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Wednesday, August 31, 2011


Joseph Lewis, the truly first Portuguese Joe No. 1


(Do Not) “Hang and draw,
And set in judgement after. "
(Henry Crease*, Lewis' lawyer)

The British Colonist, June 3, 1859, p.2

BARBAROUS MURDER-On or about Wednesday night, Johnston Cochrane, one of
the police was barbarously murdered on the road to Craig Flower, where the body
was discovered lying, having received two shots, one through the head and another,
in the mouth. A colored man is suspected, whom the deceased was in search of, for
having stolen some pigs. Yesterday he was arrested some seven miles from this
town, towards Saanitch. His name is Joseph Lewis, alias Portuguese Joe, a native
of the Cape de Verde Islands. He will be examined this morning.
On application of Sheriff Heaton, His Excellency, Gov. Douglas, has offered 100 (pounds)
for the arrest and conviction of the murderer. We sincerely hope, that no effort or
expense will be spared in bringing the perpetrator of this awful crime to speedy justice.
During the past year several murders have been committed, supposed to have been done by whitemen, but no conviction has resulted.


June 6, 1859, p. 2

THE MURDER OF JOHNSON COCHRANE--
The officers of justice have not yet succeeded
in obtaining necessary evidence of the complicity of
the colored man, “ Portuguese Joe”
in this crime . He is still in prison and
we hear that every effort is being made to
arrest the perpetrator of the foul deed.

June 13, 1859, p. 3

VICTORIA POLICE COURT
-----
BEFORE JUSTICE PEMBERTON
SATURDAY, June 11th
The Murdered Policeman, Cochrane--

A half-breed, Jollibeau, who resides
with his father on the farm of the late Dr. Kenedy,
was very closely interrogated by justice
Pemberton, to learn if he had any connection
with Joe Lewis, the party in prison.
It appeared that he had been engaged in
the early part of the year, with two colored
men, in shooting game for the market. A double barreled
gun with one rifle, and one smooth bore, together with a revolver and,
fowling-piece were produced in court ;
he swore that they had not been out of his possession on
the supposed day of the murder, and also that he had very little knowledge of the accused. His sister, who seemed to know very little of the rules of court, and gave the Judge considerable trouble, failed to connect, in any way, the parties, but distinctly swore that she had never seen Lewis. Jollibeau was set at liberty. As yet there is no evidence to implicate any party. The officers are still in pursuit of the murderers. Lewis will be brought up again on Thursday.

June 17, 1859, p.3

VICTORIA POLICE COURT
-----
BEFORE JUSTICE PEMBERTON
WEDNESDAY, 15th June.

ACQUITTAL: Joseph Lewis, charged with
being concerned in the murder of Policeman
Cochrane, was called up for final examination.
The Crown Solicitor asked to remand him; but the prisoner's
counsel, Mr. Crease, objected. Officer Smith, being
sworn, testified that there was no prospect
of further evidence to show that the prisoner was
concerned in the murder. The court suggested
that the prisoner make a voluntary statement,
warning him not to confess anything to convict himself.
Lewis then stated that he had slept at Victoria
Brewery, the night previous to the murder;
that he started early to go to Porter's farm;
Porter considered it too late to hunt up
cattle, so he returned to the Brewery; slept
there that night with a man named Wallace.
He had no firearms; was by trade
a butcher; did not know the deceased; had
no idea of a warrant being out for his arrest
on a charge of stealing pigs; lived on
Johnson street .
Two witnesses were called, Mr. Wallace
and Mr. Steinberg; who corroborated his
statement.
Mr. Crease asked for his immediate
acquital.
The Court questioned Lewis very closely
as to his mode of life; stated that he was
suspected of killing cattle and pigs,--and
warned him if he came before him, bonds
would be required for his good behavior.
Mr. Crease hoped his Worship would not
“Hang and draw,
And set in judgement after. "
Lewis was then discharged.

ON SUSPICION--Francoise Presse
was arraigned on the charge of being concerned
in the murder of Johnson Cochrane; but
after a short examination, was remanded
till tomorrow.

In 1858 Henry Crease was the first barrister qualified to practice as a Barrister of Her Majesty's Court of Civil Justice for Vancouver Island.  He was later appointed Attorney General.
Sir Henry Pering Pellew Crease
Henry Pering Pellew Crease
Supreme Court of British Columbia
In office
May 13, 1870 – January 20, 1896
Appointed byAnthony Musgrave
Attorney General of British Columbia
In office
October 15, 1861 – May 13, 1870
Appointed byJames Douglas

Sunday, August 28, 2011

 Portuguese Pioneers of B. C. (PJ Silvey)
(adapted from Lusitania.ca, November 2003)

 PART I - Who was Portuguese Joe Silvey? An Introduction
Manuel Azevedo

(Gastown, circa 1870. Water street between Carral and Abbott.


PORTUGUESE CORNER (Water and Abbott streets)
 Bottom right, at the north west corner of Water and Abott streets  ( the building on stilt)s is Gregorio Fernandez's store.  Gregory also owned the building directly cross the street, at the south-west corner, where he kept chickens and supplies.
     Kitty corner from Fernandez's store, at the south-east corner was  Portuguese Joe Silvey's  saloon, later known as the "Hole in the wall", today's Lamplighter pub  at the Dominion hotel. Gassy Jack's saloon was at the othere end of the block, at Carral and Water street, at the far left. vancouver was one block long. (image courtesy Rocky Sampson)

Joe Silvey is the best known of the handful of Portuguese founding pioneers to arrive in British Columbia prior to confederation (1867 – British Columbia joined Canada in 1871). He is about to become better known. Howard White, editor of the Raincoast Chronicles published by Harbour Publishing of Madeira Park, B.C., announced that the 20th Anniversary issue will be Professor Jean Barman’s, The Remarkable Adventures of “Portuguese Joe” Silvey: A True Story of B.C., written for the Silvey family reunion held in Ladysmith, April 3, 1999. (It since has become a best seller-ed)

Who was Joe Silvey and where did he come from? According to family lore, Joe and five other Portuguese crewmembers of a whaling ship jumped ship to join the Cariboo Gold Rush of British Columbia in 1858. Although some descendants believe he jumped ship in 1849 in California or 1852 in Victoria, census records indicate he was in B.C. by 1860. Evidence at the Stanley Park settlers trial in 1923 suggests he was present for the gold rush of 1858.

Some of Joe’s friends such as Gregorio Fernandez of Gastown ( Vancouver's first store owner and coffee roaster), Peter Smith aka Portuguese Pete or Pete the Whaler, (the "half legendary" founder of the short lived whaling industry in B.C) also of Gastown, John Enos (Ignacio) of Nanoose Bay (the first European settler on the Nanoose peninsula - Enos creek is named after him), and Enos’ neighbour, John Suza (Souza),  appear to have participated in the Fraser river gold rush of 1858-1860.

Other Portuguese pioneers such as the enterprising Bittancourt and Norton brothers of Saltspring Island, (after whom Bittancourt Road and Norton Road are named) John Silva of Victoria, later Mayne and Gabriola Island (after whom Silva Bay on Gabriola Island is named), also appear in British Columbia around 1860. Joe Gonsalves from Madeira, after whom Madeira Park is named, came to Gastown later, in 1874, to look after his ailing uncle, Gregorio Fernandez. Perhaps only Joseph Montero of Cape Verde arrived in the early 1850’s prior to the Gold Rush.

