History Helps Volume Two, Number 2, January 2002
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• Happy New Year from 1902
• Viruses, Etc.
• Immigrants to Canada
• Fire Insurance Plans
• Hudson Bay Company's Department Heads
• Place Names
• Places That Have Disappeared
• History of British Columbia by Howay and Scholefield
• A New B. C. Information Database
• Something To Think About
• Subscription, Privacy Policy
  

HAPPY 2002!

This item quoted from an article in The Daily Columbian, 06 January 1902 under "Ladner" gives us a sense of what New Year's might have been like in Delta one hundred years ago.

"The old and new year's greetings have hardly had an equal on the Delta. At Wm. Pybus' handsome residence on Crescent Island, the young people were allowed two ounces and the veterans one. Supper was served at 1 o'clock and breakfast at 6 o'clock. There was another pleasant gathering at the home of Wm. Arthur. At M. N. Reid's a stream of callers dropped in in the old Scotch fashion; others again passing on to pay their compliments to the widow and little ones of the late Mr. J. Devereux. There are others who dropped in to shake hands with the veteran, Reeve W. H. Ladner, of three score and fifteen years. At Mrs. John Kirkland's on New Year's Eve there gathered the old timers and the new ones. This was a cake party, and lots of fun ensued. It is a problem just where Messrs. John Simpson, Joseph Jordan and William Alexander landed for their turkey, as they were on the go during the holidays driving parties hither and thither. At the Delta Hotel Mrs. Woolery's table reminded one of Christmas days long ago. At the Guichon [Hotel] there was the same experience. Shirley's Hotel had a Christmas tree. The McKee Brothers, and the Messrs. Stokes and Cullis had a tempting display of beef, mutton and pork. Dr. and Mrs. Wilson had a lively time in answering the bell and receiving old friends. At the East End, Mr. John Oliver, M.P.P., Messrs. Kitson [sic], Robertson and others had their roundup. Messrs. C. F. Green, E. S. Brown and the Wright boys had family parties."

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Viruses And Other Scary Things on the Internet

In the last several months a number of virus warnings found their way to my mailbox, some legitimate and some not. Lucky for me, a couple of "old hands" knowledgeable in the wily ways of the Internet set me on the path to determining for myself which were legitimate critters to fear and which were hoaxes perpetrated by other people with not enough to do (What is the proverb about "idle hands"?).

In any event this is a site where one can check for the scaries.
http://www.telus.net/bulletins/virusalerts.cfm

Two sites where you can check out hoaxes:
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBHoaxInfo.html/#identify
http://www.vmyths.com/

These make the world a little safer -- temporarily.

Immigrants to Canada

In previous issues of "History Helps" I'd included items about Home Children, who were brought by various agencies to British Columbia. I've since come across two newspaper reports about single women who emigrated from the British Isles under different sponsorship.

From The Vancouver Daily World, Tuesday, 26 April 1898, page three:

"THE DOMESTIC GIRL PROBLEM
The Winnipeg Free Press states that Commissioner McCreary has received word from the chief agent in Scotland that Mrs. Livingston is meeting with good success in connection with the securing of a number of first-class servant girls to bring out to Western Canada. It is expected that a party of about 100 will leave about the first week in June. It is not yet known whether any of these will come through to the coast, but should they do so they can depend upon receiving good positions, and first-class remuneration for their services here, besides other advantages which may be largely in their favor, that of becoming wives to very deserving young men. Those desirous of procuring the services of such as these are should forward applications and testimonials to the clergymen of this city, who will in due course forward them to Mr. McCreary at Winnipeg."

The bit about "first-class remuneration" might be debatable.

From The Vancouver Daily World, Friday, 06 May 1898, page six:

"ARRIVAL OF BRITISH GIRLS
A quiet but effective work in the interests of female immigration has begun under the direction of the committee recently elected by the Local Women's Council to deal with immigration. Through the efforts of Mrs. W. B. McKinnon, a party of seven Scotch girls sent out by Miss A. Macdonald, of Queen's Gate, Aberdeen, and one English girl from the Hon. Mrs. Joyce, arrived in the city on Sunday. They were of a party of 40 who came to Canada under the auspices of the United British Women's Immigration Association in charge of Miss Turnbull, who during the past 12 years has brought out over 1,200 girls to Canada. The latter were at once placed in good situations and it is hoped they are the beginning of what will prove to be a useful work for the Province. Last evening the Girls' Friendly Society, to which several of the girls belonged, moved its regular meeting into a welcome social for the new arrivals. It was held at the house of Mrs. Stitt, Haro street, and a very pleasant evening was spent. Archdeacon Pentreath welcomed the girls to Vancouver on behalf of the G. F. S. Refreshments were served, and the girls were induced to sing several old Scotch songs. Miss Turnbull returned to England yesterday."

Fire Insurance Plans

Tired of hearing about these yet? If so, you will be relieved to know that this should be my last kick at that particular can. However, not wanting to be the one not sharing valuable and useful information, I bring forward this website. It falls somewhat outside my stated interest in B. C. history, but someone who has followed this trail and is researching also in the U.S. might find it useful.

