Online Exhibit: Vancouver’s Pioneers – African Descent Society BC

VANCOUVER'S STORY:
Early Settlers Since 1859

Vancouver Pioneers

The Founding of Vancouver is interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Vancouver, wasn’t even Vancouver until the late 1800s. Whereas Victoria was already established, the area that is now Vancouver and Greater Vancouver, was inhabited primarily by First Nations, with New Westminster and Fort Langley being the centres of government.

As lumbering became the primary economy of the area, sawmills started popping up in North Vancouver and the Burrard Inlet.

When John “Gassy Jack” Deighton set up his saloon on the beach (what is now Alexander Street) about a 1.5 kilometres away from another sawmill, “Gassy’s Town” settlement began. The area grew quickly in population and as it was also situated on a natural harbour, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which had a major land stake in the area, chose to make this its terminus.

Vancouver Pioneer Families

Not much is known about why or when the original black pioneers arrived or settled in Vancouver – there were few families – but what is known is that those who settled, managed to make a difference in the burgeoning town.

The Sullivan family is one such pioneer family. They lived and worked in Gastown before Vancouver was incorporated and their children were signatories to Vancouver’s incorporation document.

After Vancouver incorporated, the Canadian Pacific Railway continued to extend its rails there and many people continued arriving in their pursuit of gold. During this period, Vancouver saw a dramatic and quick growth and expansion. Blacks began migrating in the early 1900s, making their homes in Strathcona, an east side, working-class neighborhood that was the original home to Vancouver’s Italian community, situated on the southern edge of Chinatown. They were also joined by Black homesteaders from Alberta, who originally came from Oklahoma. However, black settlers in Vancouver couldn’t exactly find work so easily. Where did they look to make a living? At that time, most black (men) were working as CPR sleeping car porters.

The People

Sullivan

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Josephine & Phillip Sullivan

The couple arrived in Vancouver in 1859 from the United States, when it was still known as Granville. They opened a small restaurant and general store in Gastown. Josephine is known for having established the first African Methodist Church, with services being held in the family kitchen. She also became proprietor of the Second Hotel and the organist for St. James Anglican Cathedral. Phillip, a fine pianist, started a musical band that was based at the restaurant.

The Sullivans also established a community hall, known as the “Sullivan’s Hall." It was used for various musical performances, community union meetings and other civic and entertainment purposes. It was even briefly used as a courthouse with the infamous Judge Begbie presiding.

Sullivan Sons

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Sullivan Sons

When the patriarch of the family passed, Josephine went to live with her son Arthur. Her sons, Arthur Willis and Charles Edwin Seals, opened businesses and owned several blocks in the Gastown area. The Sullivan sons were among the first signatories of Vancouver’s incorporation documents. Charles Edwin Seals sadly passed away at the age of 41, drowning in an unfortunate accident.

the Scurry Family

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Hiram & Martha Scurry

It is known that Hiram was born in Virginia, USA, in 1833 and Martha (née French) in 1849. After they met, they established their first home in Sarnia, (then known as Owen Sound) Ontario. They moved on to Winnipeg, before finally settling in Vancouver before it was incorporated. Hiram ran a barbershop in Gastown, which his son took over after his death.
After Hiram passed, Martha Scurry made her 534 Cambie Street residence a boarding house. Before settling into his idyllic cabin on English Bay, Joe Fortes lived there and considered the Scurry family his own.
Barbara Howard, BC Sports Hall of Fame inductee was Martha and Hiram's granddaughter. She passed away at the age of 96 and remembered Joe Fortes fondly.

Elijah

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Elijah Scurry

In the 1890’s, one of Hiram and Martha’s five sons, Elijah “Lige,” was one of the best players on Vancouver’s lacrosse team. Known for being exceptionally fast and aggressive on the field, Lige was so good and the competition so fierce in BC’s three-team lacrosse league that the Victoria and New Westminster teams colluded to implement a “colour bar” that ended his lacrosse career. Lige worked for a while as a barber at his father’s shop and as a tobacconist, then opened the Railway Porters’ Club in 1906. As the occupation of sleeping car porter was one of the few open to black men, Lige saw the need for a place where porters could socialize and rest during stopovers in Vancouver, and black people in town generally needed a social hub to call their own. Unfortunately for Scurry, police raided the club in 1904 on the grounds that black prostitutes were frequent visitors. Police found no evidence, but Scurry was nevertheless convicted of selling liquor without a license.

George Paris

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George Paris

Born in Nova Scotia, Paris was raised in Montreal and was always quite the athlete. He was recruited to train the Montreal Police force on how to fight. After arriving in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s to train Seattle’s baseball team and work at a local athletic club, he finally made the move north and settled in Vancouver.

Once in Vancouver, Paris became known for a few things, but mostly for his athletics: he was BC’s first heavyweight boxing champion, sprinter, referee and accomplished lacrosse player. He was also trainer to the Vancouver Police, boxer Jack Johnson and for the Vancouver Lacrosse Club.

An extremely well-rounded individual, Paris’ talents didn’t stop when it came to music. He was a clog dancer and drummer. With his travels came his introduction to jazz and it seems that he introduced it to Vancouver. Paris was recruited to set up a jazz band for the Patricia Café. He also started up some other bands, listing his career from 1920-1922 as “musician” before resuming his career as an athletic trainer.

