John Linn, the Land, and Settler Memory

Kaitlyn MacInnis is a former student in the Department of History at SFU. She normally focuses on Britain, but working as a Research Assistant for Dr. McCullough has afforded her the opportunity to learn more about settler colonialism on the Indigenous lands where she was raised. With broader public discussions of renaming focused on powerful and overtly heinous colonisers, she wanted to explore a more mundane example of settler commemoration through naming. Update: Kaitlyn will begin her PhD in the Department of History at SFU in the Fall of 2021.

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With lifted arms let’s seize our toil-right,
We’ll take it, wear it, ‘tis our own.
[. . .]
Then when retired and freed from labor,
Triumphantly we’ll tread the plain,
Then Fortune’s pencil shall be waiting
To write our names in book of fame.

–From “The Path Before Us,” in the newspaper published on the ship carrying the Columbia Detachment of the Royal Engineers from Britain[1]

…

John Linn was likely born in 1815 in the small parish of Corstorphine, just west of Edinburgh. His training in stonemasonry allowed him in 1846 to pursue broader horizons through enlistment with the Royal Sappers and Miners, an elite corps of the British Army often deployed in civil as well as military building work, which was absorbed in 1856 into the officer corps of the Royal Engineers. It was while stationed in Halifax as a Sapper that Linn met his wife Mary Robertson, originally from Broadford on the Isle of Skye.[2]

[Image 1] “Mr. and Mrs. John Linn,” c. 1865.

In 1858, Linn volunteered for the Columbia Detachment of the Royal Engineers, sent to secure the new colony of British Columbia in the chaotic outset of the Fraser River Gold Rush.[3] Mary gave birth to the couple’s first child on the voyage over; five more children were born at the Sappers’ barracks in New Westminster. When the Columbia Detachment was disbanded in 1863, Linn took his discharge, “determend,” in his words, “to make a home in this coloney [sic].”[4] In 1869, a military grant allowed the Linns to move onto 150 acres on the north shore of what is now called Burrard Inlet. John died of a stroke in 1876, and the family left the land around 1891. The creek by which they had homesteaded, through variation of spelling, came to be called “Lynn Creek,” and with expanding settlement the name was also given to the community of “Lynn Valley” and the popular recreation sites of “Lynn Canyon Park” and “Lynn Peak.”

[Image 2] Group assembled outside tents at Linn’s Cottage at Lynn Creek [1896?]. After the Linn family left, the land was used recreationally by settlers.

This outline of the lives of John Linn and his family has been rehearsed many times, and further details can be found in in the sources cited below. The familiarity of the Linns to locals, and the reason so much is known about them, has to do with their place, with many other Scots, in the pioneer or frontier mythology of what is now called British Columbia, which “celebrate[s] the ‘discovery’ of the ‘empty’ land, the arrival of settlers, and the establishment of colonial society.”[5] As the settler origin story, pioneers often signify the effective beginning of history in settler memory—forgetting the people who were here since before human memory, and who are still here.

[Image 3] Commemorations such as New Westminster’s “The Sappers Were Here” sign perpetuate the settler-colonial narrative. Photo by John Sinal.

Although they have faded into the background somewhat, settler memory has romanticised the Sappers as quintessential pioneers. They transformed land with military proficiency, making settlement and exploitation possible for others; they salved the paranoia that brewed on a far-flung frontier of the British empire; and, crucially, most of them became settlers themselves.[6] The great attractions of volunteering for the Columbia Detachment were the promise of land belonging to Indigenous peoples, and the ability for men to bring their families. Settler women and children were seen as crucial to the process of colonisation,[7] and the Sappers were exactly the sorts of settlers the administrators of this outpost of empire needed to secure the land as a British colony—all or most of them were committed British imperialists, and they provided an ongoing professional military presence without the ongoing cost, whether to guard against external threats or to stamp out First Nations’ resistance. The story that John Linn “made his peace with” the people whose land he “seize[d]”[8] fits into a common Canadian frontier myth of “conquest through benevolence.”[9] Whatever occurred on an interpersonal level, however, as a Sapper he literally laid the groundwork for the violent processes of dispossession on a grand scale that characterise the history, and the present reality, of British Columbia.

[Image 4] The Fisherman, Sept. 12, 1958.

Namesakes such as the Linns are staple features of pioneer mythology, as “naming and the documentation of names are central to settler belonging to the land.”[10] In British Columbia, as in many places colonised by the British, Scottish names are prominent. While Scots have often been portrayed in popular memory as unwilling emigrants, traumatised by separation from home, much of the time they, like John Linn, were simply chasing opportunity. Far from being forced to abandon what they loved about Scotland, as agents of the British empire Scots were often in a position to remake distant places in Scotland’s image.[11] Naming was one part of this colonising project.

One early settler historian who wrote about the Linns was anxious that the memory of local pioneers “should not suffer the fate of eternal oblivion.”[12] This concern demonstrates the importance of pioneer mythology in ongoing colonisation, but also hints at the lack of “rootedness” of settlers and settler names, by contrast with the deep histories of Indigenous peoples on the land, and the meaningful names they impart to it.[13] Lynn Creek is a case in point. The first settler name, although in use during the Linns’ tenancy, didn’t last: “Fred Creek,” after Fred Howson, who had pre-empted the land in 1863 and abandoned it shortly thereafter.[14] The Linns may have made more of a mark on local settler memory, but Fred Howson didn’t set a high bar to clear. All told, the Linn family occupied the land for about twenty-one years, and the land was sold for a large sum almost as soon as it became legally possible to do so.[15] When one of the last surviving Linn children was interviewed in 1953, she declared “that she wouldn’t care to go back in the valley to live,” there being “nothing much there to attract her any more.”[16]

[Image 5] “Lynn Creek,” by James Crookall, between 1918 and 1928.

Settler names are imposed on such slim pretenses because they are integral to colonisation, overwriting Indigenous presence on and rights to the land and naturalising settler occupation.[17] In the example of Lynn Creek, as with many other settler re-namings, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim (Squamish language) name Xá7elcha (see http://squamishatlas.com/ for pronunciation) refers both to the creek and to the settlement of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people who lived there. The renaming of Xá7elcha is therefore an attempt at symbolic and very real erasure, spread over Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territories. One settler history remarks that the renaming of Xá7elcha was “a pity,” because Xá7elcha has “a more lilting sound than Lynn.”[18] Not only does this complaint reduce the matter to mere aesthetics, but also the tone of resignation implies the permanency of settler society. But this isn’t history done-and-dusted. If naming is a tool of colonisation, “naming (or renaming)” by Indigenous peoples can also be “a powerful tool of decolonization,” whether preceding or accompanying the return of authority over land.[19]

© Kaitlyn MacInnis, 2020

The author is grateful to Dr. Rudy Reimer for providing clarification regarding First Nations territories, and to the staff at North Vancouver Museum and Archives for facilitating research.

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Images

[Image 1] “Mr. and Mrs. John Linn,” c. 1865, City of Vancouver Archives, AM54-S4-2-: CVA 371-1257.

[Image 2] Group assembled outside tents at Linn’s Cottage at Lynn Creek [1896?], City of Vancouver Archives, AM54-S4-: SGN 356.

[Image 3] “The Sappers Were Here” by John Sinal. Copyright 2018 Wesgroup Properties and The Brewery District Investment Ltd.

[Image 4] The Fisherman, Sept. 12, 1958, SFU Digitized Newspapers.

[Image 5] “Lynn Creek,” by James Crookall, between 1918 and 1928. City of Vancouver Archives, AM640-S1-F2-: CVA 260-1194.159.

Notes

[1] The Emigrant Soldiers’ Gazette, and Cape Horn Chronicle, 11 December 1858, 4, UBC Library Open Collections, https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcbooks/items/1.0222082 – p33z-3r0f:.

[2] On John Linn and the Linn family, see especially: Judy Koren, Family Histories Item 1158, North Vancouver Museum and Archives; Walter Draycott, Early Days in Lynn Valley (North Vancouver: The North Shore Times, 1978), 7-9; James Skitt Matthews, Early Vancouver (Vancouver: City of Vancouver, 2011), vols 3 (91) and 4 (138-140), http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/archives/digitized/EarlyVan/index.htm.

[3] https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fraser-river-gold-rush

[4] John Linn to Frederick Seymour, 18 July 1865, GR-1372.89.1001, Royal BC Museum and Archives, https://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/linn-john.

[5] Elizabeth Furniss, “Pioneers, Progress, and the Myth of the Frontier: The Landscape of Public History in Rural British Columbia,” BC Studies no. 115/116 (Autumn/Winter 1997/98): 13.

[6] On the Royal Engineers’ instrumental role in colonisation, through an uncritical settler lens, see Beth Hill, Sappers: The Royal Engineers in British Columbia (Ganges, BC: Horsdal and Schubart, 1987); Frances M. Woodward, “The Influence of the Royal Engineers in the Development of British Columbia,” BC Studies no. 24 (Winter 1974-75): 3-51.

[7] On the colonising role of settler families, including the children of the Royal Engineers—long celebrated in pioneer mythology—see Laura Ishiguro, “‘Growing up and grown up . . . in our future city’: Children and the Aspirational Politics of Settler Futurity and Colonial British Columbia,” BC Studies no. 190 (Summer 2016): 15-37.

[8] See the language in the epigraph. Through its self-mythologisation and its representations of First Nations peoples, The Emigrant Soldiers’ Gazette was in some regards an explicit primer for colonisation.

[9] Mac Reynolds, “When Linns Lived Beside Lynn Creek,” Vancouver Sun, 28 March 1953, 18; Furniss, “Myth of the Frontier,” 22-23.

[10] Amanda Murphyao and Kelly Black, “Unsettling Settler Belonging: (Re)naming and Territory Making in the Pacific Northwest,” American Review of Canadian Studies 45, no. 3 (2015): 316.

[11] Cairns Craig, The Wealth of the Nation: Scotland, Culture and Independence (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2018), 63-72.

[12] W.M.L Draycott, “Foreword,” in Lynn Valley: From the Wilds of Nature to Civilization [. . .] (North Vancouver: North Shore Press, [1919]). http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_91613/2?r=0&s=1

[13] Murphyao and Black, “Unsettling Settler Belonging,” 322-323; Christina Gray and Daniel Rück, “Reclaiming Indigenous Place Names,” Yellowhead Institute, https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2019/10/08/reclaiming-indigenous-place-names/.

[14] First Nations and Asian people were excluded by law from the right of pre-emption. Timothy J. Stanley, “Commemorating John A. Macdonald: Collective Remembering and the Structure of Settler Colonialism in British Columbia,” BC Studies no. 204 (2020): 110.

[15] Because John died without a will, “his” property could not be disposed of until his youngest child turned twenty-one.

[16] Reynolds, “When Linns Lived Beside Lynn Creek,” Vancouver Sun, 28 March 1953, 18.

[17] Gikino’amaagewinini, “Naming as Theft and Misdirection,” BC Studies no. 195 (Autumn 2017): 107.

[18] Draycott, Early Days, 7.

[19] Tansi Nîtôtemtik, “What’s in a Name? Renaming and Reclaiming of Indigenous Space,” University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog, 9 November 2018, https://ualbertalaw.typepad.com/faculty/2018/11/whats-in-a-name-renaming-and-reclaiming-of-indigenous-space-.html.

