Minnekhadaowners

Chronological listing of Minnekhada Ranch, property owners

Click on the NAMES for more information

• 1876 - 1892 Captain George Pittendrigh
• 1895 - 190- George Alderson
• 1907 - 1913 Constantine Alvo von Albensleben
• 1913 - 1921 Harry Leroy Jenkins
• 1923 - 192- Spencer Cosens
• 192- - 192- Matthew Sergius Logan
• 192- - 192- Henry Maxwell Vasey
• 192- - 192- Eugene de Paola
• 1931 - 1932 Ewen and Bertha Cameron
• 1932 - 1958 Eric Werge Hamber
• 1958 - 1981 Clarence Wallace
• 1981 - 198- DAON
• 198- - 198- Canada Trust
• 198- - 198- Dunhill Development Corporation
• 198- - 198- Bouvier Family
• 1981 - Today GVRD Parks

Return to the MAP or view some Newspaper clippings about Minnekhada

Capt. George Pittendrigh

I recently discovered was the first to obtain a pre-emption on the property.

The "first" owner of Minnekhada

When researching Minnekhada, I came across an interview with Spencer Cosens, who owned the property for a few years starting in 1923, where he mentions that the first owner of Minnekhada was Captain Pittendrigh. It has taken a while to find enough information to prove Cosens correct. Captain Pittendrigh, was a local Magistrate and coroner for over twenty years, the old newspapers mention him frequently as he has to deal with the murders, suicides, accidents and drowning incidents that were more frequent than one might think at that time. His sons Charles, Henry and Arthur were listed in one directory as farming in the area. Arthur’s dead body was found near the mouth of the Pitt River in a canoe under mysterious circumstances in 1892. Henry moved to the Rock Creek area in 1894, were he bought the Rock Creek Hotel, which is the oldest,(1891-) continually licensed pub in B.C.

He continued ranching and had a large family, many of whom became involved in ranching. Charles, went on to manage the Haynes Ranch at Oliver, B.C.

1875 August 1The Victoria Colonist: Mr. Allison came down by the "Royal City" with 97 head of cattle for account of Mr. Lowe. Twenty-six are for Capt.Pittendrigh of Pitt River, and seventy-one for Mr. McKee of the South Arm. The stock in each case is for breeding purposes.

1876 September 5 applications for Crown Grants numbered 1709 & 1710 1876 November 20 application for another Crown Grant No.1805

The three Crown Grants

1883 May 6The British Columbian; Capt.Pittendrigh reports the Dominion Savings Bank, has received $28,000 in deposits in April, $10,824 the same month the year before. And $15,992 in withdrawals for April, over $9,821 the year before. ( The Captain was manager of the bank for many years. )

1885 July 11 The British Columbian; Pittendrigh residence on his ranch on the Pitt River lost, contents saved. House cost $2,500, insured for only $1,000. (Jim) McLellans house adjoining also swept away. Fires burning throughout the area.

1887 February 1, The British Columbian; Pittendrigh is listed as a land agent, office on McKenzie Street, New Westminster.

1890 September 10. The Victoria Colonist. The Captain is on the case tracking Slumach

1892 February 2 The Victoria Colonist

1892 March 18 The Victoria Colonist;

"Frank and William Hazelton, the two young men charged with writing indecent words and drawing indecent figures on the blackboards of Elgin school, were arraigned this afternoon in the district court. From evidence adduced, it appeared that Farnk was not guilty, but William, the younger of the two, was the transgressor. Capt.Pittendrigh, not wishing to send a boy of fourteen years to goal, dismissed the case, the father of the lad promising to publicly administer him a sound flogging in presence of the school trustees and such others in the neighborhood as wish to witness the punishment. The father readily promised, and the case was dismissed accordingly."

1892 June 3 The Victoria Colonist. The Pittendrigh Estate SEC 16 SW 1/4 160acres and the N 1/2 & SW 1/4 of SEC 9 366 acres. Total of: 526 acres more or less.

Unknown if the property was sold through the auction, but W.H.Keary (future mayor of New Westminster, and land speculator) is mentioned is some articles, maps as owning the property in this short interim. But a few years later George Alderson comes into possession by applying for a land grant.

1895 Nov 25. Western Land Grant applications by the Alderson family... SEC 16 LS 14 E 1/2 of LS 14 Harriet Mary Alderson SEC 16 LS 7,LS 10, LS 11,LS 15 George Alderson farmer.

George Alderson, is always mentioned in the “official” history as being the first owner.

1896 Nov 17: Pittendrigh request to the Attorney General for an increase in salary as Stipendiary Magistrate for New Westminster, Vancouver and Yale.

1898 directory; lists the Captain as living at: the side of; 2nd St, bet 4th & 5th Aves, Stipendiary Magistrate, New Westminster.

1914 September 22, George Pittendrigh, dies age:81

A short biography of Captain George Pittendrigh, whose career as a gallant soldier of the crown and later as a prominent man of affairs and active in the public life of British Columbia is deserving of more than passing mention, is an old resident of New Westminster, having come here over thirty years ago. Now when past the age of three score and ten, with the battles of life already fought, he enjoys that deep respect and veneration which come to the veteran who has made a brave and successful fight whether in actual war or in the struggles of civic affairs.