Whaling
Although Portuguese began fishing for cod off Newfoundland’s Grand Banks in the fifteenth century, it was not until the nineteenth century that they reached the pacific coast, with some exceptions. American whaling ships headquartered in New New Bedford, Massachusetts had exhausted the Atlantic ocean by the mid nineteenth century, and began hunting whales in the Pacific ocean.
The sperm whaling industry in the USA was established in part by Aaron Lopez (Duarte Lopez), a New Christian born in 1752 in Lisbon who fled the inquisition to America. He is one of the founding fathers of the Touro synagogue of Newport Rhode island, the oldest extant synagogue in the USA. He had 30 ships in his fleet, which he crewed with men from the Azores. These whalers were the first documented Azorean settlers in the United States. US immigration statistics indicate that 1,605 Portuguese officially immigrated between 1820 and 1860. A small number worked in the Pacific whaling fleet.

California
When gold was discovered in California in 1849 many whaling ships were deserted by their crews, stricken by gold rush fever.  San Francisco harbour once contained  900 abandoned ships at the height of the gold rush. Joe Silvey, who may have left the Azores in 1846 may have been one of those whalers who jumped ship. Perhaps the river boat pilot J.S. Silvey listed in the 1850 San Francisco City Directory at Clark's Point (at Montgomery and Sacramento streets) was Portuguese Joe Silvey. Silvey’s descendants recall visits to British Columbia by cousins from California and New Bedford, Massachusetts. Also, Joe Gonzalves, Gregorio Fernandez’ nephew from Madeira arrived in Gastown in 1874 via San Francisco where his uncle was listed in 1857 as a fruit dealer. By 1858, the year of B.C.’s Gold Rush, he was no longer listed in the San francisco directory.

British Columbia
According to British Columbia government records of Joe’s second  marriage to (Lucy) Kwat-lee-matt in 1872, Joe was 38 years old and born on Piepika Island, Portugal. His parents were John Silvy and Francisca Hyacinthia. Joe’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, born in Stanley Park by Joe’s first wife, Khaal-tin-aht (Maryanne), granddaughter of the notable Chief  Ki-ap-i-la-no, told the city archivist, Major Matthews, that her father was from “Pekapika, Azores Islands.”
Joe may also have had an unknown Scottish grandfather. According to some, Joe’s grandfather was a Scottish seaman who helped the Portuguese expel the French Invaders during the Peninsular War of 1808. This, Joe’s descendants said, explained the reddish beards and blue eyes of the Silvey men. Major Matthews certainly gave credence to the story; he gave Joe a Scottish surname, Simmonds, perhaps a variation of Joseph Silvia Seamens, the name Joe gave on a formal document pre-empting land in 1872.

Silvey Bay, Reid island, off the tip of Galiano island where Portuguese Joe and his seconf wife raised 10 children. Joe Silvey and his eldest son Domingos are buried here. (photo courtesy Rocky Sampson)

The Azores
There is no Pekapika island in the Azores, but Pico Island, named after the highest mountain in Portugal at 2,351 meters high (a sometimes grumbling volcano) is one of nine islands of the Azores, located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, 760 nautical miles from Lisbon and 2,111 from New York. These previously uninhabited islands of volcanic origin are sometimes referred to as the remains of the legendary Atlantis. Today's stock of Azoreans, spilled throughout the world, are descendants  of Portuguese, Spanish, Italians, English, Flemish, French Scots, Germans, Slaves, Jews, Muslims and Christians.
The exact date of their discovery by Portuguese sailors is unknown but is generally attributed to Diogo de Silves in 1427 although the islands do appear in some fourteenth century maps. The Azores have played an important part in Portuguese history, serving as a strategic naval and military center. They served as a stop over for ships coming from India and later for ships from the Philippines during Spanish domination of Portugal between 1580 and 1640. They were often victims of pirate raids such as Sir Francis Drake.

Pico Island
Pico was populated after the initial settlements on the Islands of Santa Maria (where Columbus stopped on his return from the Americas) and São Miguel in 1439. It is believed that the first settler and his dog disembarked on the southern end of the Island in 1460. Lajes became its first town and today the municipality of Lajes encompasses the village of Calheta de Nesquim, located at the tip of the elongated island. Calheta is one of the oldest ports on Pico and was the first base for hunting sperm whales (1876). Today, with a population of approximately 15,000 people, Pico is experiencing an economic boom fueled by Portugal’s entry into the European Community although whale hunting was prohibited in 1986.
During Joe’s time, life on Pico was a constant struggle for survival, if not with the sea, then with the dark volcanic stone. Although Pico’s famous wine," verdelho", the product of herculean work on lava beds, had reached international fame all the way to the table of the Czars of Russia, an odium attack in the middle of the nineteenth century destroyed the vines. A stint on an American whaling ship looking for hard working crew members became a ticket to the promised land.

Portuguese Joe Silvey's Birth

On April 23, 1828 in the village of Calheta de Nesquim, in the municipality of Lajes, on the island of Pico, in the archipelago of the Azores, Portugal, a child was born,  Jose, the  legitimate son of John Jose de Simas and his wife Francisca Jacinta, paternal grandson of “pay incognito” (unknown father) and Maria do Espirito Santo, maternal grandson of Antonio Silveira Quaresma and his wife Maria Jacinta.
 Jose was baptized on April 28, 1828; the grandparents were, Father Jose Homem da Silveira, treasurer of the church, “Our Lady of Piedade” and godmother, Rosa Maria, daughter of Manuel Goncalves de Simas, all of Calheta de Nesquim.
 On the baptismal certificate, the date 1846 appears on the bottom, perhaps the date of Jose’s emigration at the age of 18.
That child was most certainly Portuguese Joe Silvey of British Columbia. The names of the parents match the records of his marriage to Lucy in 1872. Like many other Europeans who married young Aboriginal women, Joe fudged his age when he married 14 year old "Lucy", he was not 37 but 44!
The surname “Seamens” in a 1872-preemption land application by joe  must be a transliteration of “Simas.” And the romantic story of a Scottish grandfather resonates with grandson of “pay incognito.”
Jose came from a large family. His four sisters Maria Jacinta, Francisca Jacinta, Rosa Jacinta and Joaquina Inacia all died in Pico. However the place of death of his four brothers, Manuel, João, Antonio and Domingos (the name of Joe's eldest son and one of the founders' of the fishers union in B.C.) are unknown; perhaps they too left never to return to their native land.


Este registo pertence ao Livro nº4 - Nascimentos, da Freguesia da Calheta de Nesquim - Baptismos - 3-1-1825 a 14-5-1848, propriedade da Biblioteca Pública e Arquivo Regional da Horta, Rua D. Pedro IV nº 25, 9901-825 Horta.


Birth Certficate of Jose, courtesy of the Regional Archives of Horta-Thank you to Fernando Goulart, native of Calheta de Nesquim, Pico who appears in  Portuguese Jose  Omni TV documentary produced by Bill Moniz of Toronto, also a native of Pico).

