IN VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA

 

Samuel Oakley

          1896 is the earliest date that Samuel appears in the Vancouver Directory. He and his son Isaac started a furniture business at Main, near Hastings called “Oakley & Son”. Samuel and Isaac kept the business going for a few years. Isaac also continued to work for the CPR and by 1910 he and his brother Samuel opened Oakley Heating & Sheet Metal Company. Samuel Sr. continued with the cabinet making and at the time of his death, he also ran a small tool repair business at 5th and Main. 

         For a family that went through many moves across Canada and the US they were a family that helped and supported each other.  Samuel raised his first wife's brother, Isaac and found him work with the railway.  Samuel also helped to raise the family of his second wife (and first wife's brother), again finding them work with the railway.  Sam's daughter Sarah carried on the tradition by helping to raise her younger siblings after her mother died  in 1880.  Her youngest brother was only a year old when his mother died and descendants of George said Sarah was more like mother to him.

The Province May 26, 1910

           At the age of eighty Samuel was hit by a streetcar and killed after leaving daughter Sarah’s home at 12th & Spruce. He had a habit of standing in the middle of the streetcar tracks to wave down the streetcar with his cane. Being too impatient to wait for grandson Leck to walk him to the train stop had tragic results. Unfortunately, this particular evening the streetcar driver did not see Sam. The details of the accident are graphically recorded in the corners report from the inquest.  Results of the inquest were published in the newspaper:

The Province Oct 2, 1912

 

Vancouver Daily World Oct 3, 1912

The following obituary appeared in the Province October 3, 1912 

 

The Province Oct 5, 1912

 

           Samuel was the glue that held his family together.  By 1920 all the sons had moved away from Vancouver, most settling in the Kamloops area but Samuel Jr. moved back to Michigan.  Sarah stayed in Vancouver, as did sisters Beryl and Blanche.

                This map shows the various moves Samuel made after he arrived in Canada in the summer of 1855.  He first settled in Kingston, Ontario before moving to Cobourg, Ontario; Winnipeg,  Manitoba;  St. Paul's, Minnesota; Virginia and finally Vancouver.  Most of these moves included children, 4 large  paintings plus whatever other treasures he had, these moves would have been significant.  His jobs with various railroads account for his many moves and hopefully these jobs included free or reduced freight charges!.  

 

 

IN ST. PAUL, MICHIGAN & NORFOLK, VIRGINA

 

Now the family dynamics become even more complex.  By Sept of 1887, Samuel had married his sister-in-law and his children’s aunt Elizabeth (White) Nobes. She ran a boarding house in Lakeside, Michigan raising 7 or 8 children on her own.  Elizabeth was the widow of James Nobes (d. 1874), who was the brother of Samuel's first wife, Mary Ann Nobes.  As a result of Sam & Elizabeth's marriage, Samuel’s children were both first cousins and step siblings to Elizabeth’s children.  The story of her husband, James Nobes death can be found in an earlier blog post about the Nobes family.

 Samuel Oakley & Elizabeth Nobes m. 2 Sept 1887

   Lakeside Muskegan, Michigan

   Samuel aged 55 residing in St. Paul  occupation mechanic

  Elizabeth Nobes aged 45 was residing in Lakeside birthplace

  W.J. Aldrich (Minister of the Gospel) Witnesses: David Miner & Mrs. Miner

 Did Samuel Oakley make a trip to Muskegon to check on his sister-in-law and they then made the decision to marry?  Certainly blending two young families made sense.  Samuel's job with the railway was portable. With Samuel's two oldest daughters already married Sam had a number of young children to raise. 

Again I turned to city directories to figure out where and when Sam was in St. Paul.  From 1887 - 1889 a number of James Nobes sons plus brother-in-law, Isaac Nobes were in St.Paul and working for the St. P M&M Railway.  By 1888 the combined Oakley/Nobes family was living at 271 Williams.   

Tragedy struck again and Elizabeth passed away by the end of 1889. Her will was written a few days before her death and at that time she was living in St. Paul.

Her obituary reads, "after a short illness died in St. Paul, Minn. on Nov 4th, aged 48".   She was buried in Muskegon beside her first husband, her headstone simply reads “MOTHER 1841-1889”.  Cemetery records for the Evergreen Cemetery list her as Elizabeth Nobes.  