Simon Fraser “The Explorer” and the Problem of Contact History

At press time, Justine Jawanda was in her final year of an undergraduate degree majoring in History and minoring in First Nations Studies at Simon Fraser University with plans to enter the Professional Development Program (PDP). Outside of school, Justine has a passion for fine arts and spends her extracurricular activities with her partner, her family, and her dog, Koda. Although Justine was born and raised in Vancouver British Columbia, she respectfully acknowledges the traditional territories of the Kwantlen First Nations community in which she resides. In acknowledging that she is a guest to these territories, she plans to continue to reside in the province after she obtains her degree and teaching certificate promoting Indigenous paradigms to the best of her ability within local schools.

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Simon Fraser “The Explorer” (1776-1862) was born in Mapletown, Hoosick County, in what is now New York. The son of Scottish Highlanders who were part of a largely Roman Catholic migration to New York in 1773, Fraser was apprenticed into the fur trade with the North West Company (NWC) in 1792, working his way up the ranks of the company. In 1805, Fraser was instructed to extend the company’s operations westward and find the Columbia River, so that the NWC could have an overland and navigable route to markets in Asia.[1] Failing to do so, Fraser instead accidentally discovered the river that now bears his name. On his two journeys, which occurred between 1805 and 1808, to what is now British Columbia, Fraser produced letters and journals intended to record his findings for his employer. The 1808 journal, which is the account of the famous journey to the sea, is what was known in the North American fur trade as a “fair copy,” or “[n]arratives…prepared by traders who had made important journeys, and forwarded as a report to headquarters.”[2] Fraser’s fair copy journal of 1808 was compiled by an unknown author and his original journal that the fair copy is based on, has been lost.[3] Yet, to the present this journal, as well as his other letters and writings, have been used by authors–often uncritically–to accurately reconstruct the journeys of Fraser. Fraser’s most famous biographer, W. Kaye Lamb, though admitting that Fraser’s fair copy journal was the result of perhaps many pens, overlooked or downplayed this fact going so far as to say: though “the manuscript is not in Fraser’s own handwriting…of its authenticity there can be no doubt.” Why Lamb did this we can only speculate; perhaps he clearly admired the historical figure stating: “[o]f the interest and importance of his explorations there can be no question.”[4] Lamb’s elevation of Fraser to hero status, led to numerous other publications, such as Stephen Hume’s Simon Fraser: In search of Modern British Columbia, which continue to overlook the problematic nature of Fraser’s writings, producing an inaccurate version of the past, most importantly, the history of Fraser’s contact with Indigenous peoples.

Simon Fraser (Photo courtesy of Simon Fraser University Archives)

In contrast, Wendy Wickwire acknowledges the value in needing to contrast both written and oral testimony to better understand historical accounts. She argues: “the Nlaka’pamux…recorded their impressions of [Fraser]. Unlike Fraser, however, the Nlaka’pamux transmitted their impressions orally, and the stories passed from one generation to the next.”[5] Recognizing the value in oral histories is crucial, yet, Wickwire argues that, for better or for worse, for many scholars “Fraser’s [1808] journal has become the primary lens through which to view the initial interaction between [Indigenous peoples] and the first white explorers [to British Columbia].”[6]

A Letter by Simon Fraser (Photo courtesy of Simon Fraser University Archives). Very little material exists in Fraser’s own hand-writing.

This misrepresentation of Fraser’s 1808 account by Lamb and others becomes problematic as the broader public is exposed to historical events and processes that may not be entirely accurate. Other historians expand on such misconceptions of accuracy; they explain it as if certain concepts of history assume all known information is documented into one intelligible whole.[7] Furthermore, Fraser’s documents are a place where this understanding can be deconstructed within the written work itself and even if they aren’t entirely accurate can still tell us much about nineteenth-century Anglo-European attitudes towards Indigenous people.

A Letter by Simon Fraser (Photo courtesy of Ian Lindsay/Vancouver Sun in Stephen Hume’s In Search of Modern British Columbia. Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd. (2008).)

For example, Fraser’s 1808 fair copy journal, no matter who completed it, demonstrates a Eurocentric ideology by placing Euro-American culture above that of Indigenous peoples and whether intentionally or unintentionally, the journal perpetuates an inherent sense of racial hierarchy. For example, the journal records that Indigenous peoples “seemed rather stupid, and not much inclined to satisfy our desires.”[8] This Eurocentric assumption plays a part in establishing profound misunderstandings between settler-colonial and Indigenous relations that only intensified over the centuries as Indigenous peoples were placed as the Other in a hierarchical racial order within the broader narrative of settler-colonialism.[9] In spite of the promotion of supposed Indigenous “savagery’ the journal states that when he arrived in the territories of the ‘Tautens’ and ‘Atnah’ it was “a plentiful country where the Indians were hospitable”[10] and that the people were “happy” to see him upon his return later on.[11] In other words, the region is portrayed as safe, populated by people who would not get in the way of outside colonization. Consideration of Indigenous territories are masked or overlooked in this narrative, exemplified by the fact that Fraser referred to the territory he ‘discovered’ as “New Caledonia,” in honour of his mother’s birthplace (Scotland).[12] By claiming and giving the territory a European name, Fraser promotes a colonial narrative that overlooks Indigenous title. By portraying contact between colonizer and Indigenous peoples as peaceful overlooks conflicts that occurred and the real motivations of a fur trade company keen to expand (with as little fuss as possible) its operations across the Continent.[13]

Fort George in “New Caledonia” (Photo courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, W.H. Coverdale Collection of Canadiana/C-040856)

Ultimately, by uncritically using the 1808 fair copy journal, Fraser’s journey is elevated to that of a heroic “great accomplishment,”[14] rather than the report of a man surveying land for a company seeking to expand its operations. Portrayals of Indigenous peoples are meant to show that future operations would not be hindered by hostile locals. It is not to say that Fraser’s writings don’t have value; they do, but taken alone, these accounts risk perpetuating the colonial narrative in terms of settler and Indigenous relations. Fraser’s 1808 journey has entered the realm of mythology in the history of expansion in what is now Canada, and by extension perpetuates the idea that European expansion was a positive process, neglecting the (historical) accounts of Indigenous peoples. When authors support Fraser’s accounts as authentic, it suggests that historical events can be illustrated in one coherent narrative, thereby assembling them in a chronological order of what really did occur historically.[15] Furthermore, the ways in which Indigenous peoples were represented in Fraser’s journals tell us more about the attitudes of a fur trade company keen to expand its operations in Indigenous territories in the Pacific Northwest than it does about the realities of contact with Indigenous peoples.[16] In this way, Fraser, along with other explorers like him who recorded their travels in new lands, perpetuated the contemporary concept of racial hierarchies through their encounters with Indigenous peoples. To Fraser’s champions, like Lamb, this makes him a hero of Canadian history.

© Justine Jawanda

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Sources

[1] W. Kaye Lamb, “FRASER, SIMON,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 9, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed December 4, 2018, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/fraser_simon_9E.html.

[2] Ibid., 52.

[3] Ibid., 52. The fair copy 1808 journal can be found at the Toronto Public Library.

[4] Ibid., 21.

[5] Wendy, C. Wickwire. “To See Ourselves as the Other’s Other: Nlaka’s Pamux Contact Narratives,” Canadian Historical Review Vol. 75, 1 (1994), 2.

[6] Ibid., 2.

[7] Linda Smith. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books (London and New York; Dunedin: Otago University Press. Second Edition 2012), 31.

[8] Lamb, The Letters and Journals of Simon Fraser, 1806-1808, 189.

[9] Linda Smith. Decolonizing Methodologies, 33.

[10] Lamb, The Letters and Journals of Simon Fraser, 1806-1808, 92.

[11] Ibid., 151 & 154.

[12] Stephen Hume. Simon Fraser: In Search of Modern British Columbia, 21.

[13] Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies, 7.

[14] Lamb. The Letters and Journals of Simon Fraser, 52.

[15] Smith. Decolonizing Methodologies, 32.

[16] Sean Carleton, “Colonizing Minds: Public Education, the ‘Textbook Indian,’ and Settler Colonialism in British Colombia, 1920-1970,” BC Studies. No. 169 (Spring 2011), 105.

Images

[Figure 1] Simon Fraser (Photo courtesy of Simon Fraser University Archives)

[Figure 2] A Letter by Simon Fraser (Photo courtesy of Simon Fraser University Archives)

[Figure 3] A Letter by Simon Fraser (Photo courtesy of Ian Lindsay/Vancouver Sun in Stephen Hume’s In Search of Modern British Columbia. Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd. (2008).)

[Figure 4] Fort George in “New Caledonia” (Photo courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, W.H. Coverdale Collection of Canadiana/C-040856)

A Tale of Two Simon Frasers: The Invented and Contested Scottish Tradition of SFU

At press time, Georgia Twiss was in her final semester of her undergraduate (honours) History degree at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on the impact of the British Empire on the urban development of Glasgow, and the legacy of imperialism within Glaswegian heritage, as well as performances of gender, culture, and imperialism in British Columbia. The basis of this research blog was a poster presentation for Georgia’s History honours seminar class in Spring 2018.

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On September 9^th 1965, Simon Fraser, 15^th Lord Lovat, Chief of Clan Fraser of Lovat, took to the stage in Convocation Mall to give a speech commemorating the opening ceremonies of Simon Fraser University. He began his speech with a quote taken from Shakespeare proclaiming, “I didn’t come here to talk.”[1] His choice of words rang true. He was not there to talk, but to embody an invented tradition of Scottishness, promoted by the university’s President, Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, and predicated upon SFU’s association to the Clan Fraser of Lovat. While today most people assume the university’s name and Scottishness honour Simon Fraser, the nineteenth-century imperial explorer and fur trader, McTaggart-Cowan’s invented tradition intentionally excluded him in favour of Lord Lovat. As the head of the Clan, this Simon Fraser symbolized a prestigious sense of historical continuity and heritage that was lacking in the locally-branded “Instant University.”[2] It was through this invented tradition that the early university endorsed and enforced an image of SFU as overtly Scottish. An image which, despite contestation, has prevailed through the years, but in truth has little to do with Simon Fraser the Explorer at all.

[Figure 1] Lord Lovat bestowing the Clan Fraser Claymore (Not the mace as the caption of the photo suggests) to SFU at the university’s opening ceremonies, September 9th 1965.

The naming of SFU was a fluke by way of an acronymic oversight. The original name, ‘Fraser University’, was chosen to reflect the region from where its student body would largely derive. However, upon the realization that the school would be colloquially referred to as “F.U,” the prefix “Simon” was added, with no direct statement as to whom it was meant to honour.[3] This addition transformed the intended toponymic name to one that allowed for the forging of a relationship between the university and the Clan Fraser of Lovat, whose Chief at the time was named Simon Fraser. The relationship between SFU and the Clan began when Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, a Scottish immigrant to Canada himself, requested the use of the Clan’s motto and crest for the university’s insignia.[4] It was this relationship that underpinned McTaggart-Cowan’s invention of a Scottish tradition at SFU.

[Figure 2] “Coat of Arms.” Simon Fraser University.

[Figure 3] FRASER, Lord Fraser of Lovat Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Azure, three fraises (cinquefoils), Argent (for Fraser); 2nd and 3d, Argent, three antique crowns, Gules (for the Lordship of Lovat).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Invented tradition” is a concept brought forth by historians Eric Hobsbawm and Terrence Ranger, and defined as, “a set of practices…of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past.”[5] The invented tradition of SFU, through the appropriation of Clan Fraser of Lovat heritage, projects an image of historical Scottishness. The Clan’s imagery are found in SFU’s official tartan, coat of arms, and motto as well, as in the use of the ceremonial claymore and mace at formal ceremonies and events.