 
San Francisco City Directory 1850
Silvey, J. S., pilot Sac and San Joaquin rivers, S. T. Saloon, Clark’s Point 
Pilots
    For the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers — W. A. Fauntleroy, W. Neal, H. Van Ness, W. Burges, L. Gamage, J. S. Silvey, H. Van Pelt, W. Sandezniss, E. Palmer, P. Howard, W. H. Joliff.  Office under Hutton and Timmerman's, Clark's Point.
    Pilots for the Outer Bar — On board Pilot Boat Rialto — G. Simpson, R. Leitch, L. Coxelta, C. J. Wright, Chas. Richardson.  On board Pilot Boat Relief — E. B. Jenkins, M. McDonald, Jas. Urie, C. J. Campbell, Robt. Sing, J. Ludlow.  W. S. Burnside and James Nelson, Agents, office California b. Mont. and Sansome.
    Harbor Master — James Hagan, office, Commerical whf. Clark's Point.  J. Carngan, secretary, Pilot Commissioner's office, Clark's Point.
    Harbor Pilots — John Delevean, John Ingram, Wm. Rogers, Mr. Hanson.  Office at the Harbor Master's office.
    Custom House — corner of Cal. & Montgomery.  James Collier, Collector.  Open from 9 A. M. till 2 P. M. 


1852/53 City Directory
Silvy A. 123 Montgomery 

Joe's brother Antonio?

Thursday, August 25, 2011

JOHN SILVA of Mayne and Gabriola Island

(Adapted from Lusitania.ca, June 2003, by M. Azevedo)

Silva Bay, Gabriola island


John Silva was born in Cape Verde (or the  Azores) around 1837 (although the 1901 census indicates 1845). He died on Gabriola Island B.C. in 1929. The death certificate records his age as 92 years old, having been in Canada for 70 years.

In 1863 Silva was operating a fruit and vegetable store in Victoria. There he met a daughter of an Indian Chief from Cowichan whom he christened “Louise.” He married her in 1873. She was just 15. That year Silva purchased 237 acres on Mayne Island and moved there in the spring of 1874. “Louise” was apprehensive about marriage but Silva, “was kind and gentle and he took her to his log cabin … it was a dirt floor … he made the fire and Louise baked the bread.”

Louise learned to make the dishes her husband liked. They built a house, cleared the land and planted the first apple orchard in the Gulf Islands. They had ten children but tragedy struck while still on Mayne Island. Two of their children drowned when their canoe overturned in Active Pass, “they got drowned … grandpa dove down six or seven times, … mum was on the shore on a little ledge with my uncle holding her … and my grandfather said to her, I feel so badly, I should be down there myself … but my grandmother … a very practical, wonderful women said … now you listen here, you have two children over there on the ledge, they need you … so he decided not to drown himself.”

The Silva’s sold out in 1883. They tried fishing at Lulu Island on the mouth of the Fraser River before settling down on Gabriola Island the following year. They purchased 133 acres of abandoned homestead land on what is now known as Silva Bay. It was paid in four years.

In addition to farming, Silva built the “Corliss Queen” to fish. He also raised sheep and planted orchards.

In 1914, three of the Silva boys left to serve in the First World War. One was killed, another badly wounded.

In 1920 the Silva’s donated land and helped build a Catholic church. They also donated land to build a public school.

A grand daughter recalls, “ he just spoke broken English, my grandfather spoke Portuguese and very broken English … he was speaking Portuguese to my aunty, that was my mother’s brother’s wife, she would translate … my grandpa … he was a good man.”


Gabriola Island Memorial Cairn
A Special War Memorial Video *
(Requires RealPlayer 4.0)
 
 
Gabriola Island, British Columbia



                        Roll Of Honour

World War I 
 

Edward Silva
Frank Silva
Louis Silva


World War II


Henry Silva



John Silva 
by Fernando Candido

We learn some details about this Portuguese from Cape Verde  from the historian Manuel Azevedo in the book of Jean Barman “ The Remarkable Adventures of Portuguese Joe Silvey”. He said that Silva of Gabriola Island, planted what may have been the province’s first apple orchard on Mayne Island.”

Had been born about the same time than as Portuguese Joe. According to Silva’s descendants, the two men jumped ship together. Silva worked for a time on coastal steamers, and by 1863 was operating a fruit and vegetable store in Victoria. He wanted more, and in 1873 he took up land on Mayne Island. Shortly thereafter he married Louisa, the 15- year-old daughter of Cowichan chief. The story that has been passed down in the family has John Silva giving his future in-laws “two horses hitched and ready for working-two horses and about three sacks of spuds.” This arrangement, like other cross-cultural unions, was difficult at first, as described by Louisa’s granddaughter Margaret.” She was really frightened of marriage, you know, how it would be, so she was given part of the boat and she was crying away.

And my grandfather was kind and gentle and he took her to his log cabin on Mayne Island and mother said it was a dirt floor-a log cabin- And mother said that Grandpa said, “well the first thing you have to do, Louisa, is to make a batch of bread because we do not have any bread,” so he got the fire going [and when] she was making the bread she was crying into the dough.”

John Silva fished and Louisa bore the children, 10 of them. Like his friend Portuguese Joe, John Silva soon decided that there was no turning back. On June 27, 1876, he took his oath as British subject, which entitled him to own outright the land on which they lived.

A few years later, in the early 1880’s, the Silva family moved to from Mayne to Gabriola Island because of persistent native raiding parties on their sheep. According to the granddaughter Margaret, ”The Haida Indians kept coming through the passageway and they’d hoot and they’d holler and away they would come and they were a pretty fearful bunch and my grandfather kept sheep and he had goats and he had geese and stuff and these Indians would come through and they’d take half of his stuff to feed their families- I guess they did not like to live on fish all the time!-and anyway my grandmother decided,” I am not living here,” so she said to my grandfather, “I want to get out of here,” and so she talked him into moving to Gabriola Island.”

In the Western Canadians 1600-1900

John Silva is mentioned a couple of times but it his hard to know who are his children because some of the children of another Portuguese Joseph Silva (Silvey) are also mentioned. Silva, John, born circa 1846 in Portugal or Azores Islands, (BC41-FN187) Silva, John, farmer living in 1901 on Gabriola Island (BC2-280) Silva, Louisa, (Native Indian), born circa 1856 in British Columbia (BC41-FN198) Silva, Louisa, homemaker/wife, living in1881 in Cowichan and Salt Spring Islands (BC41-FN198) (I am not sure which ones are his children).

JOHN NORTON
(from fernandocandido)

John Norton was born in the Azores on the 4 Aug 1823. He settled the area north of the hospital in Salt Spring Islands. He had a farm there. (Salt Spring archives). He was married to Annie a black lady from San Francisco. Norton when he was 44, he was listed as a widow we may assume that his previous wife had died and he married Annie when she was only 18. See the list of his family members below.

H1/05/01 Norton, John, m, h, m, 4 Aug 1823, 77, POR, to Can: 1859, RC, Farmer. ……Rems: MR: John Norton, 44, r.SSI, b.Azores Is., wid, farmer, RC, s.o.Antonie & Marie mar Annie Robinson, 18, r.SSI, b.San Francisco, CA, USA, WM, d.o.Henry W. & Margaret, 8 Dec 1873, Cowichan District.
H1/05/02 Norton, Annie, f, wife, m, 24 Jul 1836, 64, USA, to Can: 1858, RC.
H1/05/03 Norton, John J., m, son, s, 23 Sep 1871, 29, BC, RC, Farmer.
H1/05/04 Norton, Dorothy, f, dau, s, 7 May 1879, 21, BC, RC.
H1/05/05 Norton, Walter N., m, son, s, 23 Sep 1880, 20, BC, RC.
H1/05/06 Norton, Albert A., m, son, s, 30 Apr 1882, 18, BC, RC.
H1/05/07 Norton, Elsie M., f, dau, s, 23 Sep 1886, 14, BC, RC.
H1/05/08 Norton, Robert P., m, son, s, 10 Jan 1889, 12, BC, RC.
H1/05/09 Norton, Maud B., f, dau, s, 26 May 1891, 9, BC, RC.
H1/05/10 Norton, Pearl V., f, dau, s, 27 Jun 1893, 7, BC, RC.
H1/05/11 Norton, Grace, f, dau, s, 17 Nov 1896, 4, BC, RC.
H1/05/12 Norton, Joseph, m, son, s, 3 Jul 1899, 1, BC, RC.