Born in London in 1831, a son of George and Sarah Pittendrigh, natives of Essex, he comes of an old and substantial English family, whose record for usefulness and honor goes back several generations. His grandfather was a soldier in the royal artillery, serving in the struggle with the colonies and being severely wounded at Bunker's Hill. He later became superintendent of the royal powder mills at Waltham Abbey, and retired at the age of sixty-three. He was born in Adair, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Captain Pittendrigh's father was connected with the civil service in London. The captain was educated in the private schools and under the tuition of the Rev. Thomas Mason at Ipswich. In 1844, when fifteen years old, he left school and entered the Sixty-third Foot Infantry, with which he served for many years up to and through the Crimean war. Captain Pittendrigh fought with the allied forces against Russia at the battles of the Alma, Balakiava, Inkerman and in the siege of Sebastopol, and with becoming pride he still wears the Turkish and Crimean war medals, with clasps denoting the Alma, Balaklava, Inkermnn and Sebastopol. He served at Scutari in the Bosphorus Command, as provost marshal for the latter part of the war. On his return home after this memorable campaign he was appointed on the staff of the Depot Battalion at Chichester, In 1857 he was appointed to the Second Battalion of the " Buffs " Regiment. On his retirement in 1874 the officers of the battalion showed their appreciation of this gallant soldier by presenting him with a handsome table clock with suitable inscriptions, which he treasures as a memorial of his long military service so replete with associations and experiences.

Captain Pittendrigh arrived in British Columbia in June, 1874. He took up about seven hundred acres of land, with the intention of engaging in ranching, but after a year he found that did not suit him, and he was then appointed assistant Indian agent at New Westminster for the New Westminster district.

In 1877 he conducted an office as notary public, conveyancer, and he served for some years as a justice of the peace. On June 30, 1883 he was appointed stipendiary magistrate, which he still holds, and in 1895 judge of the small debts court. He has served as coroner since 1892. He could not entirely dissociate himself from military affairs after coming to this province, and in 1877 he reorganized the old Seymour Artillery, which was formed into the British Columbia Provincial Artillery, No. I Battery, of which he was made the commander. Captain Pittendrigh is one of the oldest Masons in the province, having joined that order on December 12, 1856.

Captain Pittendrigh was first married in 1849, to Miss Caroline Bryant, a native of England. Six children were born of this union, but Emily Josephine , the widow of Judge Haynes, is the only survivor.

In 1863, while stationed at Gibraltar, Captain Pittendrigh married Maria [ "Mary" ] Rosaria Morsiciana Blount, who was born at Gibraltar, of English parentage. Of this second marriage there were fourteen children, and eleven of them are still living, Mrs. Pittendrigh passes away on May 13 ,1892 in New Westminster aged 53.

Some of the children from Mary...

Born:

1861 Albert C.

1864 Charles E.

1866 Henry Storks

1869 George T.B.

1871 Arthur B.

1872 Conney P. “Constance”

1874 Bertrum

1875 Jan 4 Herbert William Leopold

1876 Sept. 27 Alfred John

1877 April 27 Mabel Alicia

1878 August 23 Hildegarde “Hilda” Blanche

1879 December 23 Rosalia Laura Louise

1881 February 20 Edwin Haynes

1886 June 19 Mabel Pittendrigh

Emily Josephine Pittendrigh, born in 1842, Lancashire, England. Died June 25, 1908 Spokane, Washington, buried at. Lakeview cemetery. Osoyoos

Emily married John Carmichael Haynes; Stipendiary Magistrate on Jan 14, 1875 in New Westminster district. John was born July 6,1831. Died July 6, 1888 in Princeton. He was the first Colonial Officer at Osoyoos and first settler and judge. Son of, Jonas Haynes, County Cork, Ireland. Valentine Carmichael Haynes was the first white child born in Sooyoos, on December 21, 1875. The eldest child of a family of 3 boys and 3 girls. The Haynes Ranch, near Oliver,B.C. was his legacy.

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George Alderson

George is listed as the first owner in 1895, of the present day Farm, in the "official history" of Minnekhada, which is clearly incorrect.

George Alderson, was born 20 December 1862, at Milton, Ontario. Died 18 May1923, 60 years old, New Westminster.

His parents were, William Alderson and Margaret Pickering, they farmed in the Halton / Milton areas, in the township of Trafalgar, Ontario for many years.

Children of them, ( probably incomplete ):

William Alderson, (1846- ); Thomas Alderson, (1850- ), Roger Alderson;(Robert Alderson); Isabella Alderson "Howes",(1856-1937); John Alderson; George Alderson,(1862-1923) .

In 1885 at Halton, Ontario, George Alderson, married, Harriet Mary Castello, who had immigrated to Canada the previous year. Harriet Mary Alderson was born in England July 8, 1859, and died July 30, 1910, at Burquitlam, at the age of 45 years.

George and Harriet first show up in the census of 1891 in Coquitlam, and the following year in the local directory.

On November 28, 1895 George received his land grants for LS 7, 10, 11, 12, Section 16, Township 40 ECM, which was about 160 acres.

And Harriet received a land grant for LS 14, E 1/2 of LS 14 of Section16

And the first Legal Subdivision,(LS 1) of Section 16 was given to "Honest" John Oliver, who would go on to be our premier.

And Yes, Oliver Road is named after him, which is the road along the bottom of the map below.

In 1909 the directories list George and Harriet as living in the North Road area, and they, and his future wife would live there until their deaths.

(which would I guess, is actually somewhere in the area of today's Alderson Avenue, which is named after George )

In July,1910, Harriet passed away, and on September 12, 1911, George married, Jennie Boylan.

George Alderson was a Coquitlam councillor in 1921; and passed away in 1923, after being a farmer nearly all his life.