[Figure 4] “Patrick McTaggart-Cowan (left), flanked by B.C. Premier W. A. C. Bennett and SFU Chancellor Gordan Shrum, delivers SFU’s opening address on Sept. 9, 1965”

The exclusion of Simon Fraser the Explorer within the construction of McTaggart-Cowan’s invented tradition in favor of Lord Lovat is clearly illustrated in the university’s opening ceremonies. While Lord Lovat was grandly standing upon the stage in Convocation Mall, Donald Fraser of Fargo, North Dakota, and great-great-grandson of Simon Fraser the Explorer, was also in attendance. Unlike Lord Lovat he received no honours, his presence was not promoted and he paid for his own way to the event.[6] While Lord Lovat embodied the invented tradition of Scottishness McTaggart-Cowan craved, the presence of Donald Fraser had no appeal. A man from North Dakota did not evoke the same esteem or romance as a war-hero and Clan chief from the Highlands of Scotland. It was Lord Lovat who personified McTaggart-Cowan’s image of Scottishness, not a long-dead imperial explorer or his American descendant.

McTaggart-Cowan’s invented Scottishness was an attempt to formulate a shared identity for the incoming student body. This identity, centred around the prestige and history of the Clan Fraser of Lovat, would allow students to feel pride in their new university. McTaggart-Cowan’s plan however, backfired when met with reality. Rather than accepting this imposed Scottishness, SFU’s new students challenged the invented tradition in order to embrace the modern and progressive identity they saw in the divergent image of the “Instant University.”

[Figure 5] Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Crest

In a series of “Letters to the Editor” from the university’s first newspaper, The Tartan, written in September 1965, various students contest SFU’s overt Scottishness. James Stuart Patterson writes, “Why must this university be an ethnic eyesore?” and later declares, in reference to McTaggart-Cowan, “the Scottish nut on the planning committee must be restrained.”[7] The most direct rejection of McTaggart-Cowan’s invented Scottishness comes from another student, John Cole, who argues, “We are Canadians, going to a Canadian university and to tag a Scottish label on us and our university is phoney.”[8] Evidence of Cole’s assertion is witnessed a few weeks later when The Tartan collapses and is replaced by a new paper The Peak. The new name, chosen by the students, illustrates that when given the choice they sought an image rooted in a localized identity, like that of Fraser University, rather than one steeped in the imagery and traditions of Scotland.[9]

[Figure 5] “The SFU Pipe Band has bagged the title of world champions six times. Now it’s ready to take New York, after a stage show here at home.”

The rejection of SFU’s invented Scottish tradition continued following the collapse of The Tartan. In late October 1965, a student named Barbara Chomica wrote a passionate plea to The Peak calling for the paper to take on a hard-line and innovative approach. It was vital to her that The Peak did not become a conservative paper afraid of taking a stance on critical issues. In her concluding sentence Chomica proverbially noted, “The pen is mightier than the sword, even a claymore.”[10] Using the claymore as a placeholder for conservativeness is a clear dig at the enforced Scottishness of the university, as to her it represented an anachronistic identity she did not share. Chomica’s piece again illustrates the wide chasm between McTaggart-Cowan’s invented Scottish identity and the real, progressive, and modern identity students sought to forge in their new university.

The conflict between the two identities, apparent in the fall of 1965, was soon overtaken by more pressing issues such as enrollment fees and unionization. It would resurface again in 1968 when a student led movement to rename the school “Louis Riel University” was voted down.[11] Despite the disappearance of the figure of Lord Lovat from the university, McTaggart-Cowan’s invented Scottish tradition prevails. By exploring the construction of SFU’s Scottish image it becomes clear that the history of the university, from the beginning, has been a tale of two “Simon Frasers.” Not only the two competing figures of Simon Fraser of Lovat and Simon Fraser the Explorer, but the two divergent identities of instant and invented and the way they continue to shape the legacy and image of the university today.

© Georgia Twiss

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Sources

[1] Quoted in: Hugh Johnston, Radical Campus (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2005), 113.

[2] Built in just 18 months, the local press nicknamed the then unnamed university the “Instant University” before it became Simon Fraser University.

[3] Ceremonies and Events Office Fonds, 1963-1969. F-91-1-0-0-1. SFU Archives, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

[4] Lord Lovat, 1965-1995. F-208-1-0-0-5. SFU Archives, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

[5] Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992),

[6] Johnston, Radical Campus, 113.

[7] The Tartan and SF View: Issues, 1965. F-17-6-2. SFU Archives. Burnaby, BC, Canada.

[8] Ibid.

[9] The Peak: Issues, 1965-2016. F-17-6-3. SFU Archives. Burnaby, BC, Canada.

[10] The Peak (Burnaby, BC) October 20, 1965.

[11] McLeod, Brad. “Simon Fraser vs Louis Riel.” The Peak (Burnaby, BC) January 6, 2015.

Images

[Figure 1] “Lord Lovat and the SFU Mace.” Photograph. [Untitled.] Burnaby, BC, 1965. Accessed on November 13, 2018. https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfupamr/21097595415/in/photostream/

[Figure 2] “Coat of Arms.” Simon Fraser University. Burnaby, BC. Accessed November 13, 2018. https://www.sfu.ca/communicators-toolkit/tools/brand-tools/logos/coat-of-arms.html

[Figure 3] https://www.scotclans.com/scottish-clans/clan-fraser-of-lovat/fraser-of-lovat-coat-of-arms/ <accessed 14 November 2018>

[Figure 4] “Patrick McTaggart-Cowan (left), flanked by B.C. Premier W. A. C. Bennett and SFU Chancellor Gordan Shrum, delivers SFU’s opening address on Sept. 9, 1965” [Untitled.] Burnaby, BC, 1965. Accessed, November 13, 2018. https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2016/founding-president-patrick-mctaggart-cowans-sfu-legacy.html

[Figure 5] Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Cresthttps://www.scotclans.com/scottish-clans/clan-fraser-of-lovat/fraser-of-lovat-crest/ <accessed 14 November 2018>

[Figure 6] “The SFU Pipe Band has bagged the title of world champions six times. Now it’s ready to take New York, after a stage show here at home.” Meadahl, Marianne. [Untitled.] Photograph. Victoria, BC, 2014. Accessed November 13, 2018. https://the-peak.ca/2014/05/sfu-pipe-band-prepares-for-the-world-stage/

 

 

 

The Scottish-Canadian Life of Jane Murie Peebles: A Loved and Loving Teacher

At press time, Emily von Euw was an SFU undergraduate student majoring in history. They are of German, Dutch, Swiss and English descent. They are interested in histories of gender, power, technology and geopolitics. They enjoy reading, writing, very dark chocolate, spending time with friends, forest walks, documentaries, and listening to records. Emily lives on the unceded, Indigenous territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsweil-watuth nations.

(Jane Murie Peebles was the sister of the famous New Westminster-born actress and opera singer “Brownie Peebles” who was featured in another blog on this site. You can check it out here.)

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Jane Murie Peebles was a Scottish-Canadian educator, artist, sister, daughter and wife, and friend to many in the Pacific Northwest and Europe alike. She was motivated in her work, inspired by her relationships and dedicated to her faith throughout her long life in British Columbia.

Murie with her students in Sardis, Chilliwack, BC sometime in the 1920s [Figure 1]

Murie’s father was Peter Peebles, a Scot who moved to eastern Canada in 1882 and eventually migrated west and met and married Angusta Grant in New Westminster in 1886.^[1] Peter was a writer for Vancouver’s Sunday Province in the 1920s and 30s, at least once writing about famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns. Peter collected articles on Burns, maintained a subscription to The Scotsman, and kept Scottish poetry; suggesting a deep pride in his heritage.[2] It was in this proud environment the Peebles family was raised. He and Angusta had five children, Murie was the eldest daughter and a namesake of Peter’s sister. Occasionally she would be referred to as Jane M., J. Murie, or J. M., but for the most part friends and relatives called her Murie, as did she herself.

Murie was born on November 26, 1887 in New Westminster.^[3] In 1908 she became a certified member of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in New Westminster.^[4] Presbyterianism – a more democratic, less hierarchical sect of Christianity – came to British Columbia largely thanks to Scottish settlers from Nova Scotia in the late 18th century onward.^[5] Thus, Murie’s Presbyterian faith was intimately intertwined with her Scottish identity.

In 1910 Murie began teaching at government-funded public school, a relatively new institution in the province.^[6] At this time in Canada, teaching children was thought by many to be a career best suited for women. Due to pseudo-scientific beliefs about the inherent caring, nurturing nature of women; they were presumed to be the best educators for youth and – conveniently – could be paid less than their male counterparts. Most school teachers were in similar situations to Murie’s in these decades: single, young women, eager to work, but not often permitted to occupy higher-paying administrative positions or other jobs, and usually resigning when they married.^[7]

Murie Peebles’ students in Sardis, Chilliwack, BC (circa 1920s) [Figure 2]

In 1912 Murie bought property in New Westminster for $325^[8] (just over $10,000 today) and received her deed of land by 1914.^[9] In 1915 she attended art classes and kept several illustrations in a scrapbook^[10]. They involved delicate sketches of leaves, shells, landscapes, butterflies and still lifes. She also drew a number of geometric patterns and symmetrical designs, as if meant for crocheting or stained glass. She seemed to favour rich greens, purples, and golds for colour. Murie’s younger sister, Angusta Brown (known as “Brownie”), went on to become a successful opera performer, and some family members wrote poetry which they would send to one another, so it appears a taste for artistic creativity ran in the family (albeit more casually for Murie than Brownie).

Sometime before July 1921, and perhaps after, Murie taught school in Sardis, BC (Chilliwack). She would return to visit even after her teaching years in Chilliwack, once when a small earthquake hit^[11]. She taught at Herbert Spencer School in New Westminster in mid-January, 1921, and a BC school inspector noted her “skillful class methods… effective organization [and] special aptitude.”^[12] Though apparently something happened soon after that resulted in Murie not being able to teach for at least a month. By mid-February she received a letter informing her that the Board of School Trustees “decided to give [her] an opportunity to return to duty” but if she did not return, it would be a sign of her resignation.^[13] Whether this was due to an act of Murie’s, or merely teachers being reviewed or classes being cancelled due to weather or some other matter, is not clear. In any case, Murie eventually left Herbert Spencer to be married.

Murie’s cooking class. Murie is at back, right. July 1914 [Figure 3]

Murie was well-liked by her students, their parents, and her colleagues. She kept a number of cards students mailed to her and one letter from a mother who thanked her for her positive influence and caring personality. Humbly, Murie did not even realize her impact and was more in awe of the mother – who had 12 children – than her own skills as an educator.^[14] When Murie taught at Herbert Spencer School, a Haida man named Peter Kelly – apparently a “quite good looking” man who some students “fell hard for” – was studying to be a missionary minister for his community. Murie probably taught two of his children (Jimmie and Peter) and was inspired by his and his family’s ambition. Years later Murie was surprised and joyed to see Kelly on the local news being awarded a missionary river boat, something he had aspired to have since first knew each other. Then, thirty-seven years after she taught at Herbert Spencer, she was sent a photo clipping and article of Kelly in the Seattle Times, meeting Princess Margaret.^[15] Murie thought of Kelly throughout the decades, and evidently his success brought her much happiness.

