Archive Record
Metadata
Item |
Accrual |
Title |
Stevenson family fonds |
Catalog Number |
1999.056.001 |
Fonds |
AM 0613 |
Date |
1863 to 1915 |
Scope & Content |
Accession consists of 5 diaries / journals of Robert and Caroline Stevenson and their eldest daughter Clarinda. Of these diaries, there is : 1 leather bound diary of Robert Stevenson for the year 1863, 1 leather board diary of Caroline Elizabeth Williams, for the year 1874, 1 King Fisher notebook - diary of Clarinda Elizabeth Stevenson, 1 red leather bound diary of Caroline Elizabeth (Williams) Stevenson, 1915, and 1 maroon leather bound folio, containing a few brief notes of Edson Williams (brother of Caroline). Accession also includes 1 file folder of assorted textual and graphic records, consisting of handwritten letters of recognition, 1 portrait of Robert Stevenson, 1 portrait of Clarinda Steveston, and a certificate of membership for Robert Stevenson in the Grand Lodge of Quebec Masons. |
Admin/Biographical History |
Robert Stevenson was born on July 28, 1838 in Williamstown, Glengarry County, Ontario, the 8th of 12 children born to Samuel and Susannah (Linden) Stevenson. Samuel and Susannah were both born and raised in Ireland, as were their first four children. The family moved from Ireland to Williamstown sometime prior to the summer of 1832, were they resumed the family occupation of farming. Robert grew up in the family home, taking his education at the convent and grammar schools of Vankleek Hill, in Prescott County, Ontario. At the age of 21, Robert and his father Samuel left Ontario and travelled via boat to Panama, crossing the Isthmus by foot, and continuing by boat to San Francisco. Robert and his father arrived in British Columbia in May of 1859. Around that time Samuel returned to Ontario, but Robert stayed on to join the Collins expedition bound for gold prospecting and mining on the Similkameen River in 1860. In November of 1861 Robert returned from the gold fields of the Cariboo to over-winter in Victoria. While in Victoria he met his former neighbours from Ontario John and Sophia Cameron, and the two men formed a business partnership. Robert Stevenson returned to the Cariboo on the 23rd of April, 1862, and was joined in July by Cameron. On August 22, 1862, the two men staked a mineral claim which was named the Cameron Mine. On December 2, 1862 Stevenson and his work crew struck gold, bringing out $150 from 35 gallons of gravel. This mine went on to become the richest claim in the Cariboo, yielding some $1 million dollars worth of gold. Between 1861 and 1877 Robert continued to hold interests in various famous claims, including the Cameron, Prince of Wales, Moffat, the Bruce, and many others. During that time he was one of the largest individual mine owners in the Similkameen, with large holdings at Leadville, two groups of claims at the Great Nickel Plate, and extensive interests at Copper Mountain. During this period Robert continued to travel back and forth between the Cariboo region, and Victoria, where he spent his winters. On one of his trips to Victoria he met Caroline Elizabeth Williams, a trained school teacher from Ontario. Caroline Elizabeth Williams was born August 14, 1844 to Richard and Eliza (Shebley) Williams. Caroline was born on a farm four miles from the Loyalist town of Napanee. Caroline attended school in that area, eventually completing her training as a teacher. In 1873 Caroline took her ailing younger brother to California for the sake of his health, eventually reaching Chilliwack in 1874. While in Chilliwack she stayed at the home of Allen C. and Sarah Wells. Caroline became a teacher in the Methodist Chinese mission school in Victoria, where she taught for a couple of years. During her time in Victoria she met and married the famous Cariboo prospector Robert Stevenson. The couple were married on July 26, 1877, in Victoria, B.C. After their marriage the couple purchased 399 acres along what is now Stevenson Road. The couple established a model farming operation. Robert was still heavily involved with mining interests, and was away from home for long periods, leaving the farm under the capable management of Caroline. Robert and Caroline Stevenson had four children : Clarinda, who married John Kerr, John Edson Jack who married Harriet Snider, Roberta Eliza Linden Brownie, who married James Livingstone Watson, and Robert Bryant, who married Margaret Campbell. |
Archival History |
Original family archives of Robert and Caroline Elizabeth (Williams) Stevenson passed down through the family to their son John Edson Jack and Harriett (Snider) Stevenson, eventually coming to their daughter Ina May (Stevenson) and John Tutte. Robert and Caroline Elizabeth (Williams) Stevenson |
Extent of Description |
5 cm of textual and graphic records |