Victoria Cencus 1901 (source http://www.rootsweb.com/~canbc/1901vic_cen/divh1/divh1p04.htm)
Jan 13, Salt Spring Island, of consumption, Louisa, wife of John NORTON. She leaves a family of 3 small children. (from The Victoria Daily Standard, 1873, Death Notices) source http://www.rootsweb.com/~canbc/newspapers/vic_news_1873d.htm We may assume this was a wife of Jonh Norton the Portuguese men.

John Norton was also in court for the death of William Robinson. There was a book written about this case of an African American killed on the island. The book has been examined in detail. An Indian as convicted for the murder. A convicton widely debated and controversial. Some may seem to be pointing to John Norton as the potential murderer. (source http://chnm.gmu.edu/history/faculty/kelly/blogs/h100mt4/archives/cat_investigations.html)
Estalon Jose Bittancourt
(from fernandocandido)
Bittencourt was probably one of the first 40 settlers that arrived in Salt Springs or he may have arrived shortly after the first wave . The Victoria Gazette, on the 22nd of November 1859 reported: “ We are informed that the number of actual settlers now on Salt Spring is 40, a majority whom are putting up buildings and making other preparations towards permanently establishing themselves as agriculturists upon their claims.” There are sources mentioning the Bittencourt presence on the island as early as 1861.

Charles Khan in the “Story of an Island, puts the arrival of the Portuguese around 1860. “The Vesuvius-Central area was settled mainly by two groups: Blacks mostly from California, and Portuguese. Thirteen Black settlers arrived in 1859, and several others joined them the next year. The Portuguese—John Norton, Delarvo Norton, Estalon Jose Bittencourt, and Manoel Bittencourt—also arrived around 1860. “

Jose Estalon from Salt Spring Islands was one of the first Bittencourt to arrive in Canada (his brother Manuel Antoine may have come with him). He was born in the Azores on the 9 of September 1839. One of his ancestors said he was born in Ponta Delgado in Sao Miguel . Source: http://www.jenforum.org/bettencourt/messages/80.html

Jean Barman in “The Remarkable Adventures of Portuguese Joe Silvey” mentions: Estalon and Manuel Bittancourt came from the Azores via the Australian gold rush of the early1850s. Sometime thereafter they persuaded their fellow Azorean John Norton to join them on Salt Spring Island…”

The Bittencourts seemed that had a serious influence in bringing some Portuguese to the island. Although, Charles Khan, Pretends in his book that John Norton was the one who influenced in settling in the island. (Khan mentions on the advice of another Portuguese, John Norton, he moved to Salt Spring and became a successful entrepreneur).

If we had a doubt who influenced who, we know where E.J settled. “On Salt Spring, the intrepid Portuguese brothers, Manoel Antoine (Antonio?) and Estalon Jose Bittencourt, held prosperous sections in the vicinity of Vesuvius Bay.” Source Salt Spring Saga

Later on he may have acquired more land. We know that the Bittencourt family settled on the land of an Afro-American called William Robinson from New-Jersey who was murdered in 1868. We can assume that they took possession of the land after that year. We have to remember that they were already living in the island way before the murder we may assume they may just have expanded their land assets from their previous holdings. The land of both parties were near each other close to Vesuvius Bay. Source: http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/robinson/robinson.html

Charles Khan mentions that “Vesuvius Bay, in the north end of the Island, was largely dominated by Estalon Jose Bittancourt, a Portuguese born in the Azores in 1845.”

After many years it is hard to separate some facts from legend. Charles Khan writes; “ in some ways Bittencourt was a romantic figure. According to one story, he went to sea at about fifteen by swimming to a sailing ship. Whem he reached Vancouver Island, he was refused shore leave but swam ashore at Royal Roads.”

There is no denying all the influence that Bittencourt in the early development of the Island.

E.J Bittencourt played a major role in transporting people to the area “settlers brought sailing vessels with them, and some, such as E.J Bittancourt, provided transport service for their fellow Islanders. Most people, however, relied on the traditional Salish canoe… source “Story of an Island” It may be possible that E.J came to the island on his own schooner. How he was able to buy a big boat after only a few years in Canada shows his truly amazing entrepreunial spirit.

In the book of Salt Spring Saga we also learned that Bittencourt used his schooner also to transport arms to defend the island. The author mentions the numerous skirmishes between the settlers and the natives. The Bittencourt Schooner played a major role to defend the island from the antagonistic natives. “In 1861 the Bittencourt Schooner made the perilous run to Victoria, from Vesuvius Bay, It will include in the return cargo revolvers, rifles and ammunition.”

He also contributed to the building of the St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church. According to Bea Hamilton author of the book Salt Spring Island there were 4 catholic families in the island which seem to be a low number but there is five names who were mentioned as contributors to the building of this beautiful St. Paul’s rock church still standing today on Fulford Harbor, it was built between 1880-1885. “E.J Bittencourt, who had the first store in Vesuvius: John pappenburger, first mail carrier from Beaver Point: John King: Dick Purser and Michael Gyves Sr., of Burgogne Valley.”

He also had a stone quarry. Khan talks on his book about the Caldwell brothers working on the sandstone quarry of Estalon Bittancourt in Vesuvius. He also mentions about the quarry of Bittencourt which opened in 1886. He said the “sandstone going into the Esquimalt graving dock, the seawall of Victoria’s inner harbour, and the San Francisco mint. “ Bittencourt split his sandstone from the bedrock with wedges , placed it on six-wheeled carts, and winched it down a ramp onto scows. In 1913 the quarry still employed twenty-five East Indians…”

In the 1891 census E.J Bittencourt was listed as the only General Store of the island.

According to Khan the store opened in 1873 on the site of the today’s Vesuvius Inn parking lot. Thirteen years later he added a post office. He also notes, “During his life on the island, Bittancourt operated sandstone quarries, farmed, mined coal, and built several fine houses. In 1878, Father Gustave Donckele from Saanich Mission said the first mass on Salt Spring in a private chapel on the second floor of Bittancourt’s house. About ten years later, Bittancourt built a chapel in a separate building, which he called the “Ark.” This building was still standing in 1998. His zeal for his religion seems characteristic of the people from the Azores.

He was married to Catherine in 1901 who was born in Ontario. He was a dry good merchant. He died in Vesuvius Bay on May 1 1917. He had many sons and daughters. They were: Lawrence, Francis, Frederick, George, Rosalia, Elizebeth, Agnes, Laureta, Source and more detailed info: http://www.rootsweb.com/~canbc/1901vic_cen/divh1/divh1p01.htm (Victoria Census 1901)

The author Eric A. Roberts talks about the giants of Salt Springs and he mentions the special contribution to the settling of the island by the Portuguese pioneers: “… it is easy to do less than justice to the many groups of which the pioneer community was composed. One such group deserving of special mention were the Portuguese brothers Manoel Antoine and Estalon Jose Bittencourt and Joao and Del’Arvo or Delarvo Norton. In View of the contribution they made to the progress of the island by hard work, personal industry, initiative and enterprise, a brief reference to the Portugal they left may not be out of place.” The author goes on to explain the poor economic and political state of Portugal left behind by the pioneers.

