seems that George could not write, as he did not sign the form, but a cross and the words “his mark” have been added. His army record gives his height as 5ft 8ins, weight 170lbs, physical development good, complexion fair, eyes blue, hair brown.

George was assigned to the 141^st Battalion at Fort Frances, Ontario as a Private. His record shows that he was soon breaking army rules. On separate occasions in May 1916 he forfeited a day’s pay for being absent without leave, was fined for drunkenness and detained for 24 hours for bringing liquor into barracks. He was absent without leave times four times in July 1916. He left the barracks without permission on 17^th August 1916 and did not return. On September 13^th 1916 he was discharged from the army for “Being illegally absent for a period of 21 days and struck off the strength as a deserter by Court of Enquiry.” It seems that he did not complete his training and did not travel to Europe to fight in the war. George’s discharge papers were not signed by him and his army record makes no mention of a punishment for his desertion. It seems likely that he was not caught by the army – perhaps he crossed the border into the USA ?

The USA declared war on Germany on April 6^th 1917 and The Selective Service Act (enacted May 18th, 1917) authorized the United States federal government to raise a national army for service in World War I through conscription. On June 5th, 1917 all men between the ages of 21 and 30, were registered. Another registration was held on September 12th 1918, for men aged 18 to 45. There is a registration card, dated September 12th 1918 for George Ivall. He registered in Lakota, Nelson County, North Dakota (220 miles from Rainy River). The card gives his age as 33 and his date of birth as January 16 1885. He was actually born in 1888 and probably gave an incorrect year of birth to avoid being included in the first registration (when he was 29). George is listed as a farm labourer. His nearest relative is shown as Alex Ivall (his father) of Rainy River. World War 1 ended soon afterwards (on November 11 1918), so it is unlikely that George was required to serve in the US Army.

I can’t find George in the 1920 US census, but the 1921 Canada census shows George, aged 30 (he was actually 33), living in the town of Rainy River, Ontario with his parents Alec (60) and Sarah (55) as well as his brother Joseph (41) and his adopted sister Mary (5). Their surname is given as Ival. Some of the census return has been overwritten making these parts hard to decipher. The house that the family lived in was owned by them. It was a detached, wooden building with 4 rooms. George was unmarried. He could speak English and French. His religion was C of E. According to the census, he could read and write. George was a labourer in a saw mill and had earned $1,000 in the previous 12 months.

George died on 5 October 1931 aged 43 in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, after being shot by a farmer called August Lickteig. The circumstances are described in an item dated 5 October 1931, printed in The Bismarck Tribune.

A further item, dated the following day, was printed in the same newspaper after the inquest into George's death.

George was buried in an unmarked grave in Potter’s Field, Grand Forks, North Dakota. This is an area the local government provided for graves of strangers, poor, elderly and ill people who died without any relatives to pay for their burial.

A relative of George has contacted me with the following comment : "I read with interest the account of George Ivall's murder.  He was my dad's uncle. The account in our family is that he went there to collect wages owed to him and was murdered by the farmer who owed him back wages. Unfortunately he was dead so the story line was left to the murderer. An interesting sideline to the story is that his mother Sarah Baldwin Ivall knew he was dead and told people before the official notification.  She was the last in our family to speak Gaelic."