His second wife Jennie appears to have kept on living in Coquitlam, the closest that I could find for a "match" to her death is for, Mary Jane Alderson d. 24 January, 1938, Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster, B.C., born 15 November 1868, buried Fraser Cemetery, New Westminster.

( this date would be close to her estimated date of birth November 1870 )

[ Mrs. J. Bremner ordered the funeral; James Bremner and Mary Ann "Cobban" Bremner, they lived nearby. ]

But, Jennie Alderson's information about her parents on the marriage certificate was Robert John Boylan and Jane Barton Mack; and she 35, and was born, at Coaticook, Quebec. I found the family in Coaticook, Quebec in the 1881 Census Father was John Boylan, (1831-1915) and her mother Jane Boylan; siblings: Margaret Hunter "Fish",(1856-1935) , Rachael Boylan, Victoria Boylan, Willington Boylan. After this date the family has proven difficult to find, probably miss-spellings.

Jennie's, father John immigrated to the the U.S.A. in 1850, escaping the Irish famine.

George and his wives appear to have had no children, no idea what happened with the estate after Jennie Alderson , or is it Mary Ann Alderson, passed away.

Alderson Elementary school was built in 1949, the school in the image, has been replaced by a new school in 2003, and the building above has been destroyed.

In the image on the right, the home at the extreme Left, appears to be still standing at the corner of Alderson Avenue and Burns Street.

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Constantine Alvo von Albensleben

Excerpt from; Strangers Entertained; A history of the ethnic groups of British Columbia

Author; John Norris pages:101-103

The boom period of the first decade of the twentieth century was something of a golden age for the German community in British Columbia. Their numbers were rapidly increasing by migration; they were successfully involved in almost the whole spectrum of activities in their new society; and prosperity seemed here to stay. Germans and German culture were not merely tolerated, they were welcomed and encouraged. By the middle of the decade members of the German ethnic group were moving into positions of dominance in the society of British Columbia.

The most spectacular of these was a young scion of an aristocratic German family, Alvo von Alvensleben. The son of a former German Imperial ambassador to St. Petersburg, he arrived in Vancouver in 1904 with little money but plenty of vision concerning the possibilities of the new country, and useful connections in his homeland which were to help him on his way up in the next few years. After a few months at odd jobs—pitching hay, cannery work, fishing and peddling produce door to door,—he plunged into the real estate boom that was then sweeping the Lower Mainland. His relatives in Berlin were persuaded to back him; when his first investment yielded enormous profits he was able to secure more money from Germany. Within eighteen months he was operating on a large scale, channelling German money into real estate and lumbering. Now a familiar figure in financial circles and at the Vancouver Club, his advice on investment was sought by the leading members of the business community. In 1908 he married Edith Mary Westcott, daughter of one of the leading families in the city, and purchased a large estate on Forty-first Avenue in Point Grey Municipality. By now his German clients included Dr. Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, soon to be Imperial Chancellor, General von Mackensen, Emma V. Mumm of the champagne family, Brockhausen-Mittelfelde, von Roon, Bertha Krupp and, eventually, even the Kaiser himself. Von Alvensleben advertised widely in the German newspapers the wonderful opportunities for German enterprise to be found in the development of Vancouver, which he saw as one of the great cities of the future. By 1911 he had financed a dozen large companies whose capital totalled more than ten million dollars, all supplied by German backers.

Von Alvensleben was imitated by others. German businessmen and aristocrats sent their money and their younger sons out to British Columbia to exploit this wonderful bonanza. By 1911 much of the risk money and most of the new enterprises in the Province were German, and a new and ebullient Anglo-German society was developed on the strength of it. Von Alvensleben organized the Deutsch Klub of Vancouver, whose elegant premise on Granville Street contained lounges furnished in the height of fashion, magnificent billiard rooms and a dining room whose cuisine was second to none in the city. There could be seen such luminaries of the new age as Baron von Etlinger, the German consul; Hans von Graevenitz, whose yacht, the Flying Dutchman, was one of the most elegant on the coast; George Schenk, the fashionable photographer, who specialized in photographing couples in the romantic setting of the Big Tree in Stanley Park; "Cris" von Mackensen, nephew of the general, who was renowned for his parties at his luxurious house at Port Kells; and, from time to time, the romantic "student prince" figure of Lieutenant von Tumpling, whose elaborate uniforms and sabre-scarred cheeks excited the fancy of the fashionable young ladies of Vancouver. There were also the solid figures: Johannes Wulfsohn, the investment banker: Dr. Grunert, the moving spirit behind the founding of the Bank of Vancouver; Xavier Marb, one of the promoters of the Pacific Milk Company; John Decker, the brewer; Fritz August Ziegler, the candy maker; Walther Pieticha, B. C. Harloff, Dr. E. E. Redlich, Williband Imhoff and many others, now forgotten. For weekend relaxation they could go off to Wigwam Inn at the head of Indian Arm, where Von Alvensleben had created a "Luftkurort"—or fresh air resort. There the wealthy of the German community lived expensively; the forest walks resounded to German bands while the wine and beer flowed freely, and dances and moon­light cruises in the depths of the British Columbia forest recalled the last romantic overtones of European society.