Weekly British Whig Nov 28, 1889

  

The Kingston Daily News Nov 23, 1889

What happened to the blended family after Elizabeth's death? Again I looked to the St. Paul directories.  They show that Samuel took some of the Nobes children under his wing.  As a foreman in railway carpentry shops he was able to provide employment for his step-sons/nephews.  By 1888 Frank and Vernon Nobes were living with Samuel Oakley, as well as his brother-in-law – Isaac H. Nobes (whom he helped raise).  James & Elizabeth Nobes youngest child – Nellie, (who would have been about 15 at the time of her mothers death) - by 1893 was also living with Samuel in St. Paul.  

The last mention of Samuel in the St. Paul's directory is in 1893 when he was foreman of the CGW Railway shops.  Sam made a trip to Vancouver to visit his daughter Sarah and her young family.  By 1895 Samuel and son Isaac are listed in the Vancouver directory.  In 1896 their business "Oakley & Son" furniture dealers is listed and Sam is still in the directory in 1899.

By 1898, son Samuel Norman Oakley was the foreman of the SAL Shops[1] in Western Branch, Virginia and his cousin/step-brother William Nobes was chief engineer with another railway in Western Branch, Virginia.  Not quite sure the order that Sam's moves took.  He appears in the 1901 Canadian Census in Cobourg, Ontario and by 1908 he is again listed in the Vancouver directory as a cabinet maker.

          Somewhere in that time period Samuel visited his is sons Robert and Samuel and his nephew William in Virginia. Descendants of Sam's son, George Lester Oakley mentioned that George grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and St. Paul, Minnesota, after his mother died.  

        By the time of the US 1900 census, we find Samuel with his third wife, Anne Maria Young (this was her second marriage ( her married name was Mero).  Family lore has it that Annie was the widowed aunt of one of Samuel’s daughter-in-laws.      

         After a visit to Vancouver to see his children, Samuel decided to return to Vancouver permanently. Annie refused to move to Vancouver and the two separated.  In the 1910 US census she is living in Washington, DC and refers to herself as a widow (which was not true).  Her obit in 1931 lists her last name as Oakley.

         Samuel Norman and Robert are listed in the Virginia directory through 1901.  By 1907 Samuel Norman and family are in Vancouver, daughter Bernice was born there in 1909.  By the 1921 Census, Robert and wife were living with brother George and his young family.

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[1] The Seaboard Air Line Railroad was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900 until July 1, 1967.  In the days before air travel, air line was a common term for the shortest distance between two points: a straight line drawn through the air, ignoring natural obstacles. Hence, a number of 19th century railroads used air line in their titles to suggest that their routes were shorter than those of competing roads

IN WINNIPEG, MANITOBA AND THE CPR CARPENTRY SHOP

 

 By 1883 Samuel had moved his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba where he was employed by the CPR as foreman of their carpentry shops.  A job he held, according to the local directories, until 1888.  In 1885 Sarah married John Lewis Powell and in 1889 they relocated to Vancouver.  Young (George) Lester, a favourite of Sarah’s (a year old when his mother died, Sarah as the oldest, helped raise him.) would have been 10 when the Powell’s left for Vancouver.

    While working on my Oakley line I located some online directories to try and narrow down the time frame the family was living in Winnipeg.  As I tend to do when looking up one family, I look up all my family names that were in the same area.  I discovered that my mother's great grandfather Samuel was the foreman at the CPR Carpentry shop and her Oakley great uncles were working for him, alongside my fathers Caswell great uncles.  It's a small world!

1883       Carswell                Joseph                CPR

                Carswell               Robert                carpenter

                Carwell                 John                   carpenter

                Oakley                  Samuel               foreman CPR shops

1884       Caswell                  John J                 CPR carpentry shop

                Donnan                 Hugh                   fireman CPR

                Oakley                   Isaac                   CPR carpentry shop

                Oakley                   Robert                CPR carpentry shop

                Oakley                   Samuel               foreman CPR shops

  What follows is a series of newspaper clippings I have found online - articles regarding Sam's employment with the CPR. 

April 10, 1884    Governor Grahame, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Mr. Smith, manager of the HB Co. store, Mr. Sweeny, manager of the Bank of Montreal, Capt. Macdowall, of Prince Albert, and Capt. Gautier, extra ADC to his Honor, the Lieut. Governor, were shown through one of the new CPR sleepers yesterday by Mr. Oakley, superintendent of the car shops, and Mr. LB McClintock, superintendent of the CPR Pullman service.  They expressed themselves delighted, and thought they were the finest coaches of the kind that they had ever seen.

