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Peter & Caroline O' Reilly1828 - 1905
18 - 1899
B.C. Lawman and Victoria's Elite
Peter O'Reilly and his wife Caroline would become renowned for their British gentility and the social gatherings held in their home, Point Ellice House. Despite this distinction his life was remarkably similar to thousands of others that immigrated to Canada around the time of the Fraser River Gold Rush.
Peter O'Reilly was born in England in 1828, educated at Trinity College and immigrated to Canada in 1859. Before he was married, he had an illegitimate child with his housekeeper, Gertie Jennie, a native woman of Vancouver Island. Their daughter was Monique O'Reilly, who was raised and educated in both languages and worlds. Peter found her employment as a court interpreter for a time, before she married Martin Castle Junior and moved to Yale.
Caroline Trutch, the sister of Joseph Trutch, moved to Victoria from England. Peter and Caroline met and married in Victoria in 1863. By 1867 they had had their second child, O'Reilly, and had moved into Point Ellice House.
Prior to coming to Canada, Peter had served in the Royal Irish Constabulary; shortly after arriving in Canada he received his first appointment from Governor Douglas. From there he served a number of positions in various localities. "He held the posts of Gold Commissioner, Collector of Revenue, Assistant Commissioner of Lands, Indian Agent, and Coroner." 1
In the Yale and Hope area he was the Justice of Peace and Stipendiary Magistrate for Hope and Yale from 1859 to 1862. During this time he was also the High Sheriff for the Mainland Colony of B.C.; he held this position until 1866.
One thing O'Reilly is well-known for is his hand in the laying out and surveying of more Indian Reserves in BC than anyone else. The only problem was, he did this work in haste and poor judgement, as well as under the influence of his brother-in-law Joseph Trutch, who had a bias against native people. He supervised the layout of the Fraser Canyon reserves in 1870 by his other brother-in-law John Trutch, "that had caused so much native anguish and which Sproat had worked so hard to adjust." 2
Peter O'Reilly took over as Indian Reserve Commissioner when Gilbert Sproat resigned in 1880, and held this position until 1898. In those 18 years he laid out over 600 Indian reserves, but refused to consult with the people he was affecting, and left out many houses and cultivated properties. The repercussions of that policy can still be felt to this day.
Peter also served as the County Court Judge for the Yale District from 1867 to 1870, and he resumed this position for Yale and New Westminster in 1872-1881. He retired as a judge in 1881.
At home in the O'Reilly house things progressed smoothly with their social status recognized and their children merging into respectable society within Victoria. One way that their wealth was conveyed was through the use of photography, being an expensive endeavour at the time. "By exploiting their wealth in such a fashion Caroline O'Reilly would have seen photography [as] an opportunity to secure their position with the upper classes." 3
The O'Reilly's suffered sadness as well as joy and success in Canada; one tragedy was the death of their eldest daughter in 1876. In her daughters Caroline tried, and generally succeeded in raising them in such a fashion that they became "an unwavering symbol of good order on a solid foundation." 4
The O'Reilly's appear to have had a very close relationship with their children. A suitor after their daughter Kathleen, who was the eldest surviving daughter, wrote to Peter of his daughter's love of her life and all it embodied at Point Ellice. For "how could she be expected to look with anything but shudder at a prospect so uncertain, and give up her home and her horse, and all the other things, and leave her parents, who are so devoted to her, & she to them, in complete uncertainty as to when or how she would see them again." 5
Kathleen, prior to the death of her mother, enjoyed a very active social life, she was presented to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Cadogen at Dublin Castle. Caroline died in 1899. Her death required "Kathleen to take on the responsibility of caring for her father at Point Ellice, which resulted in fewer trips overseas. In 1905, Peter dies, leaving Kathleen to tend the home for her brother and his wife." 6
As for the daughter, Kathleen, she never forgot the love and devotion of her parents. She remained at Point Ellice house until her death in 1945, belonging to a "minority, unmarried, a woman of independence having rejected a proposal for marriage." 7
Peter and Caroline O'Reilly's existence is intricately linked to not only Victoria but to the mainland of B.C. as well. Their presence within B.C. helped take her one step further to gradually come into her own: British with a unique flair of colonialism!