Herbert Spencer School. – [ca. 191-]. [Figure 4]

By 1921 (July 12th, to be exact) she had married William Walker Brown, a man from Abbotsford^[16]. The wedding took place at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, which Murie had attended for at least 13 years. A theme in her life was having many friends and loved ones so it comes as no surprise that Murie’s “girl friends” decorated the church, Peter walked her down the aisle, Brownie sang opera, and a friend from Chilliwack, Milly Bell, was her bridesmaid.^[17] Choosing to be a teacher to young people for many years, Murie surely had affection for children. Yet she and her husband never had any of their own. In 1925, it appears they were hoping to adopt a baby,^[18] but sadly – and for reasons unclear – this hope was never fulfilled. One cannot help but wonder how this may have affected Murie and William.

Jane Murie’s namesake and aunt (Peter Peebles sister) [Figure 5]

Murie’s family and friends lived across Canada; however, she stayed in touch with many via letters, photographs, clippings and postcards, and they visited one another when they had the time. Murie also kept in touch with friends in Europe, mostly England and Scotland. They were always pleased to receive her letters and with how quickly she replied, showing how much she cared for those around her. Murie and her younger brother, Allon, were close; they exchanged many personal letters and he thought of her “as a second mother.”^[19]

Jane Murie Peebles (Brown) passed away sometime before April 30th, 1974^[20], though the location and exact date are unknown. She was a hard-working teacher, a loving friend, sister and daughter, and a caring woman who seemed to consistently find joy in the people and places around her. She and her family hold with them the legacy of Scots to explore and celebrate life, dutiful labour, creativity, diversity and family: a legacy that continues in British Columbia to this day.

© Emily von Euw

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Collection cited:

Peebles Family Fonds, IH 2007.151. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Notes:

^[1] Certificate of marriage, Peter Peebles to Angusta Grant, December 25, 1886.

[2] Article clipping in scrapbook compiled by Peter Peebles.

^[3] Certificate of birth, Jane Murie Peebles, November 26, 1887.

^[4] Certificate of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Membership, February 1, 1908.

^[5] “Historical Vignettes: Snapshots from Our History,” The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives.

^[6] Government document titled “British Columbia Education Department Inspection of Schools,” January 13, 1921.

^[7] Jane Gaskell, “Women and Education,” February 7, 2006, The Canadian Encyclopedia.

^[8] Textual document of property purchased, 1912.

^[9] Textual document of deed of land, 1914.

^[10] Various illustrations, 1915.

^[11] Postcard from Jane Murie Peebles to Mrs. P. Peebles, Date unknown.

^[12] “British Columbia Education Department Inspection of Schools.”

^[13] Correspondence from Board of School Trustees to Jane Murie Peebles, February 15, 1921.

^[14] Correspondence from student’s mother (Mrs. Teskiy?) to Jane Murie Peebles, January 27, year unknown.

^[15] Correspondence from Jane Murie Peebles to Angusta Brown and Allon Peebles, date unknown.

^[16] Marriage certificate between Jane Murie Peebles and William Walker Brown, July 12, 1921.

^[17] Newspaper clipping titled “Pretty Wedding Solemnized At Royal City,” date unknown.

^[18] Correspondence from Allon Peebles to Jane Murie Peebles, September 19, 1925.

^[19] Correspondence from Allon Peebles to Jane Murie Peebles, May 20, 1926.

^[20] Government record titled “Notice of hearing final report and petition for distribution,” April 30, 1974.

Bibliography:

British Columbia Board of School Trustees. Correspondence from Board of School Trustees to Jane Murie Peebles. February 15, 1921. IH 2007.151, Series D, Folder D.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Certificate of birth. Jane Murie Peebles. November 26, 1887. New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Accessed at Royal BC Archives. Registration number: 1887-09-080386.

Certificate of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church Membership. February 1, 1908. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.1. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Correspondence from student’s mother (Mrs. Teskiy?) to Jane Murie Peebles. January 27, year unknown. IH 2007.151, Series D, Folder D.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Government document titled “British Columbia Education Department Inspection of Schools.” January 13, 1921. IH 2007.151, Series D, Folder D.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Government record titled “Notice of hearing final report and petition for distribution.” April 30, 1974. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

“Historical Vignettes: Snapshots from Our History.” The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives. http://presbyterianarchives.ca/2014/06/09/historical-vignettes-snapshots-from-our-history/.

Marriage certificate between Jane Murie Peebles and William Walker Brown. July 12, 1921. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Marriage certificate between Peter Peebles and Angusta Grant. December 25, 1886. New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Accessed online at Royal BC Archives. Registration number: 1886-09-114575.

Newspaper clipping titled “Pretty Wedding Solemnized At Royal City.” Date unknown. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Peebles, Allon. Correspondence from Allon Peebles to Jane Murie Peebles. May 20, 1926. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.1. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Peebles, Allon. Correspondence from Allon Peebles to Jane Murie Peebles. September 19, 1925. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.1. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Peebles, Jane Murie. Correspondence from Jane Murie Peebles to Angusta Brown and Allon Peebles. Date unknown. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.1. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Peebles, Jane Murie. Postcard from Jane Murie Peebles to Mrs. P. Peebles. Date unknown. IH 2007.151, Series C, Folder C.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Peebles, Jane Murie. Various illustrations. 1915. IH 2007.151, Series D, Folder D.1. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Textual document of deed of land. 1914. IH 2007.151, Series B, Folder B.3. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Textual document of property purchased. 1912. IH 2007.151, Series B, Folder B.3. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Images:

Figure 1: Photograph. -096, IHP14335. Series E, E.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Figure 2: Photograph. -098, IHP14335. Series E, E.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Figure 3: Photograph. July 1914. -100, IHP14335. Series E, E.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Figure 4: Postcard of Herbert Spencer School. ca. 191-?. IHP2161. Queensborough Photo Collection. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

Figure 5: Photograph. -109, IHP14335. Series E, E.2. Peebles Family Fonds. New Westminster Archives, British Columbia, Canada.

 

 

 

Reverend Alexander Dunn: Pioneer Preacher and Keeper of Settler History

At press time, Stephenie “Effy” Orton recently graduated from SFU in the Fall of 2017 with a major in English and minor in History. Her love of analysis and writing led her to pursue English, but her love of culture and interest in what shaped people and communities, led her to the study of History.

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In 1875, the Church of Scotland sent out four missionaries to re-establish the Church of Scotland in British Columbia. One of these men was Alexander Dunn. Dunn was born on March 30, 1843 to Peter Dunn and Jean Ritchie in Leochel Cushnie, Aberdeenshire. He received his education at the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh^[1] and on June 9, 1875, Dunn was licensed by the Presbytery of Glasgow and assigned to his first missionary posting in British Columbia. On August 31, 1875, Dunn arrived in Victoria. The following day at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Dunn was ordained as a minister, and with this, the Church of Scotland Presbytery of British Columbia was formed.^[2]

Fig. 1 Rev. Alexander Dunn and his wife, Annie (Kern) Dunn. Photo courtesy of Donald E. Waite.

Dunn’s first assignment was a massive undertaking. He was sent to the “Fraser Valley district,” a one hundred mile long and almost thirty mile wide area of heavy forest. The settlements under his charge were Upper Sumas, Matsqui, Mud Bay, South Arm (Ladner), North Arm (Richmond), Maple Ridge, Fort Langley, Langley Prairie, Aldergrove, Jones Landing, Mount Lehman, St. Mary’s Mission, and Johnson’s Landing.^[3] Before Dunn’s arrival, the Fraser Valley area had been overseen by Rev. Robert Jamieson, the founder of the first Presbyterian church on the mainland, St. Andrew’s Church in New Westminster.^[4] Unfortunately, the Rev. Jamieson had fallen ill and could no longer fulfill his duties in the area, so Dunn was sent as a replacement.

Figure 2 St. Andrew’s Church, New Westminster, B.C. courtesy New Westminster Archives.

In his memoirs, Dunn recalls the feeling of isolation that came over him when he first arrived in the province. The “overwhelming stillness and solitude” of the dense forest struck him forcibly and drew a stark contrast to his busy, noisy and lively city home of Glasgow.^[5] However, Dunn did not let the reality of his new life detract from his mission. Over the course of ten years, Dunn oversaw the erection of three churches in the Fraser Valley,^[6] and played a central part placing the congregations in debtless positions.^[7] However, it was not all smooth sailing for Dunn in the Fraser Valley. The dense forests, heavy rains, and poor road conditions (when there were roads) made Dunn’s constant traveling from settlement to settlement difficult and physically taxing. In 1882, the reverend went to Ontario and married Annie Kern. A year later, Dunn and his bride returned to the Fraser Valley and served the community for another three years.^[8] After ten faithful years, the work and land that needed to be covered became too much for the minister, and in April 1886, the Rev. and Mrs. Dunn left the Fraser Valley mission field and went to Ontario for a few months of rest and recuperation.^[9]

Fig. 3 St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Fort Langley, one of the three churches Rev. Dunn built in the Fraser Valley. Photo courtesy of Donald E. Waite.

During the Dunn’s time in Ontario, there was a shift in church leadership. The churches in the Fraser Valley that had been under the covering of the Church of Scotland had been absorbed into the Presbytery of British Columbia. In his memoirs, Dunn notes “[in] April I left British Columbia as a Minister of the Church of Scotland. In November I returned a Minister of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.”^[10] Dunn was in favor of this transition because it made better geographical sense; communication and oversight were much easier to accomplish on a national scale and as the province and country grew, the Presbyterian Church of Canada became better established.^[11]

Dunn’s next posting was in Alberni on Vancouver Island. The Alberni settlement was smaller in size and more suited to the abilities of the aging minister. Unfortunately, the settlement was struggling financially, and after two years neither the community nor Dunn could afford to have him and his wife stay. This fact, however, did not lessen the influence the minister had on the Alberni settlement. Over a short period of time, the settlers had come to revere the minister and his wife; their appreciation is evident through the community’s efforts to keep him for as long as they did. Throughout his stay, the Presbytery tried to relocate Dunn twice, and on both of these occasions the community petitioned against the transfer. When the day of departure did finally come, Dunn and his wife were fully aware of their value in the lives and hearts of the Alberni settlers.^[12]

Fig 4 view of Johnston Street, Alberni, B.C. Courtesy the Alberni District Historical Society and Community Archives.