Life was good for other members of the German community too. Farmers, loggers, carpenters, skilled mechanics, shopkeepers of all sorts, and members of the professions poured into the Province in pursuit of wealth. The Ratskeller in the basement of the Copp Building at the corner of Hastings and Cambie Streets in Vancouver, for example, was the hangout for the German loggers and industrial workers, where, among others could be seen, on occasion, a logging camp bookkeeper, Joachim Ribbentrop, long before he became "von" Ribbentrop and Hitler's "Second Bismarck". Here, too, it was possible to read one of several German or German and English newspapers produced in the community, the most notable being F. R. Blockberger's Westliche Kanadische Post and Dr. Karl Weiss's Vancouver German Press.

The high point of this prosperous era came in 1911 when the Governor General, H.R:H. the Duke of Connaught and his Duchess, the former Princess Louise Marguerite of Prussia, visited the Province. That week all the German community outdid themselves as loyal subjects of the Crown and as Germans remembering their homeland. The Union Jack and the German flag flew together; the impression was truly of an Anglo-German society. Through a huge triumphal arch erected on Vancouver's Granville Street by the German, Austrian and Swiss residents of the city drove the vice-regal party; the bands thumped; the presentation speeches abounded; and in the evening the nostalgic tunes of Lehar operettas filled the summer air. It was the climax, and also the end, of an era.

Already the frantic prosperity on which the era had been built was beginning to crumble. That summer the Kaiser sent the German gunboat "Panther" to Agadir; there was an international crisis and, on September 8, 1911, a crash on the Berlin stock exchange. For a year or two Von Alvensleben and some of his friends hung on, but there was no more new money from Germany, and many investors began to pull out. Gradually the whole impressive edifice of the German commercial empire in British Columbia crumbled. By 1913 it was apparent that the Province was in the middle of a major depression. The public, which had enjoyed the benefit of the boom, looked around for a scapegoat when it collapsed, and were inclined to blame the Germans. In the summer of 1914 Von Alvensleben, now desperately trying to hold his companies together, went back to Germany to try to convince his clients that the worst of the depression was over and that they could safely reinvest. While he was on his way home, war was declared and his empire collapsed completely: Alvensleben Canadian Finance and General Investment Company, Standard Fish and Fertilizer Company, Vancouver Timber and Trading Company, Piercite Powder Company, Indian River Park Company, the German- Canadian Trust Company, in Canada, and the Issaquah and Superior Coal Mining Company in Seattle, all went to the wall. Von Alvensleben went to Seattle to escape internment in Canada, though he was to suffer it in the United States in 1917.

He speculated briefly in mining property at Likely in the Cariboo after the Second World War, but, as he told an audience in Vancouver several years before his death in 1966,

"after the collapse of 1914 I lost my touch and never made a fortune again."

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Harry Leroy Jenkins

In 1912 the Farm was sold to Harry Leroy Jenkins, a recent widower and wealthy lumberman from Minnesota. Jenkins registered the Farm’s ownership under the title of Anna S. Jenkins Estate Incorporated Limited. The company Jenkins founded there was The Minnekhada Dairy and Stock Farm Company.

Jenkins is believed to be the first person who named the Farm "Minnekhada" The name "Minnekhada" is derived from the Sioux Indian language and means "rattling water" ("Mini" means "water" and "kahda" signifies "to rattle").

Jenkins was the treasurer of the Commercial Club, this group made up of the Minneapolis business elite they created the; Minikahda Club which has a long and colorful history dating to 1898, when the key founding fathers, C.T. Jaffray, a powerful and respected financial figure in Minneapolis, Martin Koon, William Edgar, Walter Tiffany and Harry Thayer started the club. The name Minikahda comes from the Sioux, a combination of two Indian words meaning "by the side of the water"

He hoped to benefit his three children by setting up a profitable farming operation. Jenkins also acquired additional land to increase the total size of the Farm to 1,600 acres. The area this covered falls between what are today Cedar and Quarry Roads, De Boville Slough, the Pitt River and Addington Point Marsh.

A May 8th, 1912 Coquitlam Star article and a 1911 agricultural report describes the Minnekhada farming operation under Jenkins. The Farm’s soil was heralded as being ideal for farming. The soil was a deep loam that descended four to six feet deep. Of the Farm’s 1,600 acres only 1,000 was used for cultivation, 500 of this for oats, 60 of this for potatoes and the rest of this for hay, cabbages, carrots, onions, berries and cucumbers. The fields yielded 125 bushels of oats per acre, 1½ tons of Timothy hay per acre and ten tons of potatoes per acre. The deep soil was plowed by one of the first Caterpillar tractors to be used in British Columbia. The Caterpillar, along with other modern farm machinery, was heralded at the time as making farm work 100% efficient. A dyke built in 1909 by the government along the Pitt River facilitated these high yields by keeping the fields relatively dry and safe from spring freshets.

The Jenkins farm also raised livestock and poultry. Three-hundred Holstein-Guernsey cows were housed in a large dairy barn. The barn had the dimensions of 250 feet long by 60 feet wide. The cows were milked by an 80 horsepower gas powered compressed air milking machine. Some of the milk was made into condensed milk and cream. Harry’s son Master Fred Jenkins oversaw a large poultry department. Fred had a fully equipped chicken house installed that held 300 Springton and White Leghorn chickens. The chicken house used an oil-fueled incubator to hatch chicks. Fred also looked after 125 ducks and 80 geese. The dairy products were then shipped to Vancouver every morning on a truck. Another barn similar in dimensions to the dairy barn was used to store farm equipment and 15 teams of heavy draught horses.