1- "Peter O'Reilly." Gold Rush Town of Yale - People -Internet: http://www.tbc.gov.bc.ca/culture/schoolnet/yale/people/oreilly.htm.
2-Cole Harris, "Making Native Space" p 169
3- Walton, Liberty. "How Shall I Frame Myself?" BC Historical News, Vol 35 # 4, Fall 2002 Pg.27
4- Walton, Liberty. Pg 29
5- Henry Stanhope letter to Peter O'Reilly. From Walton, Liberty, pg 34.
6- Walton, Liberty. Pg 36
7- Walton, Liberty. Pg 36
15
William Teague1900
Yale B.C.
16
William Teague1835 - 1916
Prospector, Government Agent, Landowner
William Teague had a long and distinguished career in Yale. He began as prospector, did a stint as a policeman in Hope and Yale, and later was appointed Provincial Government Agent of Revenue for Yale. Some of his descendants still reside near Yale and in outlying towns and cities.
Teague was born in St. Day, Cornwall, to Josiah Teague and Michel Cundy-Pentreath. 1 He was a cousin to John Teague of Victoria, the architect of the City Hall and mayor there in 1894-95. 2 He was educated in English public school until he was 12, and at age 19 he traveled to California in 1855 via the isthmus of Panama. The journey took him three months. He mined for three years at Chip's Flat and Monte Christo, near Downieville in Sierra County, until he joined the rush to the Fraser River gold fields in 1858.
He booked passage on the steamer Oregon, 3 which sailed in a convoy with three other ships, the Cortez, the Orizba, and the Golden Age. The Oregon, with 1500 passengers, took four and a half days to reach Victoria, and was the first to land there.
As he had booked his passage two weeks in advance, he had to sleep on the floor at the What Cheer House, one of San Francisco's better hotels, while he waited to sail.
Being on the first ship to sail from San Francisco to Victoria, he had a jump start on all of the later prospectors. He made his way up to Hope, and staked a claim on Cornish Bar, where he mined for gold until 1864. 4
While he was there, he was took a job as a police constable in Hope, along with his good friend Isaac Kipp. 5 He later became the Police Chief of Hope and Yale. After this he decided there was more money to be made prospecting, and walked the 360 miles to the Cariboo, where he staked claims and worked them until 1873, when he was appointed Provincial Government Agent of Revenue for Yale.
Teague held the post for 12 years, until 1885, and his grandson Walter Chrane still has some of his ledgers and record books.
William Teague also owned land, including parcels in West Yale6 above Hill's Bar, and on up the mountain from the Teague property, which later became a very useful gravel pit after the CPR tracks washed out in the 1920's. The land in West Yale was bought in partnership with Isaac Kipp 7 and Jonathan Reese. 8 Reese and his partner John Lawrence had butcher shops in Hope and Yale; and Teague, Kipp and Reese built a cattle yard on their land, both to supply the butcher shops and to transport cattle to the Cariboo, though they had not foreseen how difficult this last enterprise would be. 9
William also built the cable car that crossed the Fraser Canyon at Siwash Creek a few miles above Yale. This aerial ferry was in use until the 1950's, when it was finally dismantled and the cables cut.
Teague bought the house built by Joseph Trutch, and this house remained in the family until 1991, when it was sold to a family of river rafters, who now operate it as a bed & breakfast, appropriately called The Teague House. The house still retains some of the original furniture and all of its integrity as the original building, with 10-foot high ceilings and tongue & groove walls.
William Teague traveled back to Cornwall in 1871 to marry Alice Michell, who was also from his hometown of St. Day. William and Alice had seven children, five of whom survived childhood. 10
The two children who passed on were Charlotte, 9, and Cundy, 3, both in 1881, succumbing to scarlet fever. The five remaining daughters were Alice Michell, Nannie Prout, Minnie Pentreath, Elizabeth Cundy, and Gladys. The girls attended All Hallows Canadian School as day pupils, a convenient situation, as the school occupied the property adjoining the Teague house.