In 1889, Dunn agreed to transfer back onto the mainland and minister to Mount Lehman and Whonnock. He acquired a piece of land from former HBC employee Robert Robertson and resided and ministered in Whonnock and the surrounding areas until his retirement in 1905.^[13] Upon retirement, Dunn and his wife moved to New Westminster, and, in 1925, the beloved Reverend passed away.^[14]

Fig. 5 St. Andrew’s Presbyterian church manse, the home of Rev. Alexander Dunn. Langley Centennial Museum Photo #0132

Although Dunn’s ecclesiastical work is noteworthy, it does not fully capture the historical value of this man’s life. In September 1913, Dunn was awarded with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree at Westminster Hall in Vancouver.^[15] This award was given to acknowledge the minister’s “outstanding work over his thirty years of service in British Columbia.”^[16] In the same year, his written work, Experiences in Langley and Memoirs of Prominent Pioneers, was published. It must be mentioned that Dunn’s writing reveals the cultural and social biases of the day. There is little record of Indigenous and settler interactions throughout his work, the only references being an incident between a “half-cast” and a Fort Langley Reeve, and canoe trips.^[17] There is also little information given regarding his wife and their marriage. Her name is not mentioned once in the entire work. However, much can be said about Dunn’s efforts in documenting the histories of many Scottish settlers in British Columbia. In a section entitled, “Memoirs of Pioneers: Brief Sketches,” Dunn recalls the lives of twenty nine individuals, twelve of which emigrated from Scotland or had Scottish heritage. These biographical sketches are speeches Dunn gave at the funeral of each individual. On many of these occasions, he was asked to provide accounts of prominent pioneers of the Fraser Valley. Dunn saved and featured many of these articles in his work, along with various letters, sermons, sermon notes, and obituaries. Not only did his writing recall the life and characters of these pioneers, but it also recorded and preserved accounts of what settler life actually looked like for individuals throughout the province.^[18]

Fig. 6 Front page of Rev. Dunn’s published memoirs. Image courtesy of the University of Calgary.

In his book Dunn noted that: “[f]or a number of years [he] had intended to write some account of the work of laying the foundations of Presbyterianism in British Columbia, and had been collecting and preserving material for that purpose.”^[19] In other words, Dunn’s efforts converted his mission into a historical record, and this record has become a primary source in the study of the spread of Presbyterianism and Scottish settlement in the Fraser Valley from 1875 – 1905.

© Stephenie Orton

 

 

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Bibliography:

Dunn, Alexander. Experiences in Langley and Memoirs of Prominent Pioneers. Jackson Printing Co.: New Westminster, BC, 1919. PDF e-book. Accessed November 10, 2017.

“Object Description: 0132.” Langley Centennial Museum. Accessed November 10, 2017. https://collections.museum.tol.ca/LangleyCentennialMuseum/Portal.aspx?lang=en-US&p _AAAF=tab9.

Orr, Brian J. Bones of Empire. LULU Enterprises: Raleigh, NC, 2013. Book Preview. Accessed November 10, 2017.

“Rev. Alex. Dunn Receives Degree,” New Westminster News, (New Westminster, BC), Sept. 27, 1913, accessed November 10, 2017, https://newspaperarchive.com/new-westminster-news-sep-27-1913-p-4/.

“St. Andrew’s was First on Mainland.” Daily News (New Westminster, BC), Mar. 11, 1912. Accessed November 10, 2017. https://newspaperarchive.com/new-westminster-daily-news-mar-11-1912-p-1/.

“The Weekly Colonist: Presbyterian Churches.” Victoria Daily British Colonist (Victoria, BC), Apr. 3, 1885. Accessed November 10, 2017. https://newspaperarchive.com/victoria-daily-british-colonist-apr-03-1885-p-3/.

Waite, Donald E. The Langley Stories Illustrated: An Early History of the Municipality of Langley/ Donald E. Waite. Waite: Maple Ridge, BC, 2000). HTML e-book. Accessed November 10, 2017. http://www.fortlangley.ca/langley/langley.html.

Images:

Fig. 1 William John Larmon, Reverend and Mrs. Alexander Dunn. Source: Donald E. Waite, The Langley Stories Illustrated: An Early History of the Municipality of Langley/ Donald E, Waite. 2000, Digital image. Available from: The Langley Story Illustrated, http://www.fortlangley.ca/langley/dunn.html (accessed November 10, 2017).

Fig. 2 St. Andrew’s Church, New Westminster, BC. New Westminster Archives.

Fig. 3 Waite Air Photos Inc., St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Fort Langley. Source: Donald E. Waite, The Langley Stories Illustrated: An Early History of the Municipality of Langley/ Donald E, Waite. 2000, Digital image. Available from: The Langley Story Illustrated, http://www.fortlangley.ca/langley/standy.html (accessed November 10, 2017).

Fig 4 view of Johnston Street, Alberni, B.C. Courtesy the Alberni District Historical Society and Community Archives.

Fig. 5 Photograph of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian church manse, the home of Rev. Alexander Dunn, April 1968, 0132, Langley Centennial Museum, Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada, accessed November 10, 2017, https://collections.museum.tol.ca/LangleyCentennialMuseum/Portal.aspx?lang=en-US&p_AAAF=tab9.

Fig. 6 Dunn, Alexander. “Cover Page.” Print, 1919. University of Calgary. From: Alexander Dunn, Experiences in Langley and Memoirs of Prominent Pioneers. Jackson Printing Co.: New Westminster, BC, 1919. HTML e-book. Accessed November 10, 2017. http://ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=1258&amp;qryID=dceeaa7d-c0ff-4bcd-821c-2d6e9c4aec1 1.

Sources:

^[1] Brian J. Orr, Bones of Empire, (LULU Enterprises: Raleigh, NC, 2013), 237-238.

^[2] Alexander Dunn, Experiences in Langley and Memoirs of Prominent Pioneers (Jackson Printing Co.: New Westminster, BC, 1919), 68.

^[3] Ibid, 84-85.

^[4] “St. Andrew’s Was First on Mainland,” The Daily News, (New Westminster, BC), Mar. 11, 1912, accessed Nov. 10, 2017, https://newspaperarchive.com/new-westminster-daily-news-mar-11-1912-p-1/.

^[5] Dunn, Experiences in Langley, 4-5.

^[6] Dunn, Experiences in Langley, 68.

^[7] “The Weekly Colonist: Presbyterian Churches,” Victoria Daily British Colonist, (Victoria, BC), April 3, 1885, accessed Nov. 10, 2017, https://newspaperarchive.com/victoria-daily-british-colonist-apr-03-1885-p-3/.

^[8] “Object Description: 0132,” Langley Centennial Museum, accessed November 10, 2017. https://collections.museum.tol.ca/LangleyCentennialMuseum/Portal.aspx?lang=en-US&p_AAAF=tab9.

^[9] Dunn, Experiences in Langley, 83.

^[10] Ibid, 84.

^[11] Ibid.

^[12] Experiences in Langley, 94-95.

^[13] Donald E. Waite, The Langley Stories Illustrated: An Early History of the Municipality of Langley/ Donald E, Waite, (Waite: Maple Ridge, BC, 2000), 117.

^[14] Ibid.

^[15] “Rev. Alex. Dunn Receives Degree,” New Westminster News, (New Westminster, BC), Sept. 27, 1913, accessed November 10, 2017, https://newspaperarchive.com/new-westminster-news-sep-27-1913-p-4/.

^[16] Waite, The Langley Stories, 117.

^[17] Ibid, 10.

^[18] Dunn, Experiences in Langley, 60.

^[19] Ibid, 65.

Ol’ Bill: The Scottish-Canadian Writer Fighting For All

At press time, Tessa Carolynn McGibbon had recently graduated with an undergraduate degree in History from Simon Fraser University with a focus on Canadian History. Currently, she is in the post graduate program at Simon Fraser University to become an elementary school teacher. Tessa aims to teach children about Canadian history in an engaging, fun, and informative way.

—

William Bennett, most commonly known as “Ol’ Bill,” is little-known in the history of the labour movement in Canada, yet his contribution was a very important one. Born into a humble family in Greenock, Scotland on May 8, 1881, Ol’ Bill saw first-hand the struggles of working-class life in urban Scotland. A founding member of the Communist Party of Canada and the Labour-Progressive Party, Ol’ Bill’s passion for the rights of workers and their families began at a young age leading him to join the Kier Hardie-led Independent Labour Party (ILP) in Glasgow in 1897 when he was just sixteen years old. “Young Wullie” was quickly welcomed into the ILP fold not only because at the time he was working in a barbershop, where he had access to many potential labour movement recruits, but also by other young socialists who saw him as one of their own like the young engineer Adam Lieper, who liked that Ol’ Bill “[lives] in the same close (alley) as I do, and he’s been reading the Labour Leader for some time now.”[1] Reading the Labour Leader, a small weekly British socialist paper, was a perfect reason for Ol’ Bill to have gained membership into the ILP because this humble working-class boy’s future would see him become one of the most notable journalists in a revolutionary socialist movement thousands of kilometers away in Canada.

William Bennett. http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/HeWroteForUs.pdf

After working for many years in Scotland helping various workers, especially miners, to get concessions from their employers and the government through various writings and speeches, Ol’ Bill moved to Canada. Ol’ Bill, like many other labour supporters of his generation, were dissatisfied with the slow pace at which social reforms for workers and their families were taking place. The (now) Labour Party’s conflict with the government largely involved opposition to the Boer War (1899-1902), which revealed the ill-health of many of the army recruits, many of who came from Britain’s urban slums. Why, asked Ol’ Bill, should “money and labor…be squandered on fighting in a needless war in Africa, when it could be much better used at home cleaning up the Glasgow slums[?]”[2]

Ol’ Bill arrived at his new home in Vancouver in 1907. Like many new immigrants, Ol’ Bill struggled to find work, so he did what he knew best and opened a barber shop in the skid road district of Vancouver (today centred around Hastings and Main), spreading the ideas of socialism to whoever sat in his chair. By 1912, Ol’ Bill joined the Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) and began to write for the party’s paper The Western Clarion (launched in 1903). That same year, Ol’ Bill tried running in the provincial election as the Vancouver City candidate for SPC, but sadly did not win.

The Western Clarion, April 28, 1906. https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/wclarion/items/1.0318614#p0z-7r0f:

During most SPC rallies and public meetings in these years, Ol’ Bill acted as the chairmen, which involved speaking publicly, revealing his canny ability to make succinct and straight forward speeches, inspiring all of those who listened to him. In other words, Ol’ Bill was not one to ramble. For example, during his speech to the coal miners during the Vancouver Island miners’ lockout during 1912-13 he said:

Comrade chairman and fellow-workers: You all know what coal is, so I don’t have to go too deeply into that. Most of you here have to buy coal, so I don’t need to tell you much about that either. But…miners who dig the coal…are locked out…some call it a strike. What are you going to do about that?[3]

However, the First World War and the violent labour unrest of the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919, led Ol’ Bill to move away from the SPC. With other more radical thinkers, Ol’ Bill formed a new organization, the Workers’ Party of Canada in 1922, which became the Communist Party of Canada (CPC) in 1924. While working with the CPC, Ol’ Bill helped create the BC Workers’ News in 1935 (Pacific Tribune after 1946) which is where his well-known regular piece, “Short Jabs” began. Short Jabs was a concise column which he addressed various events, politics, and people through his humorous, blunt manner and was also found in other Party publications such as The People and The Advocate.

