Marking our past – Part 1
In 2005 as part of the Kelowna’s centennial of incorporation – it became a city on May 4, 1905 – more than
140 grave markers were installed in Kelowna’s Pioneer Cemetery, acknowledging the lives of early Kelowna residents whose graves had previously been unmarked.
The “Marking Our Past” committee consisted of historian Sharron Simpson, genealogist Marie (nee Loyst) Ablett, the late James H. L. “Jim” Hayes (researcher) and Bob Hayes (researcher). Our assigned tasks were completed in good time, resulting in a project which recognizes many of our pioneers who had previously been largely ignored.
This week, eight people in the “Marking Our Past” programme will be featured. Information immediately following their names is from their Kelowna Pioneer Cemetery grave marker. Additional information is from various genealogical and historical sources:
• Denis Anderton’s grave marker indicates that he lived from 1885 to 1906, dying of typhoid fever. He has proven to be a difficult person to research. His B.C. Death Registration indicates that he died at Kelowna on Sept. 12, 1906, age 20 years. This registration has not been scanned and so the actual document is not available online, depriving researchers of potentially useful information about this early Kelowna resident. Hopefully further research will bring forth results. Until then, we continue to know precious little about this early local resident.
• James Campbell lived from 1834 to 1914. His grave marker records that he was a gardener. James Campbell’s B.C. Death Registration indicates that he died at Kelowna on March 23, 1914. His death is recorded on page 1 of the Thursday, March 26, 1914, edition of the “Kelowna Record” newspaper, which reported that he was a native of Scotland, moving 20 years earlier to Brandon, Man., where he homesteaded. He moved to Kelowna seven years before his death and resided at Harvey Avenue but died in the Kelowna Hospital. There are plenty of questions remaining about James Campbell and his family – if he had a family – and more research is needed to “flesh out” the life of this pioneer.
• Julia Ellen Craze, a local seamstress, lived from 1873 to 1916. According to Ancestry.ca records Julia Ellen (nee Willoughby) was born in Farmington, England, on April 2, 1873, daughter of Richard Willoughby (18351912) and his wife Annie (1838-1905). In 1899 at Redruth, Cornwall, England Julia Willoughby married William Craze (born in 1868) and they had children Dorothy Mary Craze (1903), William H. Craze (1907) and Ethel W. (1908), all born in Cornwall. The Craze family came to Canada from England in 1910.
• Sylvester Conkling’s stone records his birth as 1818, probably the earliest
birth date of anyone buried in Kelowna Pioneer Cemetery. A teamster by trade, he died in 1902 and he is one of the earliest burials in the cemetery.
According to the 1901 Canada Census (British Columbia, Yale County), Sylvester Conkling, widower, was born in the United States on Sept. 29, 1818. He came to Canada in 1892 and in 1901 he was living at Kelowna with his son Frank Conkling, daughter-in-law Emma and their young family. Ancestry.ca records indicate that Sylvester Conkling was born in New York State and was married to Rebecca Catherine Weiser Eikelburner (1829-61).
• Herbert Octavius Harpin lived from 1870 to 1909. His grave marker indicates that he was a native of England. His B.C. Death Registration records that Herbert Harpin died at Kelowna on March 3, 1909.
Ancesty.ca records indicate that Herbert Octavius Harpin was born at Aughton, Lancashire, England in 1870, son of William Harpin (1823-94) and Elizabeth Heginbottom (1829-1911). Herbert Harpin did not marry. On page 8 of the March 4, 1909, edition of the “Orchard City Record” it reported that “H.O. Harpin died last night about 11 o’clock after a lingering illness.” No additional information is provided.
• Eliza Grogan Coventry, “early resident” lived from 1843 to 1927. She is buried beside her husband, farmer David Coventry (1835-1933). Burial records indicate that Eliza was born in
Ireland on April 17, 1843, while her husband was born on March 13, 1835, in a place not listed. Ancestry.ca records indicate that David Coventry was born in Peel County, Ont., and on Jan. 5, 1865, in Bruce County, Ont., he married Elizabeth Stevenson. For many years David, Eliza and their children lived in Saskatchewan; they moved to Kelowna sometime after 1916. Eliza died at Kelowna and David died at Vancouver.
• This week’s final burial in Kelowna Pioneer Cemetery is George Wright, a pioneer gardener, who lived from 1839 to 1916. Kelowna burial records indicate that he was born in Grey County, Quebec. The Dec. 14, 1916, edition of the “Kelowna Record” reports on page 5 that “Geo. Wright” died at the Kelowna home of his nephew G.H. Cunningham on Dec. 12, 1916 at the age of 77 years. George Wright was a native of Quebec and he came to Kelowna 16 months prior to his death. His family were residents in Eastern Canada and it was incorrectly stated in his obituary that his remains would be returned to that part of Canada for burial.
Researching our early residents can be challenging, often with little information forthcoming. Kelowna did not have a newspaper until 1904 and so early obituaries of local residents often don’t exist. Many of the early B.C. Death Registrations have not yet been scanned online and so vital information possibly contained in these records are not currently available. Such is the challenge of research work.
More individuals buried in Kelowna Pioneer Cemetery will be featured in this column in two weeks.
————————————
The Kelowna Branch of the Okanagan Historical Society operates on the unceded traditional territory of the Syilx people. It gratefully acknowledges their traditional knowledge, the elders and all those who have gone before us.
This article is part of a series, submitted by the Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society. Additional information would be welcome at P.O. Box 22105, Capri P.O., Kelowna, B.C., V1Y 9N9.