Pioneer Families

This Saturday at the museum, we had visits from descendants of two pioneer families. Dan Leary and his niece and nephew, Susan and Brian, spent a couple of hours at the museum looking at photographs, information and artifacts relating to Dan’s grandparents, Fred and Catherine Fraser. Fred Fraser came to Revelstoke with railway construction in 1885 and his wife joined him later that year. Their first home was in a box car until they acquired land on the west bank of the Columbia River in what is now the Big Eddy subdivision. They were among Revelstoke’s first farmers, and their second daughter, Florence, born in May of 1887, was the first settler child born in Revelstoke. In 1894, which was a record flood year throughout much of B.C., the Fraser family was forced to raise their house by several feet, and to send their poultry and other stock to another farm outside of the flood zone. As well as running his farm, Fred Fraser held several government positions over the years, including mining recorder and magistrate.

To get to school, the children walked across the ½ mile long Canadian Pacific Railway bridge. There were a few areas where water barrels were stored where the children could huddle if a train was crossing the bridge while they were on it.

In August of 1892, Fred Fraser went to fetch his cows home before going to church. On the way back, he almost stepped on a half-grown cub, and shot it, then fired at another under a log. The cub began to scream, which brought an adult bear to the scene. He quickly headed for home, but came face to face with another full-grown bear. According to the newspaper account, “One of the cows turned back and came at the bear with her horns, hitting him square in the ribs with a thud that might have been heard half a mile away, and rolling him over like a log. Seeing her master’s danger she then flew at the other bear and served her in a like manner.” Both bears ran away. Fred went to church as planned and the next day took the skins from the two cubs and exhibited them in town.

Son Fred Fraser Jr. reminisced on the many chores that the children had to do, and confessed that they would make trips to the outhouse to try to get out of their chores. “The task of weeding and thinning the long rows of carrots, beets and turnips was a tedious one, and a welcome interval would be spent sitting on a toilet seat with handy reading material. When the time so spent became unconscionable, the matriarch complained to the master, who reshaped the smooth ovals into rough squares to discourage unnecessary dalliance. This, however, is said to have failed in its purpose. The human body soon adapts itself to new environment, and it was said that the family acquired the name, ‘the square-arsed Frasers’.”

Our second visit on Saturday was from Diana Johnson, a member of the Holten (originally Hultengren) family. Charles Holten was born Karl Hultengren in Sweden, and his family came to the United States when he was four years old. In 1885, he was in the Revelstoke area, and with his partners, was among the first successful miners in the Lardeau area. He settled in Revelstoke and became one of the partners in the Enterprise Brewery, which began operation in 1898. In 1897, he married Lyda Silcott (aka Edwards) and built a beautiful home at the top of the First Street hill. The home is now operating as Amble Inn Bed & Breakfast. Charles and Lyda had two sons, Charlie and Drennan, and they also raised Lyda’s niece, Mary Edwards, who married Dr. J. H. Hamilton in 1910. The Holten’s also took in Patrick, the young son of entrepreneur William Cowan, when Cowan’s wife died in 1906. The house was the scene of many benefits for the Anglican Church and the Red Cross Society, and Mrs. Holten became the matron of high society in Revelstoke.

We always enjoy having visits from descendants of our pioneer families, and are pleased when we have a lot of information to share with them, as in these two cases.