The I.W.W., Industrial Workers of the World, on strike against the Canadian Northern Railway, Yale District. http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/i-w-w-industrial-workers-of-world-on-strike-against-canadian-northern-railway-yale-district

Ol’ Bill’s influential 1936 booklet on the history of labour in BC, Builders of British Columbia, exposed the reality, as he saw it, of the struggles that labourers in the province had had to undertake since its foundation. He argued that men were being forced to work for the rich for little pay and horrible conditions, when the “founding families” of British Columbia gained all the profit and recognition as builders of the province.[4] Through his writing about issues such as, British Columbia lumber workers not having the right to unions, gave people agency to fight for their rights. For example, Ol’ Bill wrote:

The life of the logger, particularly, might be made to look idyllic in a storybook, but fact it was worse than chattel slavery. From dark to dark, 10, 12 and 14 hours of slavish, backbreaking soul-destroying labor; the vilest of food, discarded remnants of the slaughterhouses and the canneries; overloaded bunkhouses with vermin-infested, muzzle-loading, double-deck bunks, three decks in some cases, and for which the logger had to pack his own blankets; no sanitary conditions or wash-houses; swindled and robbed by employment sharks, grafting foremen and the steamboat companies. Such was the lot of the timber-beasts in B.C.’s banner industry.[5]

“Christina” a 35 ton climax of Abbot Timber Co. at the end of the rails; Michael Eert collection. http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/christina-35-ton-climax-of-abbot-timber-co-at-end-of-rails-michael-eert-collection

Through Ol’ Bill’s written word he inspired people to fight for the change in treatment toward workers and encouraged people to battle for their right to join unions. This meant workers of all backgrounds including Indigenous people. Bennett argued that despite being hindered by the Indian Agents whose “principle business is to keep the Indians [sic] out of the trade union movement…[Indigenous people] have played a great part in the struggles of the industries in which they work.”[6] This struggle led, for example, to the Lumber Workers’ Industrial Union of Canada expanding exponentially, becoming one of the most powerful unions in Canada. Because of this, lumber workers achieved higher wages, eight-hour work days, and better overall treatment in the camps. This is the legacy of Ol’ Bill’s efforts.

Bennett, William. Builders of British Columbia. 1936. Frontispiece.

Ol’ Bill passed away on the 31^st of December 1949. Discovering Ol’ Bill’s contribution to the development of left-wing politics and labour rights in British Columbia is an important part of Canadian history. William “Ol’ Bill” Bennett’s dedication to all workers of any background demonstrates that the Canadian hero could be anyone starting with only a pair of scissors, a comb, and a pen.

© Tessa McGibbon

 

 

 

 

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Notes

[1] Quoted in: Tom McEwen. He Wrote For Us: The story of Bill Bennett, Pioneer Socialist Journalist. (Vancouver: Tribune Publishing Company, 1951), 11.

[2] McEwen, 14. The opposition to the Boer War by Ol’ Bill and his colleagues led to students at the University of Glasgow raiding the Labour Leader and smashing the printing equipment.

[3] McEwen, 23.

[4] McEwen, 24.

[5] Quoted in McEwen, 27.

[6] William Bennett, Builders of British Columbia (1936), 108.

Sources

City of Vancouver Archives

Royal BC Museums Archives

Bennett, William. Builders of British Columbia. 1936.

Isitt, Benjamin. Militant Minority: British Columbia Workers and the Rise of a New Left, 1948-1972. Toronto” University of Toronto Press, 2011.

Leier, Mark. Rebel Life: The Life and Times of Robert Gosden, Revolutionary, Mystic, Labour Spy (Revised Edition). Vancouver: New Star Books, 2013.

McEwen, Tom. He Wrote For Us: The story of Bill Bennett, Pioneer Socialist Journalist. Vancouver: Tribune Publishing Company, 1951, http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/radical/HeWroteForUs.pdf

www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca

“Living here the best way they can”: Archibald McDonald’s Interactions With Indigenous Neighbours

At press time, Jacob Oosterhoff was a fourth year geography major with a concentration in resources, economy, and the environment. He studies history on the side in order to better understand contemporary society. A rural upbringing in Chilliwack still occasionally results in wide eyes as he adjusts to urban life in the Vancouver region. His interests range from philosophy to GIS application, and he loves his guitar very much.

—

On July 15, 1828 Archibald McDonald wrote the following words in his journal: “Shortly after leaving camp this morning, we passed a number of Indian families, living here the best way they can…”[1] McDonald wrote this while beginning his travels from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Northwest, accompanied by over twenty men including the Hudson Bay Company’s Governor, George Simpson. The writings of McDonald are full of similar passing references to the indigenous people he encountered. Although we must be cautious when doing so, we can use these writings to gain a better understanding of the relationship that he had with the people that he chose to call “Indians.”

Glencoe, Scotland – where Archibald McDonald was born. Photographed in 1962. This Blessed Wilderness: Archibald McDonald’s letters from the Columbia, 1822-44, ed. Jean Murray Cole (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2001), 5.

McDonald was born in 1790 in Glencoe, in the Scottish Highlands. Typical of the sons of the tacksmen class, McDonald sought employment in the British Empire. After first taking a position in the service of Lord Selkirk from 1812, McDonald joined the HBC in 1820 as a clerk. Making his way to the Pacific Northwest in 1821, McDonald was one of the first HBC employees to cross over the Rocky Mountains. He succeeded another Highlander, James McMillan, to become the Chief Factor at Fort Langley in 1828. It was here that a large portion of his journal writings were recorded, including descriptions of his interactions with indigenous people in the area. Except for some recent work which integrates Indigenous oral history into the written record, much of the early information we have about the relationships between Indigenous people and Scots in the early years of settlement of what is now British Columbia is through the writings of ‘great men’ like Archibald McDonald.[2]

Painting of Fort Langley 1858 – http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/fort-langley-fraser-river

Owing to the nature of the fur trade, McDonald would have been in contact with Indigenous peoples frequently, including marrying “according to the custom of the country” Princess Raven, daughter of a Chinook Chief in 1823 and Jane Klyne, a Métis woman from the Red River settlement, in 1825; yet his encounters with them were only generally mentioned in passing. For example, when writing a report in February of 1830 to Governor Simpson, Archibald declares that the great number of Indians in the surrounding region would be quite dangerous if not for their lack of solidarity.[3] This acknowledgement reveals that McDonald was aware to a certain extent that a struggle for power was taking place in the area. McDonald never explicitly describes a struggle for geopolitical control and most of his references to his indigenous neighbours are descriptions of trade and labor. On multiple occasions, he refers to “trusty” Indians when he was in need of their services, for example, in carrying letters to different forts.[4]

Daguerreotype portrait of Archibald McDonald (1790-1853), Chief Factor of the Hudson Bay Co. Source: Library and Archives Canada/MIKAN 3191585

The most negative descriptions of indigenous people took place following encounters where McDonald felt that he had been wronged. During violent encounters, he describes them as “bloodthirsty villains,”[5] and when important letters were delayed, he describes them as “unreliable.”[6] When he felt threatened by a passing tribe, McDonald described them as “wretched Indians.”[7] He also writes in his journal that he becomes uncomfortable when tribes camped too close to Fort Langley, because of their inherent proclivity towards “pilfering” and “unpleasant harshness.”[8] Like most European writers of the time, McDonald vaguely communicates ideas of racial superiority; but, for the most part, he is simply dismissive of the activities of the tribes in the area.

Largely, his concern was for trade, and indigenous people were simply useful members of the local economy. Within this context, McDonald’s views were quite innocuous; outside of the walls of Fort Langley his ideas of racial superiority were rather inconsequential since the Europeans, at the time, were at a disadvantage in terms of military might (the writings of McDonald acknowledge this).[9] It would not be until many years later that the ideas of racial superiority held by McDonald and others like him would result in grave consequences for indigenous people.

Fort Langley and its neighbours, 1862. http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/fort-langley-in-1862

This is only a brief example of the vast amount of writings on the interaction of Scottish settlers with indigenous people which Archibald McDonald recorded. There is much that can be learned about the views of powerful men regarding their indigenous neighbours. However, it is important to keep in mind that men like McDonald were carefully regulating their words for the sake of their readers (often their employers). In other words, clear biases are revealed in both the positive and negative ways in which indigenous people are described within fur trade journals. More importantly, the views of ‘great men’ are not necessarily reflective of the ideas of the lower class Scottish workers in a place like Fort Langley. Those people may have held similar views to McDonald, but their views also might have been very different. Studying the writings of fur traders like McDonald is only a starting point. Only when historians integrate the oral history of the Indigenous people who encountered these early Scottish sojourners and settlers will we gain a fuller understanding of the history of early contact in British Columbia.

© Jacob Oosterhoff

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Sources

Dictionary of Canadian Biography

McDonald, Archibald, “C: McDonald’s Report to the Governor and Council, 25 February 1830,” in The Fort Langley journals, 1827-30, ed. Wayne P. Suttles and Morag Maclachlan, 218-227. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998.

McDonald, Archibald, “Fort Langley, 1829-33,” in This Blessed Wilderness: Archibald McDonald’s letters from the Columbia, 1822-44, ed. Jean Murray Cole, 61-102. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2001.

McDonald, Archibald, “Journal Kept by Archibald McDonald, February-July 1830,” in The Fort Langley journals, 1827-30, ed. Wayne P. Suttles and Morag Maclachlan, 142-153. Vancouver: UBC Press 1998.

McDonald, Archibald. Peace River [microform] : a canoe voyage from Hudson’s Bay to Pacific by the late Sir George Simpson (governor, Hon. Hudson’s Bay Company), in 1828 : journal of the late chief factor, Archibald McDonald (Hon. Hudson’s Bay Company), who accompanied him. Ottawa: J. Durie, 1872.

Notes

[1] Archibald McDonald, Peace River [microform] : a canoe voyage from Hudson’s Bay to Pacific by the late Sir George Simpson (governor, Hon. Hudson’s Bay Company), in 1828 : journal of the late chief factor, Archibald McDonald (Hon. Hudson’s Bay Company), who accompanied him. (Ottawa: J. Durie, 1872), 2.

[2] See for example: Keith Thor Carlson, “Reflections on Indigenous History and Memory: Reconstructing and Reconsidering Contact,” in Myth and Memory: Stories of Indigenous-European Contact, ed. John Sutton Lutz (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007), 46–68 and Wendy C. Wickwire, “‘To See Ourselves as the Other’s Other’: Nlaka’pamux Contact Narratives,” Canadian Historical Review, LXXV, 1 (March 1994): 1-20.

[3] Archibald McDonald, “C: McDonald’s Report to the Governor and Council, 25 February 1830,” in The Fort Langley journals, 1827-30, ed. Wayne P. Suttles and Morag Maclachlan (Vancouver: UBC Press 1998), 219.

[4] Archibald McDonald, “Fort Langley, 1829-33,” in This Blessed Wilderness: Archibald McDonald’s letters from the Columbia, 1822-44, ed. Jean Murray Cole (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2001), 62.

[5] Ibid, 66.

[6] McDonald, “Fort Langley, 1829-33,” 74.

[7] Archibald McDonald, “Journal Kept by Archibald McDonald, February-July 1830,” in The Fort Langley journals, 1827-30, ed. Wayne P. Suttles and Morag Maclachlan (Vancouver: UBC Press 1998), 100.

[8] McDonald, “Journal Kept by Archibald McDonald, February-July 1830,” 99. Author’s emphasis.

[9] Archibald McDonald, “C: McDonald’s Report to the Governor and Council, 25 February 1830,” in The Fort Langley journals, 1827-30, ed. Wayne P. Suttles and Morag Maclachlan (Vancouver: UBC Press 1998), 219.

A Pioneer in Education: British Columbia’s Agnes Deans Cameron

At press time, Catherine Hogg was in her fourth year at Simon Fraser University, completing a joint-major in English and History. Born and raised in British Columbia, Catherine developed a keen interest in Canadian History in her senior years of high school, with a specific focus on her home province. While BC History is only one of a myriad of histories that have captured her interest, she hopes to continue exploring past narratives that unfolded on land she will always consider to be her home.