The author goes on and he said: “The Bittancourts and the Nortons made excellent settlers. In the initial phases, the Bittancourt schooner was the one link between Salt Spring and Victoria. The will and the resolution of the two families never weakened during the dark times of the Indian troubles and they won esteem and respect of the community, which their successors have retained most worthily.” Source Salt Spring Saga

In the back of the book cover the author also says: the Portuguese, the Kanakas (Hawaians) and the rich, warm story of the coloured people from strife-torn U.S.A, who carried the torch of learning on the island when times were perilious,”

According to Khan “ Until the thirties , only about 4 families lived in Vesuvius village. Some of Estalon Bittencourt’s children stayed in the Bittencourt homes near today’s Vesuvius Ferry terminal site. In 1918, Arthur and Nancy Inglis bought ten acres, put up cottages and tents, and took up tourists.”

One map drawn by a teacher in 1912 shows 4 houses owned by the Bittencourts three are listed as A. R. Bittencourt. One can ask himself if any of the Bittencourt kids had houses on the Island besides his nephew Abraham. There is also a Museum called the Bittencourt Museum on the island. I assume it is related to the same family.




Abraham Reid Bittencourt
(from fernandocandido)

He was the nephew of Estalon . He also lived in Salt Springs but he was a second generation Portuguese he was born in Vancouver Island. His father was Emanuel (Manuel Antoine Bittencourt).

The following information was from the book of Charles Khan, “Salt Spring the Story of an Island”. Khan said Abraham Reid Bittancourt was running a store in Ganges Hill since 1900. There is a picture of his store circa 1907 on page 146 .It was a beautiful house. Bittancourt sold his store in 1910 to G.J. Mouat and Company held by Jane Mouat and her son Gilbert James.

On page 148 there is a picture of the boat of Abraham. His boat according to the author was called the Victor. He had also a boat called Winamac. It was used to chase rumrunners but he also used it probably also for fishing and carrying animals back in forth to the market.

On page 157 there is a map of the island and the emplacement of the settler’s houses. A teacher drew this map and we can see three houses belonging to Abraham Reid all near Ganges Harbor. We do not know if his father owned any of them because his name is not mentioned. It is also possible that some members of his family were staying in his houses and one of those buildings was probably a store. On the map there was 148 houses. Water was supplied to his buildings by a pipeline, which took water from Ganges Hill from a spring.

He was serious land owner that may have made somewhat wealthy for those days. He was also one of the first one owning his own car. He had the distinction to be according to Khan to have received the first speeding ticket in 1913 a fine of $15.00.

Reid Bittencourt was also a talented house builder. He may have build his own property because he did not lack skills. He build one house that according to the author was the largest of the time, a twelve room mansion.

On page 210 of the same book we see Abraham with his son Lyndell cutting logs from a very large tree with a fancy machine called the “Wee MacGregor”. The picture was taken in 1931. He may have bought the machine to cut wood to sell to the homesteaders.
Joseph and Annie Morais

He owned and operated a hotel, restaurant and miners exchange in 1861 in Victoria. Cape Verdean? Madeira?
DOB 1827
Census 1891 - Married to Annie(Born in Capetown) 2 children John and Louis
Occupation – Servent
Morais, Annie
Listed as Head
October 17, 1866, South Africa, George son DOB Jan 31 1881, Louis son DOB Feb 13 1886, Annie daughter July 31 1882.


Joe Perry
(from fernandocandido)

Perry, also a sailor, was a large and powerful black man from the Azores who was known in Irvine's Landing as a kind and gentle person. Gonsalves and Dames, with Perry as an employee, expanded Wests' supply post to include a hotel and saloon while Gonsalves continued to fish his seine boat, the Hermosa , with Perry as a deckhand.
JOE FLORES
(from fernandocandido)

Joseph Bettencourt.  He was born in Flores Azores and he later changed his name to Jos Flores. He had a twin brother called Charlie. He arrived in Canada when he was 16 years old. On November 30, 1886 he married Marguerite Kwitkwitlinak in Kamloops, BC. They had the following children: Jimmy, Johnnie, Joe, Manuel, Maria, Bill, Frank, Kathern (spelling?) Louis. Source: http://genforum.genealogy.com/bettencourt/messages/97.html

He settled in the Fraser Valley. http://genforum.genealogy.com/bettencourt/messages/77.html

Early Portuguese Immigrants in British Columbia


http://www.fernandocandido.com/portcanada/bcportuguese/bcportuguese.html

Abraham Reid Bittancourt
Emmanuel Bittancourt
Estalon Bittancourt
Joe Fernandez
Joe Flores
Joe Goncalves
Joe Lewis
Joseph MoraisDelarvo Norton 
John Norton
Joe Perry
Joe Silvey
Peter Smith

Wednesday, August 24, 2011


Quebec Pioneers
(adapted from Lusitania.ca, by Manuel Azevedo)

Esther Brandeau-Canada’s first Jewess?*

Despite a French prohibition against non-Catholics from settling in its colonies, Portuguese names appear in New France (Quebec) in the early 1700’s; Joseph da Silva of Montreal, a creditor of the government (referred to as “the so-called Portuguese”), Maranda from Bayone (1711) and Jacob Coste (1744), and not to forget Canada's first letter carrier, Pedro da Silva** (1673), born in the heart of the Great Judiaria of Lisbon. 
However, it is Esther Brandeau who arrived in New France in 1738 that was the first Jewess to immigrate to Canada. Except she was not a youthful twenty-year-old Esther who arrived aboard the ship, the St. Michel, but rather a young man named Jacques la Fangue, her alias. Esther arrived wearing boys clothes!

Brandeau was arrested and lacking an appropriate jail, was detained at the hospital. On September 15, 1738, she appeared before the Marine Commission of Quebec and declared her name to be Esther Brandeau, daughter of David Brandeau (Brandao?), a Jew of St. Esprit diocese, a suburb of Bayonne near Bordeaux in south west France, long known as a haven for “Portuguese merchants”, a euphemism for New Christians  fleeing the Inquisition in Portugal.

The amalgamation of the Spanish and Portuguese crown in 1580 to 1640 facilitated the exodus of Portuguese Jews to France. The Governor of New France, a cousin of the King, reported to the Minister of Colonies that many attempts were made to persuade Esther to abandon her religion, but she refused. Intendant Hocquart reported, “Her conduct has not been wholly bad but she is so frivolous that at different times she has been both obedient and obstinate with regard to the instruction the priests desired to give her. I have no other alternative than to send her back.”

