I went and got a copy of James' death to see if anything more could be gleaned. The most important gain was his address at time of death: 1158 W. Hastings, Vancouver. Maybe Sami remembers seeing that address in that huge directory search (which really pays off for newly found brother William, stay tuned! Well done Sami!)
The doctor wrote:
This man fell down the front steps of the Commercial Hotel and hit his head on the pavement.He must have fell hard, as I can only see one or two steps:
https://changingvancouver.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/340-cambie-street/He fell on 25 Dec 1940, and died on the 27th. Perhaps he was there for a Christmas celebration.
Wife Mrs. O.A. Anderson, informant is living at 865 West 10th. She stated he was in the municipality for 38 years, in province 38 years, and in Canada for 50 years.
I had no luck finding a will for James. Some wills, (and I can't remember why even though it was once explained to me) are only available in the provincial archives in Victoria, and there was a few James' in the index that fell into that category). I did find the will for Orpha, in which she left everything to be split evenly between her son, Robert Enslow Stevenson, Hotel Sutter, 14th and Jefferson, Oakland, California USA, and her brother Preston Brooks Smith of 725 West St, Reno, Nevada USA. If one died, the other got all. Sad she left nothing to James' niece, Bernice.
The executor for the will was a neighbour, Joseph Douglas Inkster, of 855 West 10th Ave, Vancouver.
Moving onto the brother William Alexander Anderson, I'll try to keep it brief!
William's marriage 01 Feb 1898 to Emma Catherine (nee McIntosh), both widowed:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6M8V-6H?i=443&cc=1307718They had a child, Bernice 07 Jun 1899 in Victoria (later she was using a middle name of Emma) (note although on his marriage reg. he put he was born in Banffshire, he now puts Aberdeen. I looked up all his siblings on the Scotland censuses, and some were Banff, and some were Aberdeen, and google tells me that Banffshire and Aberdeenshire somewhat merged way back when)
http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/04ecd71d-16be-496b-9a9f-fbfb73382429In 1901, they were up in Atlin (think gold rush!) William is a hotelkeeper making money off all the folks thinking they are gonna make it rich!
Unfortunately, in 1911 William got TB, came back to Victoria, and died with 6 months:
http://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/22875aae-3a5c-43b9-b8b4-e503873b2c9dHis grave:
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=117735994In the 1911 census, Emma and Bernice are still up north, in the Yukon, in Dawson. William is not with them, but presumably he has headed back to Victoria at this point as he died in Oct.
Emma remarries again, to Richard Thomson.
She dies 28 Jul 1920 in Victoria. Her obit is at:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99W-XPZ2?i=1401&cc=2001136Seeings she was in an isolation hospital, it's safe to assume TB got her to, as it was rampant back then.
Bernice goes on to become a registered nurse, and makes many trips to California before moving there, and becoming a citizen. There is an absolute ton of documents to follow her. She gets her citizenship for California in 1940, which has her picture. In 1943 she signs up for the army. She never married (although I saw a tree that states she did have a son.... still checking on that). She died in California on 02 Apr 1986.
What ties the fact that her father, William Alexander, is actually a brother to James, is on at least one of her many trips across the border to go to California, one being 21 Jun 1929, she listed her Canadian contact as Uncle James Anderson, 28 West 10th Ave, Vancouver. This was the first year (from Sami's research) that the directory only listed Orpha at that address, so perhaps this is the year the marriage fell apart. At any rate, it shows James and William Alexander are brothers.
I think this enough to post for now, before it becomes overwhelming!
