Alexander Kalelest

ALEXANDER KALELEST

(OTHERWISE ALEC KALALIST, ALSO KNOWN AS OLD ANYHOW)

Secwepemc Rancher and Cowboy

is the son of a cowboy named Antoine Allan, who was employed on the Gang Ranch in British Columbia, Canada. Alexander's father is reported to have been the son of an American miner and a First Nation woman from the Willamette Valley in Oregon [A Wilder West: Rodeo in Western Canada (UBC Press, 2011), page 85]. Alexander Kalelest was born on the Gang Ranch in British Columbia, Canada, on 10 December 1884 [British Columbia, Death Registrations, 1872-1986, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLTK-747 His mother's name is not known but he is reported to be the grandson of Joe Kalelest and it is supposed, therefore, that his mother was one of Joe's daughters.

Old Anyhow

Alexander Kalelest was known as Old Anyhow because he could hardly speak a sentence without including the word "anyhow" [Bruce Watt, Chilcotin Yarns (Heritage House Publishing Company, 212), pp.93-4].

The Big Creek Cattle Drive

Alexander Kalelest had a small ranch on Gaspard Creek near the Gang Ranch's Home Ranch Valley. In 1940 he put his cows in the Big Creek cattle drive and rode with much younger cowboys on the overland drive through Farewell Canyon to the Williams Lake stockyards. His daughter Celina and her young children went with him, bringing his camp outfit in a team and wagon, and during the drive Celina gave birth to another child [Ken Mather, Bronc Busters and Hay Sloops: Ranching in the West in the Early Twentieth Century (Heritage House Publishing Company, 2010), pp. 170-71].

Alexander is noted in this publication on page 105, “Chilcotin: Preserving Pioneer Memories”, written by Veera Bonner, Witte Sisters, Irene E. Bliss, and Hazel Henry Litterick, 1995.
https://books.google.com/books/about/Chilcotin.html?id=JVcp5NfXaj8C

Death

Alexander Kalelest died of pneumonia on 14 March 1964. He died at home in Dog Creek, British Columbia, Canada. His granddaughter, Stella Russell, reported his death to the registrar of births, deaths, and marriages, at Williams Lake [British Columbia, Death Registrations, 1872-1986, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLTK-747

Burial

Alexander Kalelest was laid to rest in the Canoe Creek Cemetery on 18 March 1964. There was no undertaker: He was buried by his family [British Columbia, Death Registrations, 1872-1986, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLTK-747

First Marriage

Alexander Kalelest married Betsy Germain. She was the mother of Raphael Alec Kalalist [British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JD87-72B

Second Marriage

Alexander Kalelest married, as his second wife, Lily White. She survived his death on 14 March 1964 [British Columbia, Death Registrations, 1872-1986, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLTK-747 Lily died on 19 December 1974 [British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FL11-QR3

Children

Alexander Kalelest and his first wife had at least two children:

(1) Raphael Alec Kalalist [British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JD87-72B

(2) Celina Kalelest [Ken Mather, Bronc Busters and Hay Sloops: Ranching in the West in the Early Twentieth Century (Heritage House Publishing Company, 2010), pp. 170-71]