One website has been around for some time and is a source for paper copies of the maps. The site is http://www.edrnet.com/reports/historical.html

A new commercial website includes maps for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Access is available by the purchase of a subscription at this address: http://sanborn.umi.com

What Do I Do With This?

There are pieces of information that I come across while doing research that I absolutely don't know what to do with -- yes, some have already appeared in this newsletter. But this one is decidedly ambiguous. In The [Vancouver] Daily Province, 23 November 1916, on pages 22-23, the Hudson's Bay Company advertised a Department Manager's Sale. In that two-page advertisement were listed all the department managers, each with a photograph. At a loss at to what I might do with this "stuff," which is more oriented to genealogists, I'm listing all those individuals here.
W. E. Townsend, A. K. Smith (female), S. D. Wilson, H. H. Hollier, H. A. Pope, E. Nicholson, S. L. McLean (female), K. Currie (female), G. Crump, T. H. Brett, G. Sewel, W. E. Almas, J. B. Knechtle, W. W. Fraser, F. S. Chasey, F. L. Lindsay, J. R. Jackson, J. M. Green (female), B. M. Clarke, E. Eleanor (female), G. D. McLean, W. A. Warren, G. Henri, P. Burch, A. J. Hall, J. Murdock.

Place Names

A website entitled GeoData BC - BC Geographical Names is worth a look. The URL is http://www.gdbc.gov.bc.ca/bcnames/
I came across this website, thinking it would have some historical detail on places in B.C. that no longer exist. It wasn't very helpful, although the preamble on the home page reads thus:

"Geographical names are more than labels on maps and road signs. They can reveal patterns of settlement, exploration and migration, and mirror outside influences to our history - aspects of the heritage and promise of an area that might otherwise be overlooked or forgotten by visitors and later generations."

Kitchener, B.C., or The Places You Can No Longer Find on the Map

One of the toughest obstacles to overcome when doing research is the change in names over time of towns, areas, regions and even countries. The following item from The [Vancouver] Daily Province, 24 November 1916, page three, is a case in point:

"Kitchener, B.C., Is No More ¶ Nelson, Nov. 24 -- Kitchener, Ontario is now without a rival of the same name in Canada. Kitchener, a settlement on the Crows [sic] Nest Railway, has been renamed Cordona by the C.P.R."

I checked this out on the site for searching historical names and it does come up, but not with information as to the new name.
Hats off to http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/english/cgndb.html

History of British Columbia by Howay / Scholefield

Some of the earliest published histories of British Columbia contain useful information on the Province's history (what we'd expect), as well as illustrations (drawings, maps and photographs) that may not be seen anywhere else. One such history, four volumes in total, is British Columbia: >From the Earliest Times to the Present by Howay and Scholefield. I'm including here a sample of "Illustrations" listed in the Indexes to Volumes I and II, so that subscribers can appreciate what is available in these books.

FROM VOLUME ONE:
French Map of North America, circa 1775
Map of Western North America, circa 1775
Autograph Letter By Captain Cook
A Man and Woman of Nootka Sound
Meares' Long Boat Entering the Strait of Juan De Fuca
Alexandro Malaspina
Galiano Island
The Home of Dr. W. F. Tolmie
First School on Vancouver Island
View of Victoria in 1860
Bird's-Eye View of Victoria in 1878
Types of British Columbia Indians
The Inside of a House in Nootka Sound
Vancouver, City, Council Meeting After the Fire of June 13, 1886
North Vancouver from Ferry Wharf and Vancouver Harbour and Shipping

FROM VOLUME TWO:
Esquimalt Town, About 1867
Town of Lillooet, 1903
Map, Southwestern Districts of British Columbia
Early View of Yale
New Westminster About 1864
Government House and Early View of Columbia Street, New Westminster
Alexandra Bridge in the Great Flood of 1894, Fraser River
Barkerville, Before and After the Fire, 1868
Old Timers of Fraser River
Legislative Council, 1870
Pioneers of 1867
Interesting Crowd of Pioneers, Photograph Taken July 1, 1871, or 1872
British Camp on San Juan Island During Period of Dual Occupation
Reproduction of Advertisement of Through Trains on Canadian Pacific
Town of New Denver, Slocan Lake
Views at Prince Rupert
Scows at Bennett Loading for Dawson
An Irrigated Orchard in British Columbia
Chief Justices of Vancouver Island and British Columbia.

Volumes III and IV contain the biographies of notable British Columbians, mostly men and sometimes extensively embroidered, but useful as sources for genealogical information.

A New B. C. History Database

A new addition to the website of Hugh Armstrong, who should need no introduction to readers of this newsletter, is called Canadians in the South African (Boer) War 1899 to 1902. It can be found at
http://members.shaw.ca/hughlarmstrong/boer/boer_war.htm

Something To Think About

My thought for the month of January is borrowed from The Vancouver Daily World, 19 August 1898:

"The less heart a man [or woman] puts into a task the more labor it requires."

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.
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Gwen Szychter, M.A.

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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