Andrew Romanow was born in 1861, he was the son of Stefan Romanow & Mary Demus. He married Anastasia Bula, in 1881. Anastasia was born January 11, 1862, daughter of John Bula & Katherine Harasym. Andrew & Anastasia had 4 children before immigrating to Canada; Danko, Mary, Frank & Annie.While in the Ukraine, Andrew served in the Austrian Army, but little is known where he served & how long. He also farmed but his farm only consisted of 6 or 7 acres of land. With the promise of free land and Religious freedom in Canada, Andrew & his family sold their farm & started their move to a country they know little about. Arriving in Halifax via Hanburg, Germany in the summer of 1897, they started their tract across a vast landscape to a region of Canada similar to their homeland. On November 21, 1897, they arrived on the prairies & stayed in Neudorf, N.W.T. with the Muzolowski family, until the spring of 1898.
Andrew & family built their first house in June of 1899. The log, mud and concrete house was a mere 14 x 24, but it would be their home for some time. By 1903, his family consisting of 10, lived in this home. On January 19, 1901, Andrew applied for & obtained his homestead. That same year, 1901, 20 acres of land were broken. In the year 1903, Andrew had 50 acres seeded into crop, 7 horses, 8 head of cattle & 14 pigs. In 1904, 2 sod stables, 16 x 24 were built along with a granary.
In 1908, Andrew Romanow helped organize & build the first Roman Catholic Church in Candiac. The "Ukraine's" longed for their own church & decided to establish a "Ukrainian Catholic Church". Three trustees were elected to undertake the organization; Andrew Romanow, Fred Gilewicz & Waysl Stopanski. The Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church, was built in 1913. It still serves the Ukrainian people to this day.
Andrew served as a trustee of the Fallowmead School, built in 1906. The Ukrainian language weekly, "Svoboda" published in New Jersey, carried a letter written by Andrew Romanow, telling about the free homesteads in this area. Mr Theodore Frycz moved here with his wife & 3 children. Daniel his son, carried on the farm, followed by his son, John.
Andrew was a progressive farmer, he bought the first steamer & threshing machine in the district & harvested his own & neighbours crops. He received his Steam Engineering papers in 1918. At that time, the steamer was a 25hp George White.
While sick, Andrew, in his Last Will & Testament, made provisions for his family. Anastasia was to receive $50 a year until she died, along with a cow, which her boys were to provide feed for. Andrew died March 08, 1920, this was written about him; Considering the few advantages that he received, in the way of education, he did well in learning the language of his adopted country & fulfilling his duties as a father, neighbour & citizen. He successfully over came the difficulties which beset the path of the pioneer without capitol & raised a large family.
Anastasia Romanow was a very small & frail woman, hardly the pioneering type of person. Her quiet, loving nature made her a favorite with all the grandchildren. She was especially fond of Walter & Tom. Anastasia was also a very religious person, she devoted much of her time to the Church & family. She dedicated the Cross, situated West of the Holy Ghost Church & South of the Mike Romanow Family Farm, to her son Danko. This was to recognize him a first son...
Anastasia passed away February 13, 1935. At that time, she was living with her son Frank & his wife Mary. She was honored with this obituary; Hard work, thrift & good management were the remarkable qualities of this happy couple. They prospered & rapidly increased their land holdings with the result that their 4 sons are comfortable settled on the original Homestead & adjoining lands. Mrs. Romanow lived to forget the first years on the Homestead, and see the nine original families at the colony grow into a almost solid colony of 40 families, all bearing enviable reputations for thrift, honesty and hard work.
Both Andrew & Anastasia are buried in the Holy Ghost Cemetery.
~May their memories be eternal.