John Deas

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John Sullivan Deas

Born in South Carolina in 1838 as a free mulatto, Deas was a tinsmith there and then moved to San Francisco where he continued his trade. He was among the contingent of migrants that went to Victoria, Vancouver Island, upon Governor James Douglas’ invitation. He was married in 1862 to Fanny Harris, with whom he had at least eight children. At first, he was a manufacturing tinsman, then became a hardware dealer in 1866. Although he was able to purchase property, open businesses and exercise his rights as a British subject, he and his family still faced discrimination; it wasn’t exactly overt, but a kind of social exclusion and ridicule that was enough for him and his family to move to Vancouver.

In Vancouver, he made canning tins for Captain Edward Stamp. When Stamp passed, he started canning salmon on his own, leasing a saltery built for Captain James Cooper. In 1871, he pre-empted, or claimed land on the site that is now known as Deas Island and built his cannery, with New Brunswick Scotsman Alexander Loggie.

The Sleeping Car Porters

In the United States, George Pullman invented the sleeper car; with the first one completed in 1864. Also named “Palace Cars,” these sleeper cars offered a new level of traveling luxury, and as such, require a new level of service. Pullman hired African-American freemen, many of whom had been former domestic slaves in the south. As these positions paid well and offered an opportunity to travel, the position was considered prestigious and well-respected. These men needed to be able to do everything from collecting tickets, to fetching sandwiches, mending torn trousers and shining shoes. At that time, it was considered that the demands of versatility, responsibility, and loyalty could best be handled by former domestic slaves. Pullman became the biggest single employer of African Americans in post-Civil War America.

When the Pullman car arrived in Canada, many blacks settled in Strathcona, close to the Canadian Pacific Railway terminus in order to secure jobs. Black men from across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and as far away as Wales and the Dutch East Indies were hired as Sleeping Car Porters for Canadian railway companies. Even in Canada, racist attitudes prevailed despite their level of past achievements, porters tended to be highly educated men, with university degrees in science, medicine or business administration.

With so many people employed as Sleeping Car Porters, there were people who noticed the need for a place where porters could socialize and rest during stopovers in Vancouver, and black people in town generally needed a social hub to call their own. Elijah “Lige” Scurry opened the Railway Porters Club. Unfortunately for Scurry, police raided the club in 1904 on the grounds that black prostitutes were frequent visitors. Police found no evidence, but Scurry was nevertheless convicted of selling liquor without a license. Nevertheless, other clubs did pop up in its stead like the Lincoln Club or the Pullman Porter’s Club.

Although Pullman Porters were generally responsible for the families which they served on each voyage, often getting very little sleep while they stayed attentive to families’ needs, these men did not receive the respect they deserved. For instance, their names were not known and they were all called “George,” after George Pullman or “boy.” The Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Employees wouldn’t allow blacks to join; so it wasn’t until 1917 when the Order of Sleeping Car Porters was established in Winnipeg by porters John Arthur Robinson, J.W. Barber, B.F. Jones and P. White. However, the Canadian Pacific Railway was opposed to unionization and dismissed many porters in the early 1920s for their union activity. Many employees thus had to organize in secret, with the support of their counterparts in the United States.

The Places

Beatty Lane

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Beatty Lane

(The alley between Beatty and Cambie) ran from the Cambie Street Grounds (now the parking lot across from the Beatty Street Drill Hall) and the old Vancouver City Hospital. A small cluster of black people lived/worked there in the early 20th century, several of them played important or interesting roles in local history.

Water Street

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Cordova Street

The Sullivan's son, Arthur built this house at 231 E Cordova Street. Josephine, his mother, lived here as well. First Methodist services being held in the family kitchen, Josephine is known for having established the first church of the African Methodist Church.

Gastown

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Gastown

The area that would come to be known as Gastown was known to local Coast Salish people as a water route between Burrard inlet and False Creek, where Carrall Street is today. On the Burrard inlet was a “grove of beautiful trees” or a Lekleki.

Strathcona

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Strathcona

One of Vancouver’s earliest settlement sites, Strathcona, came about from a collection of shacks and small buildings that surrounded the Hastings Mill Site. Hastings Mill was the first commercial operation on the Burrard Inlet and was essentially a company town: settlers shopped at the Hastings Mill store and their children went to Hastings Mill school. It now makes up part of Vancouver’s downtown

East End

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East End

From its inception, the Strathcona neighbourhood was always a diverse community as many working class families chose to settle in the area due to their proximity to their work. The Hastings Sawmill was originally the focal point of the area, with the Canadian Pacific Railway later being the closest major employer of the area’s residents. This also meant that many different cultures flourished in the area. It wasn't just people of African descent: Chinese, Japanese and Italians also settled and flourished there.

Further Exploration

We have carefully curated the above content to provide a concise, yet informative story. If you would like to learn more, please visit our additional stories and galleries below, as well as our comprehensive resource & bibliography page.

Stories:

Victoria Pioneers since 1858

Galleries:

Vancouver Pioneers since 1859