New History and Heritage pages

Whonnock's history and heritage information--photographs and written text--has found a new home on the Web. To view the new pages click here or click on "History and Heritage" on the main page of the Whonnock & Ruskin Web site.

Card from John Williamson

From Mrs. Williams, a great-great-granddaughter of the diarist John Williamson I received scans of a Christmas card mailed in 1910 by Williamson to his granddaughter in Ladner.

Click on pictures for enlargement.

Late Pleistocene Occupation--More than 10,000 years ago

"The stylistic qualities of surface scattered artifacts collected from 68 sites in the inundation zones of Stave and Hayward Reservoir suggest that the area has been continuously occupied since late Pleistocene times." (Duncan McLaren)

Duncan McLaren currently operates Cordillera Archaeology which specializes in providing archaeological consulting services. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Victoria.

Whoh-nuck - "where they hung the heads".

J.S. Matthews and August Jack made special trips up and down Howe Sound by steamer, for the purpose of recording sites and traditional names of villages and landmarks, during 1934-35. On the west (Downtown Squamish) side of today’s Mamquam Blind Channel (formerly East Branch of the Squamish River), only one traditional place-name was recorded as part of this project: Whoh-nuck - "where they hung the heads".
(Tim Woodland)

Whonnock P.O. Safe Carried Bodily Away, Saturday

Yeggs who broke into the post office at Whonnock, B.C. took the heavy safe from the building and moved it away in a wheelbarrow. The safe weighed 200 pounds and contained $18 in cash, $132 in postal notes abd $74 in stamps.
The postmaster, Mr. Whiting, did not discover the loss until arriving at the postoffice on Sunday afternoon when he immediately notified the police.
Later the safe was found carefully covered up with old pieces of carpet on the adjoining lot, where Mr. W.L. Baines resides. The postal notes and the stamps were still in the safe when found. The door of the safe had been pried off with a chisel.
Weekly Gazette 13 March 1936

Arthur William Spokes 1859-1929

Click pictures for enlargement. Gravemarker courtesy Sivertz sisters, 2004. Top Beatrice Johansen nee Spokes. Below Arthur Spokes

A.W. Spokes's 20-acre farm was in Ruskin (NE portion of NE 1/4 Section 5  YWP 15). His land may have been on the east side of Whonnock Creek south of what is now 104th Avenue. I think he bought the property in 1908.

Arthur Spokes, an engineer, arrived on the vessel Victorian at Halifax 19 April 1907, final destination: Vancouver. With him travelled his 40-year-old sister Beatrice Stokes. Beatrice Spokes married Gorgen Johansen in Sapperton on 11 September 1907.

Adjacent to Spokes's grave are the unmarked graves of Johansen and Mrs. Johansen. Beatrice C.Johansen died in New Westminster in March of 1940.

Anthony Childs Spokes, a nephew of Arthur and Beatrice, died on 4 April 1929, age 40, New Westminster.

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Vital Events:

Gorgen Johansen x Beatrice Spokes, 11 September 1907, Sapperton, Reg No. Reg. No. 1907-09-119268, Microfilm B11382

Beatrice C Johansen died 30 March 1940, age 76, New Westminster. Reg No. 1940-09-571038. Microfilm B13168

Arthur William Spokes died 12 June 1929, age 69, Ruskin. Reg. No. 1929-09-424637. Microfilm B13137

Anthony Childs Spokes died 4 April 1929, age 40, New Westminster, Reg. No. 1929-09-422026. Microfilm B13137

Check: Gorgos Johansen died 3 August 1943, age 69, Bella Coola, Reg No. 1943-09-628957. Microfilm B13180


GR-1422 -- New Westminster Supreme Court Probate cases
B09626 Spokes, Anthony 3411/1929
B09626 Spokes, Arthur William 3423/1929
B09490 Johansen, Beatrice Caroline 6709/1940

Kipp

Click on the illustration to see an enlarged copy of a "birth" page of a bible showing in the lower part the name and birthdates of the children of Samuel Ephraim Cromarty and Carolina Augusta (Garner)Cromarty. Obviously these names were all written down by the same person at the same time.
The same applies to the two names written above perhaps by another person at another time. The names are James Kipp, March 4 (no year) and Robert Kipp, March 7 (no year).
Family tradition suggested that James and Robert were brothers but they were in fact father and son. The 1901 Census shows that James was born on 4 March 1865 and that Robert was born on 7 March 1890 (confirmed by his Recruitment paper).