History Helps Volume Two, Number 1, December 2001
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• Christmas Comment
• Photographs
• New Westminster Public Library
• Original Manuscript by Harbord
• Railway History
• More Divorce Information
• Contributions from Subscribers
• Old Directories
• Hospital for Books
• Books for Christmas Gifts
• Something To Think About
• Subscription, Privacy Policy
  

Merry Christmas

Here's a reminder of a simpler time, as reported in the Vancouver Daily World, Tuesday, 24 December 1889, under "Happenings in Ladner":
"A large box arrived at the Landing. I think it is the property of Santa Claus. No doubt he will be at the Christmas tree on Tuesday night [Christmas eve] to distribute the presents."

Photographs

The search for this kind of information must have gotten into my blood, because I keep finding new sites on the subject. Here's another, American in origin, but with useful information on establishing the date of a photograph. It can be found at http://www.classyimage.com/picdate.htm

Another site for the photograph search is at http://fourkings.freeyellow.com/Page3.html

The photographs here are primarily connected to the U.S., but since many of the subscribers to "History Helps" are located in the U.S., perhaps some of you will find a treasure at this site. All photos have names attached, and some have place names as well.

At http://www.heirloomsearch.com/ the website owner has listed names associated with photographs, postcards, etc., some with "thumbnails". The general hope is to return these items to families and/or descendants of the subjects.

A Site to Remember and Use

Local heritage enthusiasts, myself included, have long been applauding the New Westminster Public Library site for the information available on heritage homes. The applause is well deserved, but there are other treasures to be gleaned from the site in the way of family history and other information. The page for the heritage site is http://www.nwheritage.org/

The Heritage Photo Tour is worth the time it takes because the photo collection is fabulous and the individual photographs have been well reproduced on this site. Try this link for the Photo Tour, http://www.nwheritage.org/heritagesite/photos/index.htm

A surprising feature of the site is a database containing the records of Bowell Funeral Home. While the larger collection of records is available at New Westminster Public Library, a portion of those records, 1941 to 1950, can be searched on-line. Look for the Bowell Funeral Home Records under Genealogy on this page, http://www.nwheritage.org/heritagesite/genealogy/index.htm

An Original Manuscript

While in the process of filing, which I always put off far too long, I invariably find treasures that I had forgotten. Such discoveries naturally slow down the process of filing, which is another story, but they also confirm my pack-rat tendencies, honed to an art in the late 1980s while I was doing research for my M.A. thesis on farm women in Delta, B.C.

One of the sources that I came across was an unpublished manuscript, entitled "From Beaver Dam and Forest to Harvest Field and Meadow." Written in 1939 by Harbord V. Harbord, who had been a correspondent for a Vancouver newspaper, it consists of his recollections of the people he met and the places he visited during his years in the business.

It relates some history of a few families and individuals who settled in the Fraser Valley, including from Delta the Ladners, the McKees, and the Kirklands, A. D. Paterson and Alex Davie. Harbord also describes many facets of life for pioneers, only one of which I will quote here, it being a contentious issue that was raised frequently in newspapers in the early 1900s.

"There are some changes that have escaped notice in the passing years, and it will come as quite a big surprise to many to learn that at one time the municipalities could issue a licence to sell opium. It was customary to sell opium licences to the Chinese for quite a few years, and nothing was thought of it. John Chinaman [sic] would get his opium and smoke anyhow, so it was all to the good if the municipality could make a dollar or two out of it. All the old-time Chinese farm hands smoked opium, and while it may not have been good for them, the fact remains that they were singularly honest in all their dealings and very likeable men in many ways.

Another interesting fact about opium is that opium-running between Canada and the U.S. thrived about this time [late 19th century / early 20th century?]. A runner would start from the Fraser river, so the story goes, and after a few miles would pass the opium on to another runner, who would meet him and give the right pass-sign or word. He in turn would pass it on to another, and so on until the boundary was reached, where there was little difficulty in evading notice. It was a racket, and on one occasion a runner was found by the roadside with his throat cut; he had been hi-jacked."

The manuscript in its original form can be found at the Provincial Archives in Victoria, under the call number G F86 H22. When I did a search on the website of the Archives, I couldn't find it, but, upon inquiring, I was informed that it is still in their holdings. However, it is part of their "Old Manuscript" holdings, for which there is currently no on-line catalogue entry. Therefore, a trip to Victoria is required for anyone who wishes to research in this or any of the many other fascinating documents contained in the collection. Winter is a much less busy time there in Victoria ...

Railway History

Having recently travelled by train on the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway tracks, I was pleased to come across the following item, which refers to the more southerly route through the mountains in British Columbia. I have borrowed it from the Vancouver Daily World, Friday, 10 December 1897, page 8, where it was located (surprisingly) under "Daily City Gossip":

"Work upon the construction of the Crow's Nest railway has been commenced upon the Kootenay lake end of the line, and as soon as Contractor Armstrong, of Vancouver, can sub-let the work contracts, work will be let for 70 miles of the line from Goat river east. The wagon road which is being constructed under the supervision of D. McBeath is about completed and with the exception of a small piece of the work near Goat river, the entire line of railway has been finally located."