On top of a hill overlooking the two barns was Jenkins’ home. The house was two storeys and had a large verandah on its southern and eastern sides. Water for the house and Farm was supplied by a dammed reservoir located about a quarter mile north of the Farm. The Farm also had a telephone, which was extremely rare during the early 1900’s. Many of the dozen farm workers stayed at a bunkhouse located beside the dairy barn. Jenkins leased some of his land to Jessie McKay, who had established a homestead to the northeast of the Farm. Jessie was also part owner in the Minnekhada Farm operation.

Unfortunately during the First World War Harry Jenkins’ health and finances declined. Jenkins withdrew from the Farm back to his house in Vancouver. His son Fred moved to California where he later committed suicide. In 1920, the Farm reverted back to the District of Coquitlam and was sold to Couzen Spencer at a Coquitlam District Tax sale in 1921.

Savary Island

Subdivision: The subdivison of District Lot 1372 and a small part of District Lot 1373 was done by Harry Leroy Jenkins and Mackenzie Urquhart in 1910 and initially land was offered for sale by the Vancouver Trust Company, of which H. L. Jenkins was the President.

George Ashworth was neither an officer nor a director of the Vancouver Trust Company, however he was involved in promoting these sales. Within a year or two the land that had not already been sold was acquired by the 'Savary Island Park Association', often refered to as 'The Syndicate' for which R. S. Sherman was the Chairman and Trustee and Bob Townley was the Secretary-Treasurer. George Ashworth, who was Bob Townley's brother-in-law, and Harry Keefer were among the committee members of the 'Savary Island Park Association'.

Prior to moving to Savary Harry Keefer had been partner in a Vancouver real estate business with Bob Townley. Once on Savary Harry Keefer acted as the resident manager and became the postmaster and for a time a Justice of the Peace. Although 'The Syndicate' only endured for a few years Harry Keefer continued to personify Savary Island for the following half century.

Vancouver Trust Company Limited

" Enterprise tempered with conservatism" is the business motto of this company, which transacts a very extensive business in the capacity of financial agents, executors and trustees, liquidators and receivers, registrars, transfer agents and insurance agents. It is understood that the company makes it a rule to deal exclusively with provincial investments. A savings and loan department which allows depositors the use of cheques is also a branch of the business, and the interest-bearing debentures issued by the company have been readily absorbed by the public.

The company was originally established in 1908 as a private concern by Mr. D. Von Cramer, with a capital of $100,000. Its incorporation in its present form took place in 1909, and the subscribed capital stock now amounts to $400,000, the total authorised capital to $1,000,000. Mr. D.von Cramer has managed the undertaking from its inception, and combines the offices of managing director and secretary. His co-directors are well-known business men of Vancouver, who represent six or seven million dollars of capital. The company has been attended with marked success, paying dividends of 10 per cent., while 12 per cent, was placed to reserve in each of the years 1910 and 1911. No small share of the credit for placing the business on such a paying basis is due to the energy and capability of Mr. D. von Cramer. He is a Canadian by birth, and gained banking experience in his early youth with the Royal Bank of Canada. He formerly held the office of Police Commissioner, and has rendered valuable assistance to public institutions, notwithstanding the increasingly heavy demands made upon his time with the growth of his business interests. He was one of the movers in the formation of the Canadian Club of Vancouver, over which he is now presiding. Mr. Von Cramer is also vice-president for British Columbia of the affiliated Canadian Clubs ; secretary-treasurer of the British Columbia branch of the Upper Canada College Old Boys' Association (also acting on the committee of the main organisation), and is a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade. Mr. H. L. Jenkins, the president, holds the same office in two lumber companies the H. L. Jenkins Lumber Company and the North American Lumber Company, Ltd. The vice-president is Mr. A. H. Wallbridge. Other directors are Messrs. J. S. Rankin, W. H. Ker (of Brackman and Ker), Dr. A. S. Monro, Dr. W. Y.Corry, and Messrs. G. A. Gordon. L. A.Lewis, and E. J. Deacon.

Jenkins family

HARRY LeRoy JENKINS,(b.1861) Married ANNA LOVELL, born October 5, 1871; died February 5, 1909, age 36 in Vancouver. Her headstone reads; In loving memory of Anna Hartwell, (mothers maiden name.) Lovell. ( Father was: Charles M. Lovell, buried in Chatfield Cemetery) beloved wife of Harry LeRoy Jenkins, Oct 8,1872 -Feb 6, 1909, Below that it says Harry LeRoy Jenkins, May 29,1865, Nov 10,1921. Across the bottom of the stone is says " Be Ye Ready For In Such An Hour As Ye Think No God Calleth "

Harry got married a second time to Daisy Frow Bonnell on July 22, 1921 in Shaughnessy Heights, Vancouver.

Harry pased away a few months later on November 10, 1921 in Vancouver, age 55.

CHILDREN

1. FRED LOVELL JENKINS, born in January, 1899 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota; died in November, 1917. On family headstone " In Loving memory of our son Fredric(Frederick) Lovell Jenkins, Jan 14,1900 - Nov 13, 1919. Drowned in Philadelphia, Penn. His grandparents the Lovells, had come from New Jersey and probably had relatives in Philadelphia. He had been cremated and sent home for burial.

2. MARGARET ELLEN JENKINS, born August 5, 1903 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. foot-stone reads" Dec 1979"

3. HELEN LOUISE JENKINS, born December 9, 1905 in Seattle, King County, Washington. Headstone reads: "Dec 8, 1905 - April 21, 1964". On the back it has a friendship wreath with a J in the middle, and their name on the bottom.

Helen Louise Jenkins is the only one listed in the BCArchives. d.November 10, 1983 (same day as her Father!) at the age of 90 in Hope, B.C.

