BLACK James Stephen in B.C.

[redgum]

I have found Edith travelled in Sept 1823, 6 months after James but frustratingly I can't view the FindMyPast image as it comes up as an error. I will try again later.
However the transcript looks like it will be the  right Edith Black.

Thanks for your help Beth.

Best Wishes
Robyn

[LemonMallie]

Robyn - I'm usually at the library once a week, sometimes more if work is slow

I'll check Edith's death next time I'm there.  Do you know if George also settled in BC?

[redgum]

Hi Lynwen

Thank you that is wonderful of you.

George came to Australia and married (1831) & settled here. I assume he travelled on from Canada as FindMyPast has no record of his travel to Australia.

My connection to the family is via the youngest brother Walter who came directly from the UK to Australia in the 1920s.

There are two sisters

 Annie Freeman BLACK b 1897 Glenbervie, Kincardine, Scotland
 
 Jane Bain BLACK b 1903 Cookney, Kincardine,Scotland.

I have no further record of either girl but believe one settled in Canada and one in the USA. However I don't know which one went where, or if that is even correct.

 The 5 children were orphaned in 1914 and consequently the older ones lost contact with Walter then aged 7. I don't think Walter resumed contact with his sisters although in Australia he lived close by to George and he corresponded with James.

My other snippet of information is there was a newspaper clipping of either James or Edith (or Both) being presented to Queen Elizabeth 11 in Canada.
I think Edith was  involved in the Boy Scout movement at a high level so it could have been related to that.

I appreciate the help you (and Beth) have given to me.
Robyn

[LemonMallie]

OK, I won't go looking for George then.

I did a bit of googling and it looks like the only time that Queen Elizabeth was in BC (not counting the princess years) was in 1959 and again in 1971.  It doesn't look like she was in Rupert either time so the Black's must have travelled to meet her.  If both James and Edith were present, it must have been 1959.  I'll see if I can find anything in the Vancouver papers but her trip in 1959 was a marathon 45 day long tour of Canada and I'm not sure exactly when she was in BC!

You could try and contact the Prince Rupert Archives (http://www.princerupertarchives.ca/) and see if they have anything - a royal visit is still a big deal today so if one of their long time residents was presented to the queen.....they must have something.  I don't want to be mean but there isn't much going on in Rupert today so I am sure a story like that would have made the local newspaper back then.  Their website notes that they charge for research but it doesn't hurt to ask what they have as they usually do a quick lookup for free - be a bit cheeky and play your "I'm so far away in Australia" card!

Lynwen

[LemonMallie]

Hi Robyn,

I popped into the library at lunch today but unfortunately, they haven't received the film for 1988 as yet.  It was only recently released by BC Archives and they expect to have it in the library in February or March.

I'll keep Edith on my list and finish the lookup when the film arrives.  I didn't have time to check the newspapers as my stomach was growling too loudly!  But I'll have a look next time I'm there.

Lynwen

[redgum]

Hi Lynwen,

Thank you for the extra library visit and also the link for the Prince Albert Archives.
I will email the archives and keep my fingers crossed for a result.
 
Wish I had been with you at the library as I would have "shouted" you lunch.

Best Wishes
Robyn

[redgum]

 Hi Lynwen,

   A Special Thank You for suggesting I contact the Prince Rupert Archives.

I now have a wonderful "snapshot" of Jim & Ediths life.
I have just received a reply from the Prince Rupert Archives and I have generously been sent a wealth of information.

There were many details of their life taken from a newspaper article dated February 1967 from the Prince Rupert Daily News.

Also from phone directories show where Jim  worked in the 1920s and 30s.

Adding to this was the information that Jim served as an alderman from 1930 until the city went bankrupt in 1933 and was re-elected in l943 and 1944, along with the city's first woman mayor, when a council was reinstalled.

When Queen Elizabeth II went to Prince Rupert in May 1971 to officially open the new hospital, Edith was one of the local residents presented to the queen.
The Daily News covered the event stating that Mrs. Edith Black, who was one of the first women to join the army in the First World War and rose to be chief clerk of the ministry of munitions.

There is a lot of information on her involvement in the Prince Rupert community including mention of a Daily News photograph showing her in May 1, 1979 in a hospital bed displaying two awards she had recently received.

Also that Edith's obituary ran in the Prince Rupert Daily News, on July 15, 1988.

Without your suggestion Lynwen I would never have found so much.

Many Thanks
Robyn

[LemonMallie]

Oh Robyn, that is excellent news!  Details like that are what we dream of when trying to track our ancestors.  It means so much more to find out what kind of people they were and what their lives were like.

It sounds like the staff at Prince Rupert Archives deserve full marks for their efforts.

I hope all your searches are as fruitful!

Best wishes,
Lynwen