• Summer Adventures
• B. C. Gazette
• Sessional Papers - Dominion of Canada
• Divorce Information
• Photo Sources
• Home Children
• A Curiosity
• Something To Think About
• Subscription, Privacy Policy

July is summer, summer, summer. Yippee!!!

One of the adventures of summer is Canada Day on July 1st. In this community (Ladner), there are celebrations of note at two historic locations: the Delta Museum and Archives (located in the building that was the 2nd Municipal Hall) on Delta Street in Ladner Village (from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), and the Kirkland House on Arthur Drive, south of the Village, where the Kirkland House Foundation makes the house and the garden open to the public.

The Ladner Village Market continues to run this month, on Sunday, July 8th and Sunday, July 22nd, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drop in and say hello at my location on Haviland Street, where I'll be selling books, as well as heritage postcards of Ladner and Delta.

B.C. Gazette

This particular research that I had volunteered to do for the the Delta History Research group that meets at the Museum Annex on the second Saturday of each month turned out to be an adventure.

The purpose of the B. C. Gazette was (and still is) to communicate proclamations, notices and other official business to the public. Initially, notices were placed in a privately owned newspaper, but an independent government newspaper called the Government Gazette appeared in 1862, and this later became the B. C. Gazette.

Examples of the information contained therein from the early years, which may be of use to researchers:

These are only a very few examples of what one might expect to find. One might also plan to spend an incredibly large amount of time on these reports, with only a few gems discovered making them typical sources in that respect. Issues for some of the later years in the 19th century, even in the 1880s, have indexes of the contents, which speeds up the search process considerably. I hope to be able to explore these volumes in detail in the future, and will report accordingly.

By the way, there are similar records available for the other provinces also. In the section containing the B. C. volumes at UBC I found Manitoba, the Northwest Territories (Alberta and Saskatchewan before 1905), and Ontario, just in passing.

As a matter of interest, the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1984) defines "gazette" as "official journals with lists of government appointments, bankruptcies, and other public notices". As a verb, and presumably this is what we mean when we speak of "gazetting roads", the word means "publish in official gazette ... with status so announced".

Sessional Papers Dominion of Canada

An area for which I can't add anything at the moment is the Sessional Papers for the nation, similar in design to the Provincial Sessional Papers covered here in the May 2001 newsletter. Unfortunately, the ongoing transit strike in the Lower Mainland of B.C. has kept me from making my regular research trips to the library at the University of British Columbia.

I can, however, direct you to a website which has some samples of reports to be found in those Sessional Papers. Thanks to Marjorie Kohli, of the University, who has collected these, access to them is available at this link to her website, Sessional Papers of the Government of Canada.

At some future date, now receding over the horizon, I plan to look in detail at these collected papers myself. I'm sure there is information relating to B.C. history to be found in these volumes, if one has the time to ferret it out. For anyone who wants to research them, the call number at UBC is J 103 . S 3.

Divorce Information

I don't usually give free airtime to businesses, but this service is one that I have known people who are researching their family histories to be asking for. I know that I've mentioned previously Hugh Armstrong's site, as a source for material extracted from the Sessional Papers for B.C.

On this page, Hugh Armstrong's Genealogy Site, there are links both to the introduction and the index for Canadian Parliamentary Divorces 1826 to 1946. There is also background information on the divorce process as it evolved in the individual provinces. This may not be information that you have a use for, but you may be able to pass it along to someone who has.

Photo Sources

One of the most challenging aspects of research is finding photographs, not only of people, but also of places and events. Some time ago I was searching for a photograph of St. Stephen's United (formerly Presbyterian) Church in East Delta, and posted pleas on several sites, including my own website, all to no avail.

I thought at the time that a query board for Canadian historical photographs would have been really useful, and I'm still convinced that this is so. In the meantime, we make do.

In the last issue I wrote about the Douglas photograph (print) that had found its way to Delta Museum and Archives and for which I was hoping to find some family descendants to claim ownership. No good news to convey on that front, but I've recently posted it on a site that attempts to find homes for a variety of heirlooms, from bibles to photo albums to wills. I'm not especially optimistic that the website will be successful in finding a home for the Douglas photograph, since the contents are almost exclusively American. For anyone wanting to have a look, this is the link to its home page, Heirlooms Lost.

In the meantime, I'll continue to be on the lookout for other places to post the Douglas photograph and will pass on sites I've discovered. If anyone subscribing to this newsletter has other suggestions, I'll be happy to include them here.

Home Children

This is a topic which I find quite fascinating, although I am not myself researching in that area. In previous issues of this newsletter I've touched on some of the work that's been done by various individuals to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding Home Children. Another web page with useful links for this particular branch of family research can be found at Rondeau Genealogy Home Children.

A Curiosity

In reading the Daily British Columbian for 1892, I came across the following item, which I perused, being mindful of the traps that distractions present:

"WED ON SHIPBOARD

A Westminster Couple Married at Sea on Board the Steamer Walla Walla

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31 The steamer Walla Walla, which arrived in port last evening, brought at least two happy persons, Mr. and Mrs. Glencross, who had been married but a short time before the steamer was docked, by Rev. B. Cameron, a Canadian Episcopal minister, who happened to be on the steamer. It seems that the young people were residents of Westminster, and had decided that they should marry. Their relatives objected, and to prevent a separation both Glencross and his bride, who was under age, took the Walla Walla at Seattle, and made the trip to this city before the services of a minister were secured. The young couple approached Captain Wallace and told him their story. The captain wanted to help them, but said he thought it best to consider the matter, and asked for a little time. The wait did not satisfy the young lady, and while Capt. Wallace was thinking whether to marry them or not, the young couple had gained the goodwill of the minister, and he united them in the bonds of matrimony about fifteen miles westward of Point Reyes. When the knot was tied, a suitable present was tendered the young couple, consisting of a considerable sum of money, which was contributed by all hands on board. Mr. and Mrs. Glencross will remain here for some time, but they expect to return home as soon as the relatives on both sides show signs of being peaceful."

This news item has been taken from the issue of 01 June 1892, page one. I have included it here as a curiosity, because I have a question. If one were researching this family, where would one look for documentation of their marriage? I would welcome an answer, although this is not a pressing problem. I put it forward here simply as an example of the bafflements that researchers encounter, and the unexpected treasures that surface.

By the way, in the 1892 Daily Columbian I also came across several references to young couples from across the line coming to B.C. to get married. No doubt that adds to the difficulty of the search, too.

Something to Think About

I found this in The [Delta] Optimist, 27 July 1939:

"People who try to interest you in something-for-nothing proposals are interested in one themselves. You are to furnish the something."

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Gwen Szychter, M.A.

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