[ 1983 edmonton journal: NEILLY, Helen Louise Jenkins ] ????

4. CHARLES WILLIAM JENKINS, born February 5, 1909 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. footstone reads "1971" His mother died the day she gave birth to Charles of heart failure. Charles married FLORENCE MURDOCK in 1934. ( Florence Jenkins, d.Chilliwack, May 25,1986, 91yrs. footstone reads"1976" )

Harry's activities [ rambling research notes ]

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Spencer Cosens; Couzen Spencer....

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Matthew Sergius Logan

Born at Morrisburg,(known today as South Dundas) Ontario on September 21, 1866, son of Matthew (b.1825) and Elizabeth Jane Logan nee Allison (b.1932 in Winchester; d.10 November 1893).

Educated College Institute, Morrisburg. Was involved in the mercantile business, in Morrisburg, 1891.

Came to British Columbia in 1899. Married Emily Morris, of Hamilton, Ontario. He was a businessman, real estate dealer, broker, park commissioner, member of the Kitsilano Ratepayers Association, a member of the Terminal City club.

Matthew Sergius Logan, passed away on the 30th of June 1952, in Vancouver, at the age of 85.

In 1907 he and John Stinson (b.3 April 1841 in New Boyne, Ontario. d.14 October 1913) are found in the directories of the day as;

Logan & Stinson, working together as brokers, and real estate agents. By 1910 their business also included Timber leases, lands, and we find M.S. Logan now living at 2530 Point Grey Road.

Today in 2010 the Logan House, built between 1909-1910 is “A" listed in the Vancouver heritage inventory. The Honeyman and Curtis design is one of Kitsilano’s more impressive Craftsman houses.

The house was in later years, the home of newspaper publisher and philanthropist Victor Odlum.

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Henry Maxwell Vasey

1901 census: They are living along River Road Ladner, (Delta), B.C. The 1911 Census, finds the entire family living in the Kamloops area.

Henry Maxwell Vasey born, December 5, 1872 in Quebec 28 methodist. Passed away on the 23rd of February 1960, at Trail, B.C., at the age of 87.

Edith G. Vasey born, December 29, 1873 in Ontario.

Henry Gerald Vasey born, September 15, 1898 in B.C. (b.September 19, 1898 at Ladner, B.C.)

Maxwell Royal Vasey born, October 1, 1899 in B.C. (b.October 13, 1899 at Ladner, B.C.

Edith Grace Vasey born, October 7, 1900 in Ladner, B.C. She married Charles Edward Fenton on the 17th of August 1929 at Trail, B.C. Edith passed away at the age of 88 on January 1st 1962 at Trail, B.C.

Articles about H.M. Vasey from the, Victoria Daily Colonist

1894 April 7 The band of pirates operating along the river is becoming bolder every day, and the time seems to have arrived to make a determined effort to effect their capture. A few nights ago the granary of Henry Vasey, Nicomen Slough, was broken open and a ton and a half of seed oats stolen. They could only have been removed by boat.

1894 June17 James Vasey, helping to distribute seeds after the big flood. [Unknown if any connection to the family, but he is listed as ranching in Washington State.]

1896 January 24 Judge Bole has given an interesting judgment at New Westminster in the case of Mary E. Falconer vs. H. Vasey. Mrs. Falconer carried on a farm with her own money left her by her own relations. Her husband, H. E. Falconer, contracted a debt with H. Vasey. H. E. Falconer was carrying on the business of fishing and carpentering. Vasey obtained judgment against H.E. Falconer and garnisheed certain moneys from the sale of oats by Mrs. Falconer off her farm. Judge Bole gave judgment for plaintiff with costs. [ ? Mary Elizabeth Falconer, d. July 9, 1959 Cranbrook age88]

1901 March 24 Henry Vasey buys a Shorthorn heifer, named "Fleda Wikes" for $85. And an Oxford ewe and a ram.

1902 October 9 wins $35.00 1st prize for draft horse at the exhibition.

1902 July 10: THE RANCH & RANGE; that enterprising British Columbia breeder, William Henry Ladner, has recently imported a couple of Shorthorn bulls and a heifer from the East. One is Squire Wimple No. 33006, calved Aug. 15, 1899, bred by B. Bristow. Rob Roy, second owner James Lenon, Walters Falls, Ontario. Light roan, weighed at 1,026 days old 2,200 pounds. The other is Commander White No. 39011, calved Feb. 5, 1901, bred by David Smith, Guelph. Second owner, Harry Smith, Hay, Ont.

The heifer is Olive Wilkes, calved Nov. 12, 1899, bred by T. Douglas & Sons, bought by H. M. Vasey.

1902 July 10 Shorthorns for B. C.

The farmers of New Westminster district have had several carloads of thoroughbred stock shipped to them this spring from the big breeders of daily cattle in the East, and still they are importing. The latest additions arrived on Tuesday, and consisted of two Durham bulls and a heifer, which had been purchased near Guelph.

The bulls were secured for Mr. William Henry Ladner, (1826-1907) the veteran stock raiser of the Delta, and his neighbour, Mr. Henry Vasey, bought the heifer. All are very well bred, good looking animals, and are expected to prove valuable additions to the dairy herds of these enterprising gentlemen. One of the bulls is just three years old, and when he commenced his long journey weighed over 2,200 pounds. The other bull is just over a year old, but is a very promising youngster. The cattle were loaded at Guelph, Ontario.