And so after spending about a year in Canada, Esther was deported back to France on the express orders of the King who also paid for her passage


Portuguese Place names in Canada



(Silva Bay, Gabriola Island, BC)

Portuguese Place Names in Canada
by Manuel Azevedo

Portuguese people have been coming to Canada for centuries. In 2003 Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp celebrating the 300th anniversary of Canada’s first letter carrier, Pedro da Silva, likely a Portuguese New Christian from Lisbon via France to New France.  It is well known that Portuguese sailors fished of the Grand Banks since the 15th century. Portugal Cove in Newfoundland is ostensibly the place where the Portuguese explorers, the Corte Real brothers buried two men. Some historians assert that they visited Canada in the early 1400’s, before Cartier and some even go so far as to say that the very name Canada is derived from the Portuguese “Canada”, (a narrow trail) which divided the land in the upper St. Lawrence between the Portuguese and New France. Apart from Portuguese Cove in Nova Scotia, this writer is unaware of any other Portuguese place names on the east coast.
The bulk of present day Portuguese Canadians derive from post 1950’s immigration.  However, as Professor Jean Barman’s book, The Remarkable Adventures of Portuguese Joe Silvey (Harbour Publishing, 2004), shows, there was a small community of Portuguese pioneers in British Columbia before Confederation. This group of virtually unknown early pioneers were mostly former whalers who deserted the ships of the Pacific whaling fleet for the California gold rush of 1849 and the British Columbia gold rush of 1858. They generally married Aboriginal women. They left small footprints but big shoes in the history of British Columbia.
    There are few Portuguese derived geographical names on the west coast. There are none named after the most famous of those pioneers, Portuguese Joe Silvey who married Khaltinaht, Chief Kiapilano’s granddaughter. A contemporary of Gassy Jack, he built the first non-aboriginal house in Stanley Park, ran a saloon in Gastown and in 1868 attempted to lease 20 acres at Brockton Point. He died on Reid Island where he raised a second family of 10 children after the death of his first wife.
    Several pioneers have left their mark on the geography of British Columbia. Silva bay on Gabriola Island is named after John Silva who came to B.C. in 1859. In 1863 he operated a fruit and vegetable store at 27 John Street in Victoria. In 1873 he and his wife, Louisa, daughter of a Cowichan Indian chief, purchased 237 acres on Maine Island. He started BC’s first apple orchard there. The couple had ten children but when two of their children drowned in Plumper Pass, they moved to Gabriola Island. Three of their children served in the First World War, one was killed and one badly injured. On Gabriola, the family donated land for the Catholic Church and a public school. John died in 1929. Although some family members claim his real name was Jacques Almeida, born in Lisbon, the 1881 census states the Azores as his birthplace.
    Enos Lake and Enos Creek in Nannose Bay are named after the first European settler there, John Enos (Joao Ignacio), a native of the island of Santa Maria in the Azores. He settled there in 1862 after seeking his fortune in the gold rush. He almost drowned at Yale in 1859, when his raft overturned. In 1890 he sold his farm and returned to the Azores, the only one of the pioneers to do so. However, he returned two years later after being rejected by his childhood sweetheart. He retired in 1894 to a ward in St Joseph’s Hospital in Victoria but did not die until 1921 at the age of 87. He rode his bicycle around Victoria and played the guitar for the nuns of St. Ann’s who looked after him.
    Saltspring Island has two roads named after early Portuguese pioneers, Bittancourt and Norton Roads. The Bittancourt brothers, Estalon and Manuel Antonio probably arrived on the island in 1859 from the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. Although Manuel vanished after 1881, Estalon went on to become a prosperous and prominent resident with large real estate holdings and powerful friends in the Legislature. He built the Vesuvius Bay Lodge and operated a store and post office there. The Hotel burned down in 1975. He also mined coal and operated extensive quarries which supplied stone to the Parliament buildings, Victoria churches, the  inner harbour and dry docks in Victoria and Esquimalt and the San Francisco mint. Today, Bittancourt House, the Saltspring museum is named after this industrious pioneer.
    The Norton brothers, John and Delarvo left the island of Flores, Azores at a very young age and were ‘adopted” by a whaling captain named Norton from Boston Massachussets. They settled in Saltspring in 1858 or 1859. In 1903 John Norton established the Northwest Creamery which became the leading dairy in Victoria until its sale in the 1990s.
   Many  Portuguese pioneers contributed to the building of British Columbia. Joe Gonsalves who arrived in Gastown in 1874 to look after his uncle Gregory Fernandes, the first storekeeper in Vancouver, eventually settled at Pender Harbour on the sunshine coast where  Madeira Park was named after him.  He lived many years in Stanley Park with other Portuguese pioneers like Peter Smith (aka Portuguese Pete), one of the founders of the whaling industry in B.C. Their children married and died in Stanley Park, yet there is no geographical recognition of their presence at Brockton Point where some of them are buried.  They and others, including First Nations citizens were evicted by the City of Vancouver in a court case that went all the way to Supreme Court of Canada which rendered an unjust decision against the pioneer settlers and First Nations.
    The earliest Portuguese presence in B.C. dates to the fur trading wars of the Spanish and English which almost led to war between Spain and England, but diplomacy prevailed. Captain Vancouver’s sailed to BC in 1792 to implement the terms of  a peace treaty between England and Spain.  In 1787 and 1788 Captain John Meares, a retired British naval officer turned fur trade merchant brought a ship named the Iphigenia Nubian from the Portuguese colony of Macao in China where his partner, Joao Carvalho had outfitted the ship with a Portuguese flag and Portuguese co-captain, Francisco Viana, a native of Lisbon. The ships sailing papers were in Portuguese. The Spanish captured the ship at Nootka but later released it. She was still on the coast in 1792, for Captain Vancouver makes reference that a Portuguese ship was in distress in the Queen Charlotte Islands.
   On the east coast of Canada, one of the earliest interpreters between the Aboriginals and French was Mathieu Da Costa of whom very little is known. He was a linguist and interpreter who acted as Samuel Champlain’s interpreter aboard the ship “Jonas” which sailed from La Rochelle in France to Acadia in 1606. He may have been born in the Azores. He had darker skin than his European employers and this has led to speculation that he may have been the offspring of a Portuguese father and an African mother-after all, there is a saying in Portuguese that God created the white person and the black person, but the Portuguese created the mulato.



Portugal Cove, Newfoundland



Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia

(painting, Lady in waiting, Snyder Gallery-http://www.snyder-gallery.com/taxonomy/term/80/all

NAMES/DOCUMENTS-a work in progress
(Thanks to Chris Hanna, researcher and Roy Silva)


Name
Documents/Events
 Joe Lewis 


1858, Victoria,  arrested and released on charges of killing a policeman. He is the first person in BC history to be referred to as Portuguese Joe-likely cape Verdean.
Bittancourt
Charles(1) and Theresa(2)





Bittancourt, Emmanuel(3)

Bittencourt, Richard(4) and others

Caro, Antonio(5)

Caros, Marianos
1881 Census
33, Fisherman
wife Sarah 28, Born BC, NA Indian
District 190-B- Johnston St. Ward, Page 6 entry 10
Castro, Joseph
60 yrs old, Died May 31 1876, Packer

Castro, Maria
Married Louis Vigelius in 1874-7-4 Victoria
Castro, Louis
Marries Edith Murphy 1885-1-12 Kin Colith
Castro, Joseph
Marries Dorothy Wetsue 1913-12-25 Vancouver
DaCosta, George N(6)
57, died 1918 in Vancouver
DeCosta, Leuis Charles(7)
Married to Kerr, Florence Maud(8), 1905 Esquimalt.
DeCosta, Margaret(9)
Married Wellington, Edward(10), in 1874 in Victoria
Demacedo, Joachim Anthony(11)
Died 81 yrs old, 1922 Victoria




Delgardo, Francis Joaquim(12)
Lived on Cook street


Fernandez, Geregory(13)



Ferreira, Ursula Agnus(14)
Married to Hurst, John(15), 1915
Fernandes, Manuel V(16)

Fernandes, Marselino(17)
Aged 1 died 1911 in Vancouver
Fernandez, Antonio(18)
Died, 64, in 1912 in Vancouver
Fernandez, Georgiana(19)
Female, 60, died in 1949 in Nanaimo
Antoni, Fernando(20)
Male, 78, died in 1914 in Victoria
Freis, Emil(21)
Male, 75, died in 1975 in Vancouver


Flores, Joseph(22)
Married in 1886 in Kamloops
Flores, Pedro(23)
49, 1901, North Vancouver
Flores, Josie(24)
Male, 60, 1876, Ashcroft
Flores, Benson(25)
81, 1929, Vnacouver
Floris, Frank(26)
0, 1901, Bowen Island
Floris, Pedro(27)
0, 1901, Bowen Island
Flores, Peter(28)
1901, Marriage, Vancouver
Flores, Emma(29)
Married Fraser, Willie(30), 1921 Kamloops
Frir, ?(31)
Born in Lisbon, Portugal.