A second item in respect of this railway line appeared in the Vancouver Daily World, 11 March 1898, page eight:

"THE CROW'S NEST ROAD

It is reported, says the Calgary Herald, that important changes have been recently made on the line of the Crow's Nest Pass Railway. At a point where the line crosses the main range of the Rocky Mountains, two tunnels, one 700 and the other 200 feet in length, have been under construction for some months, and are now in for a distance of nearly 100 feet. It was thought when the tunnels were first started that hard, solid formation would be found, but after running in 100 feet there is no change, the formation being a loose, soft, fragile, argilaceous rock of an uneven slaty structure called shale, which is constantly falling, rendering the tunnels unsafe for workmen. It has [been] decided to abandon the work on the tunnels and run a loop around that portion of the mountain, which will lengthen the line nearly five miles. An open cut will probably be made at some future time instead of tunnels, but the face of the cut would be over 100 feet in height, and at present there is no way of getting through save by the proposed change."

More Divorce Information

Not having yet discovered a source for divorces as they were granted in British Columbia, I'm continuing to store them up.

The following comes from the Vancouver Daily World, 20 December 1897, page 8, under "Daily City Gossip": "There were divorce proceedings on Saturday at Victoria before Mr. Justice Walkem, when Wm. [sic] Hargraves, of Kamloops, obtained a rule nisi of divorce from his wife, Mary Ann Hargraves. The ground on which the petition of divorce was based was misconduct on the part of the wife with Wm. [sic] Follett, of Kamloops, who was named as corespondent."

An item relating to all of these was reported in the Vancouver Daily World, Wednesday, 01 December 1897, page seven, as follows:

"DIVORCE JURISDICTION : The question of the jurisdiction of the courts of British Columbia in the matter of divorces came up at Victoria on Monday when Chief Justice Davie refused to grant a decree absolute in the case of Matthews vs. Matthews, ..."

Another comes from the Vancouver Daily World, 23 December 1897, page 8, under "Daily City Gossip": "Mrs. Lily Matthews, of Victoria, has been granted a decree absolute of divorce from her husband by Mr. Justice Walkem."

Contributions from Subscribers

In the last issue (November 2001) I quoted an advertisement by a pair of photographers from Vancouver who made trips to Ladner in the early 1900s. A subscriber informed me that as late as the 1970s this still happened, and related her own experience to confirm that. Thanks, Val.

The site of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, which lists annual reports going back to the 1870s, is http://www.em.gov.bc.ca/Mining/Geolsurv/Publications/catalog/cat_arpts.htm
Naturally I chose to have a look at the earliest report, namely, 1874. Considerable attention was paid in that particular year to the discovery and mining of gold at various locations, but there are other items of historical interest here. For example, current prices for supplies at Dease Creek (tea cost $2.00 per lb.) and the temperatures from November to January at Cassiar can be found here. Thanks, Fred.

Old Directories as a Source of Information

For the November meeting of the History Research Group that meets at the Delta Museum Annex in Ladner I did some research into the microfilm holdings in the Koerner Library at the University of British Columbia. One of the treasures I discovered was a collection of B. C. Directories from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

While many people use these directories as sources of genealogical information, a great variety of information can be gleaned from them. In a future issue of "History Helps" I'll share some of those discoveries here.

Hospital for Books

Did you know that the Vancouver Public Library has a bindery service? This is an in-house service and is available to individuals as well as institutions. An on-line order form is available for calculating the cost.

Check it out at http://www2.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/bindery/

My Last Bit of Self-Promotion for This Year

Stuck for Christmas gift ideas? I have four (and more) suggestions for the person who has everything, or the office gift exchange, or the hostess gift: my books naturally!

1. "Ladner's Landing of Yesteryear: Two Heritage Walks in the Historic Village" covers the original village that started at the waterfront.

2. "Beyond Ladner's Landing: Two Heritage Walks South of the Original Village" explores some residential areas, including Arthur Drive in Ladner.

3. "Across the Bridge From Ladner's Landing: Delta Manor and Its Chickens" takes you around a newer area of Ladner that started out as chicken farms in the 1920s.

4. "Port Guichon: Forgotten Neighbour of Ladner's Landing" transports you to a time when steam engines were a common sight on Delta's landscape.

All the above are available at http://www.ladnerslanding.com/Book_Store.html and can still reach you or the person on your gift list before Christmas.

Something To Think About

My thought for the month of December is borrowed from The [Delta] Optimist, 12 September 1940:
"You cannot build a reputation on things that you are going to do." It seems to me that that's a good thought for election time.

Reminder

These newsletters are all dated. Consequently, some of the websites recorded therein may no longer be operating at the stated web address.

Subscription, Privacy Policy

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail with either SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line to: gwens@dccnet.com.

Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone.

Happy holidays, everyone!
Gwen Szychter
Alumna of Simon Fraser University

P.S. Here's a favour you can do for me: If you liked this newsletter and found it helpful or just interesting, please pass it on to a friend or colleague. Thank you.

Newspaper Obituary Database coming to

History of Delta, British Columbia On-line

Delta History On-Line

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