Mr. Henry Maxwell Vasey, a young stockman who deserves a special mention. Only recently has he commenced to build up his stock; yet he had extremely fine animals in each section. His two year-old bull was bought from John Bright, Myrtle, Ont., and was imported in dam. He had a beautiful cow which was placed second here to a cow she beat at Ladner’s. She was hard to fault, though not in show shape. In horseflesh Mr. Vasey excelled with his beautiful three-year old stallion, Premier Prince No. 9250, bred by R. B. Ogilvie, Madison, Wis., and winner of first prize at both the Pan-American and Toronto shows, taking second to his half brother at Chicago. Such a picture of a horse one rarely sees. In Oxford Down sheep Mr. Vasey also made a fine showing, through his recently imported ram was still used up from his long railroad trip.

1904 March 17: Mr. Henry Maxwell Vasey came to town today, having come up to get a couple of thoroughbred horses which had just arrived from the East. These are Clydesdales and probably the best pair in America. The stallion, Premier Prince, weighs 1,760 lbs., and took first prize at Toronto, Ottawa and Buffalo last fall, and second at Chicago. Cherrie Startle, 1,825 lbs., took first prize as a 2-year-old at Toronto and Ottawa; and last year took first as a 3-year-old at Ottawa, Buffalo and Toronto, with the championship at the latter place. At the International Stock Show at Chicago, she took first prize and silver medal as the best mare of any breed in America, and the grand championship as the best imported or American bred horse on exhibition, and rounded off her list of winning by taking first as the best in harness to cart. The animals were purchased from Messrs. Graham Bros., of Claremont, Ontario, who are the largest horse breeders in Canada. Mr. Vasey believes it poor economy to import inferior animals, and says it pays to get the best. He says he will make the pace warm at the Provincial exhibition here this fall. Other pure bred stock due today from the east is a car of Shorthorn cattle for Mr. Ellis Thomas Ladner(1837-1922); Oxford Downs sheep for Mr. Vasey, and a Berkshire swine for Messrs. Shannon Bros., of Cloverdale.

1904 September 28 Clydesdale, brood mare 2nd. Draft stallion, 1st.

1904 September 29 Yorkshire boars 1st, 2nd. Tunis sheep 1st.

1904 November 4 Good showing of animals in Victoria exhibition.

1905 October 5 New Westminster Exhibition, 5th in Clydesdale's

1906 March 1 B.C. Stock breeders Association

1906 March 22 Clydesdale's; "Royal citizen" 1st Dominion fair.”Premier Prince"2nd at Dominion fair and 1st Lewis & Clark exposition.

1906 September 27 Victoria best cattle overall, Shorthorns numerous prizes.

1906 September 30 Clydesdales brood mare 2nd; gelding, filly or entire 1st, 2nd; foal 1st. Oxford Downs 1st, 2nd

1907 March 8 B.C. Dairyman's Association meeting

1907 March 22 New Westminster exhibition. Horses 1st ,2nd . Cattle 1st ,2nd .

1907 March 23 Stock breeders meet at New Westminster. Henry Maxwell Vasey is the secretary.

1907 September 25 Ladner fair, Draft horses and sheep swept by Vasey.

1907 September 26 Shorthorns first class.

1907 September 29 Oxford downs 1st, 2nd. Coach horses 1st ,2nd . Percheron gelding or filly 1st. General purpose horses 1st. Cattle 2nd. Shorthorns 1st, 2nd. Best herd.

1907 November 3 Vasey Sells Old Farm. Reeve Henry Maxwell Vasey, of Delta, has sold the old Vasey homestead of 180 acres for $36000, being at a rate of $200 an acre. This is one of the largest land sales of the season In the Delta district.

1907 November 9 Delta Land Sells Well. (New Westminster, November 8) Mrs. Howard Taylor of Delta has just disposed of her farm of thirty-two acres for the High price of $236 an acre. Mrs. Taylor recently purchased the Vasey farm of 180 acres at $200 an acre.

1907 November 24 DISPERSION SALE:---Having sold my farm, I am offering by auction absolutely without reserve, my entire stock of pure bred, prize-winning Clydesdale horses, Shorthorn cattle and Oxford Down sheep at the farm 1 ½ miles from Ladner, B.C. on December 18, 1907. For catalogue or further particulars, apply to H.N. Rich, auctioneer, Ladner, B.C., or H.M. Vasey, Ladner, B.C.

1908 February 15 The Clydesdale Horse association, at its annual meeting yesterday made changes in the constitution of the association, to make it easier for fanciers of Clydesdales to become owners and to more severely punish attempted fraud in show entries and in registry pedigrees. John Bright of Myrtle, was elected president. The provincial vice-presidents include John Graham, Carberry, Manitoba; John A. Turner, Calgary; Alex Mutch, Lumsden,Sask.; Henry Maxwell Vasey, Ladner, B.C.

1909 October 31 (Kamloops, October 30):--- The Liberal convention here nominated Henry Maxwell Vasey, a prominent rancher, and formerly reeve of Delta. [He ran against conservative James Pearson Shaw, who received 64.4% of the vote to H.M. Vasey's 35.6%, in the 12th B.C. election, with 1,354 voters casting their votes. He never attempted again to run.]

1922 Williams directory listed Henry as living at Savona, B.C., and being involved in cattle ranching, and hereford cattle breeding.

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Eugene de Paola

Eugene de Paola was a Vancouver City Police Italian interpreter and a notary public. He hoped to sell off parcels of the Farm to recent Italian immigrants.