—

Agnes Deans Cameron was born in 1863 to Scottish parents in Victoria, British Columbia. Between her birth and her tragic death in 1912, Cameron led a whirlwind of a life. She excelled in school early on, completing the provincial teacher’s examinations at only 16 years old while still a student at Victoria High School. She began teaching thereafter, moving between schools on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, eventually becoming British Columbia’s first female principal at South Park School, in James Bay, Victoria, in 1894. Cameron was an opinionated and strong-willed woman and used her rising influence to argue publicly to support women’s suffrage and for a more liberal education curriculum for BC’s children. For example, she became infamous for posting the notice: “Irate parents will be received after 3:00pm” on the classroom door at the Hastings Mill School in Vancouver.[1] Finding herself in no less than three public scandals that put her teaching ability into question, Cameron was ultimately suspended from teaching.

Portrait of Agnes Deans Cameron, ca. 1885 – Photo Courtesy of BC Archives – Item G-03578

Cameron with students, ca. 1895 – Photo Courtesy of BC Archives – Item B-03487

However, Cameron left the BC education system undeterred. As she said in her own words, “[l]ike most over-sea girls, [I] was brought up to do something and to earn [my] own living.”[2] After helping pave the way for women entering into the then highly patriarchal world of education, she began an illustrious career in journalism. Always shrewd, Cameron noted that this career turn “offere[d] . . . a wider educational field than teaching,” although she admitted that her old life as a school teacher was “deeply interesting work.”[3] Nonetheless, she moved forward. She relocated to Chicago, as the city afforded her a convenient halfway point between her publishers in New York and the Canadian railway in Edmonton. It was here, while writing about Canada’s Wheat Belt for various American journals, that she conceived of the idea of a voyage that she deemed “the greatest trek the world has known.”[4] She decided that she would travel from Chicago to the Arctic Ocean to explore the lands that so fascinated her, as well as to encourage immigration to Canada, a cause she felt passionately about.

“We Tell the Tale of a Whale.” Image of Agnes Deans Cameron [left] and her niece Jessie Cameron Brown [right], ca. 1908. Photo from Agnes Deans Cameron’s The New North.

Cameron partnered with the Hudson’s Bay Company, who she credits for the success of her journey, as they provided all the facilities she needed. She decided to bring her niece, Jessie Cameron Brown, as her companion and secretary. In the spring of 1908, with Cameron’s typewriter and Kodak camera in tow, they departed. They were the first white women to travel to the Arctic. Their 10,000 mile trek is described in great detail in Cameron’s best-selling book, The New North, which was first published in America in 1910 before being released in Canada. Her chronicles are fully illustrated with her own travel pictures, resulting in an invaluable historical resource.

Cameron’s book is, unsurprisingly, highly pedagogical. She recounts her tale through the lens of a teacher lecturing her students, although she is not shy in critiquing the education system. Though Cameron never questions her own racist views on “the Indians,” she rightfully implores that the (presumed to be white and middle-class) reader recognize that the “text-books [they have] been weaned on” are falsely depicting the Inuit peoples. In the section of her book entitled “Arctic Red River and its Eskimo,” Cameron succinctly begins the chapter by writing that the stereotypical “Eskimo” they expected to meet upon arrival was not to be found. She devotes the entire chapter to praising the Inuit peoples, and does so by derisively dragging down other Indigenous groups, highlighting her complex attitude towards Indigenous people. She claims that “[a]n Indian is always trying to impress you with his importance,” whereas the “Eskimo is a man who commands your respect the moment you look at him.”[5]

Photo taken by Agnes Deans Cameron ca. 1908. Photo Courtesy of BC Archives – Item I-67668 – A view at the mouth of the Mackenzie River showing an Eskimo man with his topek, or hut; kyack, or small boat, and his oomiak, or his big boat.

Photo Courtesy of UVic Archives’ Historical Photograph Collection – Item 168.0709 – Agnes Deans Cameron with B.C. Native Peoples. Ca. 1908.

The contradictory chapter concludes on an interesting note; after her glowing praise of the Inuit families she visited at the Arctic Red River, she reminds the reader that the “intrusion of the whites has changed the whole horizon [t]here,” and that their arrival is less “the coming of civilization” and more “the coming of commerce.”[6] She then moves on to specifically praise, quite unexpectedly, the educational lives of Inuit children. As a schoolteacher herself, and an austere one at that, it is noteworthy to read her claims that “the Eskimo children,” despite no access to Western concepts of education, “were better behaved, more independent, gentler, and in the literal sense of the word, more truly “educated” than many [white] children are.”[7] Cameron’s – arguably patronizing – view shows that she could never quite distance herself from her past as teacher, and could not help but posit the Inuit peoples proposed superiority in terms of education and learning.

“The Missionary Hymnal for the Indians.” Image of a Cree translation of a Christian hymn, ca. 1908. Photo from Agnes Deans Cameron’s The New North.

After Cameron’s travels to the Arctic, she spent the rest of her life writing, traveling, and lecturing to sold-out auditoriums in Canada, the United States, and the UK. She avidly promoted Canada as a superb destination for immigrants, and in doing so became a part of Canada’s own growing national identity. A year after returning from her travels, she lectured to a full house in her hometown of Victoria on September 28, 1909. The event was reported on the following day in the Victoria Daily Colonist with high praise and admiration for the speaker, writing that Cameron was referred to by the evening’s presider as “a resident of Victoria . . . of whom the city should be proud.”[8] On October 12, 1911 the same paper noted her recent return to the city, and congratulated her on the “sterling work she ha[d] done in making Canada as it really is known to the world at large.”[9] Cameron was praised and revered for her academic research and lectures, and specifically commended for her contributions in helping create a Canadian identity. Her outspokenness and opinionated manner became an asset in her new career field, instead of the impediment it once was.

Agnes Deans Cameron was only 48 when she died tragically in Victoria in May of 1912 at the hands of a sudden bout of pneumonia after an operation. One can only imagine what more she may have achieved if her life had it not been cut short. It is clear from her writings and lectures, however, that she stayed true her roots in both the world of education and her home in British Columbia.

© Catherine Hogg

Signed Portrait of Agnes Deans Cameron, ca. 1910. Photo Courtesy of BC Archives – Item G-04056

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Sources

Dictionary of Canadian Biography

“Amusements: Miss Cameron.” Victoria Daily Colonist, December 10, 1911. Accessed November 9, 2017. http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist53681uvic#page/n15/mode/1up

Cameron, Agnes Deans. The New North. The Project Gutenberg, 2004. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12874/12874-h/12874-h.htm#img0054

“Chapter One: 1872 – 1890.” VSB Archives & Heritage. June 3, 2015. Accessed November 9, 2017. http://blogs.vsb.bc.ca/heritage/2015/06/03/chapter-one-1872-1889/

“Miss A. D. Cameron Lectures Before Full House at Victoria Theater.” Victoria Daily Colonist, September 29, 1909. Accessed November 9, 2017. https://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist19090929uvic/19090929#page/n1/mode/2up

“My Trek to the Arctic: A Chat With Miss Agnes Deans Cameron in M.A.P.” Victoria Daily Colonist, January 27, 1910. Accessed November 9, 2017. http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist19100227uvic/19100227#page/n29/mode/1up

Notes

[1] “Chapter One: 1872 – 1890,” VSB Archives & Heritage, http://blogs.vsb.bc.ca/heritage/2015/06/03/chapter-one-1872-1889/ This was the first school built in what is now Vancouver.

[2] “My Trek to the Arctic: A Chat With Miss Agnes Deans Cameron in M.A.P,” Victoria Daily Colonist, January 27, 1910.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Agnes Deans Cameron, A New North (The Project Gutenberg, 2004).

[6] Cameron, A New North.

[7] Ibid.

[8] “Miss A. D. Cameron Lectures Before Full House at Victoria Theater.” Victoria Daily Colonist, September 29, 1909.

[9] “Amusements: Miss Cameron.” Victoria Daily Colonist, December 10, 1911.

 

“No Better Place in Which to Live”: John Booth — Landscape Gardener, Poet, Immigrant

Introducing our first place winner for the 78th Fraser Highlanders Association of Vancouver prize for Scottish-Canadian History, Lydia Tang! At press time, Lydia was a student in her final year of study at Simon Fraser University, majoring in History with a minor in Political Science. Having lived in Vancouver all her life, she has always had a personal interest in the history of the Lower Mainland and BC. Through the opportunities provided by SFU through the co-op program and her school courses, Lydia has learned much on local history, and hopes to contribute to the study of BC through this post and future work.

Congratulations Lydia for a job well done!

—

John Booth lived in many places before New Westminster, but none captured his heart as much as the Royal City. A lifelong gardener and landscaper who quite literally left his mark on cities across British Columbia, John also wrote poetry, considering himself an “amateur poet” who just “writes as the spirit moves me.”[1] He expressed his love for his home through his poetry, with this civic fondness encapsulated in his affection for the dogwood flower.

John Booth attending a garden in Albert Crescent Park, New Westminster, with the Pattullo Bridge in the background, circa 1950s.

John was born in Marykirk, Scotland, on November 28, 1872 to Elspeth Leith and William Booth. He was born at the private estate of Inglismaldie Castle, where his mother was the business head and his father the head gardener. John attended school in Marykirk before going to a private estate near Montrose to complete a gardener’s apprenticeship, following in his father’s footsteps. Upon completion, he gardened at Moxhull Hall near Birmingham, England. While there, he received a letter from William, informing him that Elspeth was dying. John returned to work at Inglismaldie until her death in 1895.

Inglismaldie was often unoccupied due to its transient owner, Lord Algernon Keith-Falconer, 9th Earl of Kintore and Governor of South Australia (1889-1895), so it was rented out as a fishing and shooting lodge during the summer to wealthy tourists. In 1895, an English family from Alveston rented the estate, bringing with them the Quick family as staff in their employ. John got to know the family well, and married Rosina Quick in 1896. John and Rosina then traveled to Wantage, England where he worked as head gardener and Rosina gave birth to the first of their children.

Drawing of Inglismaldie Castle – wikimedia commons

John and Rosina’s lives changed when Rosina’s father died suddenly. Rosina’s brothers and sister pleaded for the Booths to come to Canada, where they were farming in Manitoba. In 1900, John and Rosina decided to emigrate to Canada, living with Rosina’s sister before eventually taking up their own homestead nearby. After he left Scotland, John never saw or heard from his four siblings and father again.

Rosina and John Booth, circa 1960.

Upon selling the homestead in Manitoba, the family moved to British Columbia to live in the towns of Wattsburg and Three Valley Gap along the CPR line as John worked on contract, living in Vancouver by 1907 and moving to Pitt Meadows in 1910. Eventually the family found a more permanent home in New Westminster, where John worked as head gardener at Woodlands Psychiatric Hospital for 20 years. As an employee of the BC Civil Service, he also worked at other Provincial mental hospitals.[2] Struggling with the monotony of that work, John resigned and worked in semi-retirement, building a garden rockery on Columbia St. in 1935, where patients from Woodlands worked as labourers. In 1938, John landscaped the areas around the Pattullo Bridge and Peace Arch Park for some time until he began working with the City of New Westminster in 1950. For four years, he landscaped the grounds of the Irving House Historic Centre, the Pioneer House, the No. 1 Fire Hall, and Vincent Massey Junior High School. He finally retired in 1954, with the grounds of the New Westminster City Hall as his last landscaping project. In retirement, John dedicated his time to civic and provincial events, continuing to help with annual May Day decorations and writing poetry.

Copyright certificate for “My Home Town”, 1955.

