John Francis was born in Mary's Ontario October 1855. He came to Griggs Company about 1885.

He first filed for a preemption west of Hannaford but later homesteaded and bought land in Helena Township. He married Edith Stienborn and they raised their four children there. Jim, Clara (Mrs. Brown), John II, and Maynard. He was a part time Jeweler and fixed watches as he had the time. He died in September 1917. His wife died July 1945. Mrs. Clara Brown is the only surviving child. JOHN III is still living on the farm, Section 22.

It sounds interesting now but the pioneers had to be a rugged people. He told of walking to Valley City for a sack of flour and carrying it back and also of grasshoppers destroying whole fields of grain one fall. How the Indians camped in the pasture, summers, where they dug wild roots like 'yarrow' for medicine and the gypsies would camp across the road. The men would try to trade horses. The women would beg for milk, eggs, etc. They couldn't let them in the house, as they'd take whatever was loose.

Times got better, wheat 40 to 60^¢, eggs 60 per dozen, hogs 3 to 40, but you could buy flour for $2.50 to $3.00 per 100, sugar 10 pounds for 49^¢. By this time there were 32 horses on the farm. The boys had their driving teams, which they thought were like Cadillacs today. Then by 1914 there was a few cars in the country and soon you'd have to drive in the ditch to let the cars have the roads.

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 312