The company he founded to accomplish this was the Coquitlam Land and Colonization Company Limited

A year later Eugene changed his company's name to, Minnekhada Stock Farm Limited

This suggests that his real estate scheme had no success and he decided to take up farming to recuperate his investment.

Sadly, in 1929, a devastating fire broke out at Minnekhada and destroyed many of the farm buildings.

Irvin Pollard Huber, the dyke superintendent at the time, lamented the fact that the barns burnt down killing many farm animals.

The fire also destroyed the Jenkins' home, the Smokehouse and a hay barn on Oliver Road.

Although the newspapers of 1927 mention that George Malcolm Annable, was leasing the farm to a party of Italians. And this does make sense, since it is difficult to believe that Eugene de Paola would have the money to buy a farm of this size.

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Ewen and Bertha Cameron

Ewen Joseph Cameron was born on April 19, 1880 in Victoria

The1901 census finds 21 year old Ewen in the Yukon. And the directories add some more information about his activities;

in a 1908 directory he is living in Victoria, and working as an agent for the real estate company of Herbert P. Winsby, financier. Living at 1624 Chambers, until sometime in 1911; when he moved to 1419 Camosun. During this time he was a real estate agent, timber broker.

He then served his country in WWI

From 1918 to 1922 he was manager of Saxon Sales Company, and automobile dealership at 1270-2 Granville Street,Vancouver; living at various addresses; 1131 Beach Ave; 1273 Nelson; 52-1243 Thurlow.

By 1923 he was a salesman for Ball Campbell Company, at 1272 Granville (I guess that this is also an automobile dealership)

Then from 1924 to 1926 he was living at 1255 26th Avenue W. Working as a lumberman. Then in 1927 he is a director of Cameron & Lougheed, and living at 1646 Laurier. 1928 Managing director of the Snowflake Mining Company.

And by 1929 a director of Cameron & Hughes, and living at 20-1507 West 12th.

By 1931 he is living in Port Coquitlam, and working as a timber broker at 425-510 West Hastings Street.

By 1935 he is now president of the Snowflake Mining company, and the Cariboo Yankee Belle Mining Company.

These were both silver-lead mining prospects, that have never operated as paying mines, but continue to attract interest in the mining community.

Bertha Cameron, might be his mother who owned the Bunker Hill Group, of claims in the Nelson,B.C., Mining District. in 1919

Snowflake Mine and the neighboring Woolsey Mine. The Snowflake Mine, was thoroughly investigated by the government geologists after much wild speculation, occurred with the property.

Yankee Belle Mine and the neighboring Talbot veins.

The only name that fits perfectly for his death is for May 28, 1950 in Haney,B.C., but the age is incorrect at 66 years of age. He only appears to have owned Minnekhada for a year or two.

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Eric "Tammy" Werge Hamber and Alyden Hendry

Eric Werge Hamber, businessman, fifteenth Lieutenant Governor 1936-41. Born 21 April 1879 Parkdale, Manotoba; died 10 January 1960, Vancouver.

The oldest son of Ada Jefferson and Frederick Edmund Marsh Hamber, who had emigrated to Canada from England. He was educated at the Anglican St. John's College for Boys in Winnipeg, where his father was schoolmaster. He was an all-around athlete as a youth, excelling at rowing, rugby, football and hockey.

He went to work in Winnipeg for the Dominion Bank of Canada, becoming manager at Calgary, Alberta, in 1906, Vancouver in 1908, and London in 1911.

In 1912 he married Aldyen Hendry, daughter of the prominent mill owner and industrialist, John Hendry. The newlyweds moved into their Shaughnessy mansion, Greencroft, and he went to work as general manager and vice-president for his father-in-law at BC Mills Timber and Trading Company.

At Hendry’s death in 1916, Hamber became president of the company. Other directorships followed. Active in horse racing and yachting, he and his wife supported many charitable causes and were one of the most prominent couples in the city.

Hamber succeeded J.W.F. Johnson⁽¹⁾ as Lieutenant Governor on 1 May 1936. He filled the position with flair and was popular with the public. In 1939 he welcomed King George VI to the province as part of that year’s royal tour. On October 25, 1939, UBC honoured Hamber with a degree of doctor of laws (honoris causa) being conferred upon him at the autumn congregation.

Resisting pressure to take another term, he left office in 1941 and returned to Vancouver. Among other positions, he was chancellor of UBC from 1944 to 1951.

After her husband's death, Aldyen Hamber remained active and continued to support the same charitable organizations. She died in 1988.

Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver is named in his honour.

Hamber Foundation was founded in 1964.

⁽¹⁾ John William Fordham Johnson (b. Nov. 28, 1866 in Spalding, England – d. Nov. 28, 1938 in Vancouver, Canada) was a Canadian businessman and the fourteenth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Johnson left the United Kingdom in 1888 and settled in Portland, Oregon where he worked for a bank. Ten years later, Johnson transferred to the Vancouver office of the bank. In 1900, Johnson quit and went to work for the B.C. Sugar Co., ultimately becoming president of that company in 1920.

Johnson was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia in 1931. He was sworn into office on August 1 of that year and served in the role until 1936. Johnson retired from the office in ill health and died in Vancouver two years later.] achieving considerable popularity. He left office in 1941 and accepted the position of chancellor of the University of British Columbia in 1944, which he held for seven years. He died in 1960.

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Clarence "Clary" Wallace...

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DAON

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Canada Trust

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Dunhill Development Corporation

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Bouvier family

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Greater Vancouver Regional Parks,(GVRD)

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