William Ross Wagar was born on February 17, 1870, in Parham, Ontario, and died on August 3, 1953, in Dyment, Ontario. He married Ellen Maria Alton on January 21, 1891, in Yarker, Ontario. Ellen was born on February 26, 1871, in Parham, Ontario, and died on December 9, 1963, in Big Beaver, Saskatchewan. William and Ellen are both buried in Dryden, Ontario.
They had four children: Julia Adella, Aden Clifford, Lucy Elizabeth, and Milton Ross Wagar.
In their early years, William and Ellen homesteaded in Parham, Ontario. Later, they moved west to Big Beaver, Saskatchewan, following their eldest son, Aden, and their daughter, Lucy. The family farmed there for several years; however, times were difficult, and they eventually decided to return to Ontario. By that time, Julia, the eldest child, had married and remained in Ontario, while Milton, the youngest, accompanied his parents back from Saskatchewan.
During their return journey by train, the family made a stopover in Dyment, Ontario. After watering and feeding the animals that were traveling with them, William Ross Wagar took some time to look around the area. He felt that Dyment would be a good place to settle and start anew. Although they were still three or four days from reaching their original home in Parham, they decided to disembark the train in Dyment with their belongings and establish a homestead there. This decision marked the beginning of the Wagar family’s life in Dyment.
Meanwhile, Aden and Lucy remained in Big Beaver, Saskatchewan, where they had married and were raising families of their own.
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