 

 CPR Workmen Busy at the Shops, and Glad of it--22 Jan 1887   

 Considering the tune of your work at the CPR is humming.  There is plenty of repairing and rebuilding on hand in demand the time of our half a thousand employees busily engaged there.  Obliging Mr. Stronach, who is acting as master mechanic until Mr. Reid’s return from England, told the writer that the shop hands, including mechanics and others, were very busily engaged at present, and though this was the season for limitations of working hours to eight hours per day some of the men in certain departments were furnished with ten and eleven hours of employment daily.  Mr. Oakley recently received instructions from headquarters to box fifty flat cars, and of course this means big work for the carpenters and painters.  During 1886 there were one hundred and fifty flat cars boxed and made ready for the carriage of perishable goods.  While the road was under construction a very large number of flats were a necessity, but, as will be seen above, two hundred have been converted into box cars in the Winnipeg shops since the completion of the line west.  As there are one hundred and four engines in constant use on the division between here and Donald, the blacksmiths boiler hands and mechanics are from time to time dong their parts of the repairing, and very often rebuilding.  Of this number of engines, seventy seven burn coal, and twenty seven use wood.  It was observed that the repairing and entire rebuilding of rolling stock, from the elegantly appointed sleepers to plain unpretentious flats was being carried on in all departments.  “Baker heaters” are now being placed in all coaches sent in for repairs or reconstruction; steam pipes along the sides of cars, furnishing heat, and in case of accident the danger of fire is greatly reduced.

21 Feb 1887 “Samuel Oakley, General Car Foreman for the CPR at Winnipeg for the last four and a half years, has resigned his position, to take effect at once, and will leave on Tuesday for St. Paul, having accepted the position of general car foreman of the St. Paul Minnesota and Manitoba Railway under his old chief, Mr. Reed, master mechanic.  Mr. Oakley is an experienced car builder having been for nearly 30 years with the Grand Trunk Railway, and previous to accepting the position he is now resigning was general foreman for Mr. James Croasan, of Cobourg.  He is one of the most popular officers of the CPR, and his departure will occasion much regret.”

25 Feb 1887 Mr. Oakley

Receives an Address and Presentation Last Evening at the our led in the library reading room last evening and presented Mr. Samuel Oakley, the late general foreman at that department, who will leave Saturday to join Mr. Reed in St. Paul, with an address and presentation – a ponderous gold watch and chain.  Mr. Slightome occupied the chair, and Mr. Alex Gable read the following address:-

The employees of the car departments connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway desire to inform you that they have learned with sincere regret of your resignation of the position of General Car Foreman, which you have occupied during the past four and a half years.  We take this opportunity of placing on record our high sense of appreciation of the many variable qualities which have endeared you to us.  In the performance of your varied duties, your conduct has been marked by the spirit of generous fairness and uniform courtesy and unswerving integrity, and the loss of these estimable qualifications will be keenly felt by all.  We trust that good health and prosperity may accompany you in your future career, and that your opportunities for usefulness may be long continued.

In conclusion we beg your acceptance of the accompanying token of our esteem, which we hope may assist in reminding you of the old associates at this station.

The address was signed by Messers W. J. Brown, Russel Rielly, Alexander Gamble, W. Slightome and J. Nobes on behalf of the employees.

Mr. Oakley was taken by surprise, but made and appropriate reply, after which several gentlemen employed in the shops testified to the good qualities of Mr. Oakley.  Several songs were sung by Messers. Rielly, Gamble and others, and a pleasant evening closed with “Auld Lang Syne.”

Reading this last newspaper clipping the name "Nobes" jumped out at me - this being Sam's first wife Mary Ann's maiden name.  I suspect this is Mary Ann's brother Isaac Henry Nobes.  Although I am not sure when their mother died, I believe it was about 1865 which would make Isaac about 15.  I think Sam & Mary Ann took him in as he lived in Cobourg; and if the above should be I Nobes, then he was in Winnipeg with the widowed Sam and his young family.  In the 1920 census of Minnesota, Isaac stated that he emigrated to the USA in 1887.  This of course being the year Sam moved his family to Minnesota to marry his deceased wife's sister-in-law.