Gonzalves(32) (Madeira)
Gregory Fernandez nephew came to Gastown in 1874- 15 yes old.




Gonzalves, Aurelio(33)
35, 1916, Vancouver
Gonsalves, Joseph(34)

Gonsalves, Joseph(35)
Death Certificate – DOB January 9 1857, Death June 3, 1939 (82) – In Province 65 yrs -
Noted Hotel Keeper, General Merchant.
Baby Goncalves(36)
DOB June 22, 1911 Brocton Point
Died 3 days old
Gonsalves, Albert Joseph(37)
Death January 17, 1981in Kamloops.
DOB March 28, 1915 Father – Alfred Gonsalves(38)
Gonsalves, Matilda(39)
DOB May 9, 1984 at Brocton Point
Father – DOB 1854 Madeira
Goncalves, Armenia(40)
DOB Dec 17, 1888
Brocton Point
Father – 31 years old
Gonsalves, Matilda(41)
Marriage to Theodore Dames(42) – A Russian Age 30 Matilda was 20 – At Brocton Point Lighthouse Married on Sept 1 1904.
Charos, -(43)
37, 1891 Census
Speculators Agent?
Born in US – Father from Portugal
Married to Rebecca(44), 27 (Born BC) (Father Born Germany – Mother US),
Children Clara(45), 7( Born US), Judith(46) (Born US)
Sopey, Joseph(47)
1891 Census Victoria
Male 34 from Portugal -
Catholic - Masons Labourer
Limburg, (48)
DOB Dec 17 1860

Moraes, Joseph(49)
DOB 1827
Census 1891 - Married to Annie(Born in Capetown) 2 children John and Louis
Occupation – Servent
Morais, Annie
Listed as Head
October 17, 1866, South Africa, George son DOB Jan 31 1881, Louis son DOB Feb 13 1886, Annie daughter July 31 1882.
Moraes, Baby
Male – 1908 Victoria
1947 Victoria
Morais, Edward
Age 0 died Feb 18, 1879, Victoria
Moraes, George, John Edward, Joseph H, Louis
1901 – 1908 Various Marriages
Moraes, Anna Belmore, Isabelle Jane, Isabelle, Theresa Maria
Roughly 1908 Marriage
1893 – Theresa Moraes m Charles F Bittancourt
Montero, Joseph Juan?
1883 married to Anne Hall 1828 – 1886
Children – Georgette(1849) Joseph, Joseph Manuel (1855 – 1928), Seraphina (1862 – 1930), Francisco S. (1864 – 1921), Edward R. (1869 – 1917), Anna Elizabeth, Jose (1874 –1928)

Joseph, African, a cook, in from Cape Verde.
1881 Census Jet is noted as a servant.
Wife show as American and Methodist
Georgette(US) Anna (US) Edward (US) Frank (BC) Seraphina (BC) Origin Shown as African

Religion for Joseph Catholic/Methodist?
Wife Anna is Metodist
Manuella, J
Male! Portugal 1891 Census? 28 years old.
Norton, John
1829 – 1911
(First Wife Louise m 1866)
(2nd Wife Annie Robinson (1856 –1903) m. 1873 Saltspring)
Born in Flores 1829 Died in Saltspring 1911
Came to BC in 1859
4 children w/ Lousie
(Emmanuel, John, William and Elizabeth)
9 Children w/ Annie( Dorothy Marian(1879), Walter Newton(1880), Albert A. (1882), Marian Elsie E. (1886),
Robert P. (1889), Maude Beatrice (1891), Pearl V. (1893), Grace (1896), Joseph (1899)

Norton, Everett Harold
1898 – 1942
Son of John Norton Jr.
John Joseph Norton and Margaret Kiarney.
John Joseph born in Saltspring 1872
Norton, John
Marriage Certificate indicates John Norton born in the Azores.
Marriage to Annie Robinson Dec 8 1873, Her Religion indicated as Wesleyan Methodist.
Norton, John
Death Certificate, 88, indicates he was a farmer from Flores island. Informant Walter Norton, Son of the Deceased, October 1 1911, Roman Catholic
Norton and Bittancourt

Bittancourt is noted as storekeeper
Norton,
1891 Census , 67 yrs old, Wife Anneal, Born in W.S.
Shows fathers place of birth as Portugal and Mother, Ireland
Religion - ?
Norton, John Joseph
Marriage Certificate of Marriage Margaret Lena Kairney of San Juan Island. Both Catholic
Joseph and Kate Quadros


1891 Census, Joseph Quadra, 50, male, from Portugal, Catholic, Trader.
Wife, Kate, 25

Naturalization of Joseph Quadra, March 1 1881, In BC at least since 1878.




Backing page 1881 Quadros
Silva, John
(1843?) 1837 – 1929
married to Louisa (1856 – 1926)
10 Children born btwn 1873 and 1895 (John(b 1873), Isabelle(b 1874), Mary(b 1876), Joseph(1879-1954), William(1894-1907), Luis, Frank, John(d 1965), Louis(1895-1946), James Edward(1898-1971)
Silvey, Domingo
Listed as Domingo Silver, married to Josephine Crocker
Silver, John
Married Melanie Hoigwaat, 1881, Victoria
Silver, Joseph
Married Minnie Beul, 1904 Cooper Island
Jesse and Rose Silver?
Buried 1917 1916 respectively in Vancouver.
Clara Minnie Silvey
Married to Greig Anthony Bell, 1921, Ladysmith 1-19
Dora Silvey
Married Harry Perry, 1909, Vancouver 10-23
Elizabeth Silvey
Married James Walker, 1883, July 15 Nanaimo
Margaritte Silvey
Married Howard Henry Hill, 1914 Vancouver 4-3
Silva, Alexander
Dies 1963 Alert Bay

Alexis Evyonne Silva, Baby, 1949, 8-29, North Vancouver
Alfred Theodore Silva, 81, 1966, 1-7 Matsqui
Antone Silva, 24, 1890, 1-8 Vancouver
Baby Silva, 0, 1925 10-24 Nanaimo
Baby Silva, 0, 1923, 1-6 N Van
Elizabeth Silvey, 76, 1964 12-10 N Van
Francis Silva, baby, 1922 4-15 Nanaimo
Manny Silva, 20, 1922, 3-14
Mary Jane Silva, 24, 1925 10-28 Nanaimo
Silver, Rose Isabella
Marries John Turti, 1909, 6-16 Victoria
Silvey, Agnus, Claris, Doris, Florence, Margaret, Elisabeth, Margarite
Elisabeth Sylvia m. James Walker, 1883 Nanaimo, Interesting name listed as Sylvia.