All Hallows was a famous school for girls, known as Yale's Little University. It began as a mission school for aboriginal girls (All Hallows Indian School), and expanded to include the daughters of white pioneers (All Hallows Canadian School).
A little known fact is that the Teague's also boarded 20 of the Canadian School girls before their living annex was built. Four bedrooms housed five girls in each one, so it must have been very crowded during those times.
William Teague died of heart failure in 1916 while visiting his daughter Minnie in Seattle, and his wife Alice followed him in 1929.
William and Alice's youngest daughter Gladys married Raymond Lindell Chrane in Lillooet, in 1918. They had five children, three who are still living. Unfortunately, Raymond was a philanderer, and after getting a young woman pregnant, was run out of town upon threats to his life. Walter Chrane still remembers those events with horror.
After this terrible time, Gladys Chrane was left to fend for her five children, and they endured extremely hard times, especially through the Great Depression and some very harsh winters.
On a brighter note, Gladys was an avid photographer, and documented some unique times and places in Yale, such as picnicking at Texas Lake, swimming parties at Yale Creek's Second Falls, and socializing with some of the people who came to build the Canadian National Railway (CNR). As a young lady she dated one of the CNR surveyors, and took many valuable photos in those years.
Gladys was also a collector of native artifacts, many of which she found herself. She had a unique collection of aboriginal objects, including grinding stones, tools, baskets, and arrowheads. She even had an arrowhead that came out of Ned Stout's arm after his running battle during the Fraser Canyon War.
In the 1960's and 70's she opened up the Teague house as a casual museum. Sadly, many of the artifacts were distributed amongst the family after her death in 1981, and can only be viewed by special permission of the family members who own them. Gladys did her best to carry on the tradition of her father in recording historical facts, and passed on her knowledge to her children, especially to her son Walter, who, to this day, is known as an authority on Yale history.
Walter, who is this author's stepfather, continues to keep many of the family mementos, especially photographs, artifacts and furniture. The lovely oak table and sideboard still grace his home; furniture that traveled around Cape Horn before the Panama Canal was built.
1- July 27th, 1835
2- John Teague was a Cornishman who came to Victoria in 1862 as an engineer for the Royal Navy at Esquimalt. After designing some of the navy buildings he went into private practice, designing a wide variety of buildings, from hospitals and churches to business blocks and private homes. http://scholefieldhouse.com/BBPages/SubPages/House.htm From: "Teague houses feature distinctive crescent window" by Geoffrey Castle. Published in the Victoria Times-Colonist, Sat. August 17, 1985
3- The SS Oregon sailed from San Francisco on July 5, 1858.
4- April, 1864
5- Personal communication, Walter Chrane
6- Across the river from the town of Yale
7- Isaac Kipp (1839-1921), later of Chilliwack
8- Jonathan Reece (1831-1904), later of Chilliwack
9- Personal communication, Walter Chrane
10- Charlotte, 1872-1881; Cundy, 1878-1881; Alice Michell (m. William Walter Bailey, 1910), 1878-1963; Nannie Prout (m. Fred Mackenrot, 1902); Minnie Pentreath (m. Arnott Woodruffe, 1904; m. Wm. Nunan, 1910); Elizabeth Cundy (m. Johnson); and Gladys (m. Raymond Chrane, 1918)
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Isaac Kipp, William Teague, possibly Jonathan Reece and John Lawrence. Photo taken in Yale, BC1880
Yale B.C.
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Teague Family1897
Yale B.C.
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William Teague1 March 2004
Yale B.C.
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William Teague in his younger days1865
Yale B.C.
21
GovernmentThe presence of the past government agents, gold commissioners, circuit judges, chief constables, and the first Governor of B.C. still permeates the area, a constant reminder of what once was.
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