Howie Henderson

Obituaries (10/19/11)
Henderson, Howard (Howie) July 6, 1925 October 8, 2011 Howard passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family. He will be missed and remembered by his brother Scott, sister Dorothy and children Wendy, Bruce (Sharon) and Brad (Marola), grandchildren Raymond, Nolan, Lindsey, Derek and Kelsie and great grandchildren Nathan, Brandon and Carson. Born in Vancouver and raised in Whonnock, Howard lived a full life. He trained as a paratrooper while still in his teens and served his country as a member of the 1st Parachute Battalion in the European Theater during World War II. His working years were spent logging on Vancouver Island, starting in Ucluelet and retiring as Woods Foreman at McMillan Bloedel, North West Bay Division. He spent his retirement years enjoying his hobby farm in Coombs. Howard with his many stories and experiences will be dearly remembered by family and friends. A farewell to Howard will be held at Yates Funeral Home in Parksville on October 29th at 1:30pm.

234404   Vancouver Island

Courtesy Joanne Peterson 

More from Debbie R

I have been doing a wee bit more research on John [Stuart Black]and his family.

I managed to track down John's mother Ellen and brothers Francis and Herbert. Ellen died in Bonar Bridge, Scotland in 1898. His brothers both became Headmasters. Francis was Head Master in a school in the Highlands and Herbert was a headmaster in a school in Sunderland, Co.Durham, England.

John and Catherine were married in Brussels, Ontario in 1895 and Charles was also born there. The three other children were born in North Dakota, USA. From the 1910 USA census the family were living in Langdon, Ward 1, Cavalier, North Dakota. Farris was born there in June of that year. John's occupation on the census is Fur Trader. 

The family must have moved from North Dakota to Whonnock later in that year.

Catherine died in San Diego, California in 1959.

I found that Helen moved to the USA in 1931 with her husband Merton Rose. They had two daughters. Helen died 2006 in San Diego.

Charles died in 1991 in British Columbia. He and his wife Mildred had a son Hugh Donald Black in 1927. Unfortunately Hugh died in 1937 in Vancouver.

Jean married Roscoe Eustis and she passed away in 1988 in British Columbia.

John Stuart Black -- ancestry. Courtesy Debbie R.

Thank you very much for sending the photograph of the grave marker of
John Stuart Black. 


From the family research that I have done I found
that John was a first cousin of my great Grandfather. John's father
Alexander Stuart Black was a brother of my Great, great grandmother
Mary Stuart Black. There were 12 children in total. They were born in
the family croft of Clachaig, Nethy Bridge, Scotland. Right in the
shadows of the Cairngorm Mountains in the Highlands of Scotland. I have
found Stuart Black's farming at Clachaig since 1700 and it is still
farmed by Donald Stuart Black today.

Alexander became a Bank Clerk and moved further north to Bonar Bridge,
in the county of Sutherland. He married Ellen Russell in 1862 in
Inverness. Ellen was born in Australia and was living in Gosport,
Hampshire, England before her marriage to Alexander.

They had 4 sons, all born in Bonar Bridge, Sutherland - John Stuart
Black b. 9th Sept 1863; Charles Alfred Stuart Black b. 4th January
1866; Francis Russell Stuart Black b. 29th April 1868 and Herbert
Stuart Black b. 4th November 1872.

Alexander Stuart Black died in 1889 and the remaining family seem to
have left Scotland as I have been unable to find any further records of
them in Scotland or the rest of the UK. Not sure if they all went to
Canada, but John Stuart Black emmigrated to Canada in 1889 (documented
on 1911 census). He married Catherine Augusta Cormack in Brussels,
Huron, Ontario on 9th November 1896. 

Black Family

The Black family settled in Whonnock in 1910. John Stuart Black (sitting centre) had retired from the HBCo. His wife Kate (Catherine Augusta Cormack) to the left with sons Charles (at the rear) and Farris (front). Next to Charles is daughter Helen and the younger daughter Jean is sitting on the right. The gentleman behind her (the photographer) has not yet been identified. (Photo courtesy Shirley Ryan, Helen's daughter)

Kate was a founding member of the Ladies Club that built the old community hall (the Ladies Hall) in Whonnock. She was very active in the community and the United Church. Both Helen and Jean were employed at the Whonnock post office at some time. The Black family suffered a serious financial setback by the collapse of Dominion Trust just before the First World War but kept their land and home in Whonnock. Charles served overseas in that war. John Stuart Black is buried at the Whonnock Cemetery. After his death in 1932 the family moved away from Whonnock.

Turgoose (Sanichton)

It is not commonly known that after the collapse of the co-operative Ruskin Mills in 1899 and its surrender to Heaps some members regrouped into another co-op incorporated in Ruskin in 1899 under the name The Industrial Union; one that focussed on agriculture. The charter members of The Industrial Union were: Selby-Hele + wife), Kinraide, Morrow, Charlton, Haycock, (Ms) Donnelly, Boissevain + wife. They tried to establish a permanent farm on the Fraser in the Boundary Bay area but could not get the land they wanted at an acceptable price. It seems that the co-op then moved its operation to Vancouver Island. Under Turgoose the 1900-1901 Henderson Directory listed the Industrial Union (Selby-Hele president, Kinraide vice-president, Charlton secretary) as well as the names of Boisevain, Kinraide and Morrow (these three perhaps doing farm work). Also listed at Turgoose was Charles Whetham (JP). Whetham’s close association with the co-op movement in Ruskin is well-known but his presence in Turgoose is a surprise. Further information wanted.

Whonnock Failure

We know that the old Whonnock general store burned down in March 1916 when Mr. Methot was the store keeper. Click here to refresh your memory. I always wondered if Methot had purchased or leased the store from Whiting. A few days ago I came across a little note in the Coquitlam Star of 8 August 1914 under the heading "Whonnock Failure"

Mr. R.S. Whiting, a leading merchant and storekeeper of Whonnock, last week made an assignment of his business for the benefit of his creditors. The Westminster Trust Company are the assignees.

Mr. Methot, it appears, was also the owner of the store and Postmaster Whiting would have moved the post office from the store to its present site a year before the fire and not after the fire.

The second home of the Godwins

Recently Paul Godwin, son of Eric Godwin seen running on this picture, visited Whonnock to see where his dad made his first steps and where his grandparents, George Godwin and Dorothy Purdon had lived. George Godwin was the author of the book The Eternal Forest despised by the Whonnock residents. Click here to read the Whonnock Notes discussing the book.

The old-timers knew that the Godwins lived on 268th Street where today the Carlsons have their home but not that they later moved to another place in Whonnock. The assessment records tell us that they only paid the taxes on that property on 1913 and 1914 but not before 1916 did they return to England--George to fight in France. Where did they live between 1914 and their departure in 1916? Paul’s visit made me look again at the assessment records and I discovered that they moved to 9352 Spilsbury Street. That is where the house on the photograph stood and where that young Eric was running. Eric and the house are now gone but there is still a Douglas fir growth behind the new house. It certainly was a more convenient place—a larger house and close to the railroad station and an easier walk to the general store and the post office.