In 1955, John wrote his most famous poem, “My Home Town”, praising New Westminster and the dogwood trees of the area. During this time, the Native Sons and Daughters of BC were campaigning for the designation of the dogwood as the province’s floral emblem. John strongly supported this, believing that the dogwood was appropriate because “anyone can grow them, rich and poor alike.”[3] “Strange thing about the dogwood,” John said in an interview, “is that the poorer the soil, the better it likes it.”[4] He hoped that his poem would encourage the BC government to adopt the flower as a provincial symbol.

 

“My Home Town” by John Booth, 1955.

“My Home Town” begins:

“There is a valley, ‘way out West,

Where grand old Fraser flows,

And there’s a city on a hill

Where white flowered Dogwood grows.

That’s my home town, that’s home sweet home,

The only place for me.

There’s where the Fraser wends its way

In silence, to the sea.”[5]

 

(L-R) Kathleen Dashwood Pearson (also known as Mrs. Ernest G. Pearson), John Booth, and Ethel Louise Homer, 1956

John was hesitant to show anyone the piece at first as he considered himself a hobbyist poet, but upon reading it, Kathleen Dashwood Pearson, appointed head of Post No. 4 of the Native Daughters, worked to put the words to song. Kathleen found local music teacher and composer Ethel Louise Homer. Kathleen, Ethel, and John and worked together to publish and copyright the song “My Home Town” in 1955.

After a copy was sent to Premier W.A.C. Bennett by the Native Daughters of BC, the Premier’s office replied in a 1956 letter with Bennett’s “sincere appreciation”—he was “particularly pleased to note that the dogwood, which is to be adopted … as the floral emblem of our wonderful Province, is not only mentioned in the song, but is very conspicuous in the cover design.”[6] In a letter to friends, John wrote, “After 42 years residence in New Westminster, I am convinced there is no better place in which to live. For that reason, I have been inspired to wax poetic in praise of little old New Westminster, and nature’s matchless gift to us of the glorious white flowered Dogwood.”[7] The dogwood was adopted as BC’s flower in 1956.

Pacific Dogwood Flower by Walter Siegmund – Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1724799

In later life, John remained an active member of the community, being described at the age of 92 to be as “chipper as a man half his age”.[8] In his words, John said that it is “hanging on to the spirit of our pioneers that does the trick”, though “you’re as good as dead when you ignore the present.”[9] His wife Rosina passed away in 1962, and after living in New Westminster for 55 years, in BC for 61, and Canada for 68, John died on August 13, 1968 of old age in Saint Mary’s Hospital. He was survived by his 5 children, 12 grandchildren, and 35 great-grandchildren.

© Lydia Tang

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Sources:

All images New Westminster Archives, “My Home Town” copyright campaign and John Booth fonds.

City of New Westminster. Community Heritage Commission. Minutes of Proceedings. 22 September 2016.

John Booth fonds. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

“My Home Town” copyright campaign. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

Notes

[1] Forrest, Al. “Music Composed for Booth’s ‘My Home Town’ Poem Classic.”  John Booth fonds. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

[2] City of New Westminster. Community Heritage Commission. Minutes of Proceedings. 22 September 2016.

[3] Forrest, Al. “Music Composed for Booth’s ‘My Home Town’ Poem Classic.”  John Booth fonds. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

[4] Ibid.

[5] “My Home Town” copyright campaign. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

[6] R. B. Worley to Kathleen J. Watson, 6 February 1956. “My Home Town” copyright campaign. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

[7] John Booth to Mr. and Mrs. Young, 14 March 1955. “My Home Town” copyright campaign. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

[8] “Pioneer celebrates birthday.” John Booth fonds. New Westminster Archives, New Westminster, Canada.

[9] Ibid.

 

 

 

 

 

“Gung Haggis Fat Choy”: The Evolution of Burns Suppers in Vancouver

In honour of this being the month of Robbie Burns celebrations around the globe, we are pleased to introduce our second place winner in the 78th Fraser Highlanders prize for Scottish-Canadian history, Georgia Twiss! The competition was open to students of Dr. Katie McCullough’s BC history class in the Fall of 2017 at Simon Fraser University. Georgia is also the recent winner of the George Paris Award for Scottish History. This marks the first in a series of blogs written by students who chose to participate in the competition.

At press time, Georgia Twiss was an Honours student in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on the impact of the British Empire on the urban development of Glasgow, and the legacy of imperialism within Glaswegian heritage. As a descendant of Scottish immigrants to Canada she has attended Burns Suppers in both Canada and Scotland, and looks forward to attending a “Gung Haggis Fat Choy” celebration in the future.

—

By the mid-1890s in British Columbia, the celebration of Burns Suppers were widely held amongst the Scottish population of the province. In 1894, The Daily Telegram noted the celebration of ‘Bobby Burns’ by the Bobby Burns Club of Nanaimo in an invitation ball held at the Institute Hall.[1] In 1898, The Kaslo Morning News also noted the celebration of a Burns supper by local Scots in New Denver.[2] By 1903 the celebration of Burns in British Columbia was prominent enough for The Nakusp Ledge to declare, ‘As long as the Scotchman lives there will be Bobby Burns Suppers.’[3] When exactly the first Burns supper took place in Vancouver is unknown, but it can be presumed to be somewhere around this era.

Why celebrate Burns Supper’s in British Columbia? As a cultural icon, Burns embodies Scottish-ness. Therefore, the celebration of his life took on a dual meaning. It honoured the life and work of Burns, while also acting as a nostalgic link to home. In celebrating Burns, the Scots across the British Empire gathered in their new communities and commemorated their heritage through song, dance, food and poetry. The former British Prime Minister James Ramsay Macdonald summed up the important of Burns to the Scots in his assertion that, ‘In Burns there was that magic that made every Scotsman alive; that made him thrill with the consciousness of his nationality; and made him strong and powerful to do his duty in the world.’[4]

“Crowds at the unveiling of the Burns Statue in Stanley Park, 1928.” Reid, A. Fraser. [Untitled]. Photograph. Vancouver, BC. 1928. From Vancouver’s Tribute to Burns. Accessed November 2, 2017. http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/vancouver_burns.pdf

Vancouver, unlike Nanaimo, did not have an official Burns Club until 1924. The establishment of the club arose from members of the city’s St Andrew’s and Caledonian Society, founded in 1886, who desired a space where “Burnsians” could celebrate and debate the work of ‘the immortal bard of Caledonia.’[5] The first meeting of the “Burns Fellowship” took place on February 20^th 1924, led by Mr P. McAuslin Carrick.[6] This first meeting had an attendance of seventeen people, but by 1928 the club membership had risen to 175.[7] The popularity of the club resulted in the successful bid for an erection of a statue of Burns in Stanley Park. The five-thousand-dollar statue was unveiled on August 25^th 1928, with Vancouver councilman Henry E. Almond proudly proclaiming, ‘I am satisfied this day will go down in Canadian history.’[8] The event was followed by the celebration of a Burns Supper.

“The Burns Fellowship.” Steffens-Colmer. [Untitled]. Photograph. Vancouver, BC, 1924. From Vancouver’s Tribute to Burns. Accessed November 2, 2017. http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/vancouver_burns.pdf

Seventy-years after the unveiling of the statue of Burns in Stanley Park, Todd Wong held his own Burns Supper. Like the original meeting of the Burns Club, Wong’s dinner was attended by a small group of friends. Yet, unlike the traditional Scottish version of the event, Wong used his Burns Supper to honour the multi-culturalism of British Columbia. In representation of the two dominant immigrant cultures in British Columbia, he called the event “Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner.”

As an undergraduate student at Simon Fraser University in 1993, Wong was first introduced to the idea of the Burn’s supper. Wong recalls of his first Burns Supper, ‘I thought it was this weird ethnic tradition. They gave me a kilt to wear, the Fraser hunting tartan. And I was carrying the claymore. We walked around the cafeteria. There was a lonely piper. And the haggis tasted really weird.’[9] The experience stuck in Wong’s head in 1998 upon the realization that Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year happened to fall only two days apart he decided to combine the two events.

From the small supper held in his kitchen for a group of friends, Wong’s event has become the largest attended Burns Supper in Vancouver.[10] Around five-hundred people gather each year and take-part in the festivities. These include amongst other things, rap performances of Burns’ poetry and haggis won-ton. When asked if the movement away from the customary Burns Supper’s format caused any backlash amongst traditionalists Wong responded, ‘On the contrary. People say it’s more Canadian when you’re mixing things up.’[11]

“Todd Wong and Mayor Gregor Robertson at a Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner.” Tam, Patrick. Photograph. Vancouver, BC, 2014. Accessed on November 2, 2017. https://www.straight.com/food/809356/gung-haggis-fat-choy-rings-year-sheep

The celebration of “Gung Haggis Fat Choy” illustrates British Columbia’s multicultural experience in action. The ability of two cultures, who have a problematic historical relationship, to fuse together into a shared celebration is remarkable. Importantly, the event does not wash away the realities of the Chinese Head Tax or the mistreatment of Chinese workers in the construction of the Railroad. Rather, it presents a meeting point where resemblances between the two cultures are exposed. The shared love of New Year (Hogmanay to the Scots) and the importance of song and poetry within cultural celebrations are examples of similarities. In 2011, the event extended its celebration of multi-culturalism in British Columbia to include Indigenous traditions alongside those of the Chinese and Scottish. This special dinner was called “Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pow Wow Dinner.”[12]

From the “Bobby Burns Suppers” of the 1890s to “Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pow Wow Dinner,” the evolution of Burns suppers in Vancouver illustrates the growing acceptance of cultural diversity in the province. In a time where the current political climate is ripe with xenophobia and anti-immigration rhetoric events like this become increasingly significant. If Robbie Burns embodies what it means to be Scottish, then “Gung Haggis Fat Choy” embodies what it means to be a British Columbian.

“Robbie Burns Statue in Stanley Park.” Lindsay, Jack. Vancouver, BC, 1940-48. Vancouver City Archives. Accessed on November 2, 2017. http://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/robbie-burns-statue-in-stanley-park

When the Burns Club set out to erect a statue of Burns they ensured that its placement would allow the poet to look onto the city.[13] Once a year, from where he stands, Burns’ statue witnesses people of all different ethnic backgrounds come together and link hands to symbolize the unity of culture in British Columbia and the shared experience of ‘Auld Lang Syne.’

© Georgia Twiss

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Sources

[1] “Wellington Items,” The Daily Telegram (Nanaimo, BC) January 24, 1894.

[2] “Local Brevities,” The Kaslo Morning News (Kaslo, BC) January 21, 1903.

[3] “Bobby Burns Supper,” The Nakusp Ledge (New Denver, BC) January 29, 1903.

[4] James Ramsay Macdonald quoted in: Vancouver Burns Fellowship, Vancouver’s Tribute to Burns (Vancouver, 1928) p. 28.

[5] Ibid., p. 7.

[6] Ibid., p. 8.

[7] Ibid., p. 11.

[8] Ibid., 41.

[9] Todd Wong quoted in: Sarah Hampson’s, “Haggis Wontons? Robbie Burns Night meets Chinese New Year,” The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ont.), January 16, 2012.

[10]Hampson, “Haggis Wontons?”

[11] Todd Wong quoted in: “Haggis Wontons?”.

[12] Hampson, “Haggis Wontons?”.

[13] Vancouver Burns Fellowship, Vancouver’s Tribute to Burns, p. 22.