John Silva m. Emily Ritter, 1916, 7-15 N. Van.
Silvey, John Manuel, Manuel Joseph
Joseph Silvy m. Lucy Kwatlemut, 1872, 9-20, New West.
Silva
Index of Deaths

William Silva
23, died 1907, 12-1, Gabriola Island
Silva, Manuel
48, 1954, 6-9 N Van
Silva, Louis
50, 1946, 6-27, Port Alberni
Silva, Margarite Pearl
DOB 1896 1-19, New West
Silva, John
Death Certificate, Died, July 10, 1929, Widower, DOB 1837, In the province of Nears
Silva, John
1881 Census
Family, Wife Indian
Children Portuguese
Portuguese Fisherman from Azores, Catholic, 35 years old.
Silva, John
Naturalization of John Silva, of Main Island, June 1876.
Silva, John
Signed own name with accent on the a, clear concise penmanship,
For residence, June 27, 1876. Signed twice on document both times with accent on a.
Silva, John
1901 Census
Indicates year of immigration to Canada as 1866, and naturalization as 1876
Indicating Farmer, John Portuguese, Maryanne as Indian,
Silva, John
1891 Census
Farmer
Silva, Louisa
Death Certificate, Gabriola Island, June 3, 1926, indicating racial origin as Indian, Married, DOB Unknown
Silva, Joseph
Marriage Certificate to Mamie Blank, Daughter of William Blank and Mary Hower, Father indicated as Fisherman, Church of England, Married in St. Pauls Church in Nanaimo, Anglican.
Clergyman signs as A. Silva White
Silver, John
DOB 1850 Madeira, 1901 Census, Born January 13 1850, year immigrated to Canada 1873, Naturalized 1878, Roman Catholic, General Contractor, Wife is Mary, DOB June 27, 1852, 48, Racial Origin English
Children (John F jr.(DOB April 25, 1886, BC), Rose(DOB 1887, BC), Henry(August 4 1890, BC)

D’Silvea, William
DOB March 3 1867, Naturalized 1896, Portuguese, Presbyterian.
Wife Ellen(DOB May 30, 1862, 48, New Brunswick, Irish)
Children (Birtham(June 15 1880, England, 1896 Portuguese), Mabe(October 21, 1886, US), William (January 16 1890, US), Charles S(October 18, 1891, US)
Silvey, Joseph
Application May 15? 1868 to buy 20 acres, in Burrard Inlet near Brocton Point, which request was denied, signed by the Honourable of Lands and Parks.
Silvy, Joseph
Lease request of 1868 in Stanley Park

Rejection dated May 19, 1868, Request made May 15

Map 2 of George Turner, 1874, Main Island, Large Plot noted under his name off Ellich Bay
Silvy, Joseph
38, of Piepika Island, Portugal, Described as Single white male, Fisherman, Parents John Silvy and Francesca Hyacintha. Married to Lucy Kwatleematth, 15, Married in Shishels, September 20, 1872, Westminster Registry #3

Death Certificate district of Nanaimo, Number 2282, January 171902 Reed Island 66 yrs old. Was actually 72? Roman Catholic

Silvey, Manuel
Marriage to Charlotte L(S?)evardra, he 23, she 22, Married May 4, 1907, She’s from N Van, widow, Parents Names Manuel Andrews and Indian Lucy, Witnesses were Henry and Rosaline Silvey at Reed Island.
Preist Father W Lemmens, Married at Chapel of Industrial School on Cooper Island

Death Certificate of Josephine Anderson Shows Father as Joseph Sylva, Resides Simoon Sound, Buried at Mountain view, March 29, 1930

Marriage of Laura Walker, 19, July 15, 1883, Cooper Island, Her name is Elizabeth Sylvia, His James Walker of Cooper Island, married at Thetes? Island, He is Farmer.
Elizabeth Walker
Death Certificate, DOB July 9 1872. Pager Mathews estimated 1868?
Father noted as Joseph Silvey of Portugal


Silva, Joseph
1881 Census, Male, 50, Portugal, Fisherman, married to Mary, 26, BC
Children (Elizabeth 18, Jakarta 14, Dominic 11, Joseph 7, Estalan 5, Indicated as Portuguese

1891 Census page 7, District #3 Vancouver, Showing Joseph Silvey 50 and Lucy 30, Domingo 18, Mary 16, Joseph 13, John 9, Antonio 7, Emmanuel 5, and Andrew S 5/12.
Occupation Fisherman & Farmer

1901 Census Reid Island, Vancouver Electoral District ?
Domingo Silvey wife Josephine, Children Joseph 3, John 2

Entry 30
Joseph Sylvia, head, Born in 1820, 80, Fisherman, Wife Mary, 75 BC Indian, Children Manuel 17, March 1 1887, Henry 1890 BC, Rosalia 1892, Mary 1825, Antonia 1884
Souza, John
Death March 28, 1905, Nanaimo Hospital, 92, Fisherman, Indicating born in Italy, Catholic
Souza, John
Medical Death Certificate, Died of Senility, March 28, 1905
Suza, John
Census 1891, Vancouver District #3, 78 yrs old, Portuguese, Catholic, Fisherman, appears to be living alone
Silver, John
1891 Census, District Number 4 City of Victoria, Page 13, $0 yrs Old, Male Born in Portugal, Married to Mary, 35, born in Nova Scotia.
Children (John 5, Rosa 3, Henry 8/12) all born in BC. Roman Catholic
Smith, Peter
DOB June 15, 1833
Came to BC in 1860, Married aboriginal born about 1856, Established Relationship in 1874 she was 18, she was not recorded with him at the time of the 1901 census.
But he indicates he was still married, 1901 living James and Mary Dunbar in Sam King, Chinese Domestic Servant. Died Sept 4 1905, In Hospital in Vancouver, 74, Fisherman, Daughter Maria Smith died Sept 3, 1905 Brocton point in Stanley Park, she was 18 months old.
Smith, Peter
Death Certificate, indicating Fisherman from Portugal, Cancer of the Pyloris for 6 months, Bill Wilde was physician, Religion Methodist, Registrar Abbot
Smith, Maria
Death Certificate, Brocton Point, registered Sept 12, 1905, Religion Methodist, Registrar Dabbtt, Illness PHTHISIS, O Wilde, Shows here as being 17 yrs old, illness for 1.5 years

1901 Census District #1 Burrard, Enumeration April 29 1901.
Shows Peter Smith, Male, born 1833, daughter Maria 1888, Reta 1891, Maria and Reta are indicated as Siwaash, Live in Sam King.
Roomer 54, born 1867, Chinese, Came to Canada 1890, In bracket page 212, Joseph Gonsalves.
Enoch, Robert
31, Born 1870 Portugal, 1893 1897 Portuguese Roman Catholic, Fisherman, Head
Smith, Peter
1891 Census, Azores Island country of birth,, 58, Female Kenick?, 35.
Peter 16, Thoma 14, John 6, ? 2.
Peter, Fisherman, Catholic, Place of Birth of Mother, Azores Island.
Gonsalves, Joseph
1891 Census (p. 31)
35 years old

1881 Census, Victoria #190, E Esquimalt
Page 1, Henry Edwood? 67, Portugal, Trader, Christian Sect
Elvira Contente?, Fayal, Baptist
Children (Ann 20, Eliza 16, George 14, James 12) All born in BC
Searle, Sophia
1901 Census
Born 17? 1821, 80 yrs old, Born in Portugal, migrated 1848, female, mothers? No occupation stated, Living with Australian Family