Alfred McNeil

Alfred hínuu díi kya'áang.
(My name is Alfred)

as told by Lisa Donaldson

This is the history or life story of my Great Great Grandfather, Alfred McNeill. It began a long time ago and really must begin with the history of his father and mother to really be able to share what pioneers my family were in BC.

Alfred McNeill’s father was born in Boston New England in 1801. He was born William Henry McNeill or “the Captain” as he was referred to later on in his life. Captain McNeill was a master mariner at the young age of twenty and arrived on the BC Coast in 1831. Captain McNeill went to work for the Hudson's Bay Company. Originally being an independent trader, he was one of competition for the local company. Instead of competition the Hudson's Bay Company sought him out and in 1831 he began his career with them. However, we must recognize that there are records that show he actually started exploring the coast of BC as early as 1824.

In 1810, a woman only known by her Christian name Mathilda was just coming into this world. From what I am told she was the daughter of a Kaigani Haida Chief and a woman well respected in her own right. Mathilda was born of the Wolf Mother bear-Raven clan. Mathilda’s father was a high ranking Haida Chief and her mother possibly being from the Nass River area. Little is known about her life growing up, but in 1830 she met and married Captain William Henry McNeill.

The union of these people was one of economic idea and one of a true companionship we only hear about these days. The two were married for Twenty years. Mathilda gave birth to a total of 12 children of which 10 lived to adulthood. In 1850, she passed on to the spirit world giving birth to her twin daughters, Rebecca and Harriett McNeill or “the twins.” In a statement made by McNeill after the death of Mathilda he said, she was a loyal and devoted mother and wife”. As well as twin daughters, Captain McNeill and Mathilda had three sons, William Jr. Alfred and Henry. They also had five other daughters, of which four are known, Mathilda, Helen, Fanny and Lucy McNeill.

The journey of learning of my family roots came about 10 years ago while visiting my Auntie one day. I noticed that she was writing a number of names and I asked what it was all about. She began telling me about our history but that it was incomplete with many holes and questions unanswered. Marilyn and I spent the next many years searching for our history and developing and filling in all the blanks.

About a year and a half ago my Auntie passed on, without all the questions being answered. Her one wish was that we find out where we belong and honor those that have since passed. And so began my journey and the discovery of my Great Great Grandfather and his amazing history!

Alfred’s life began in 1838 in Fort Rupert BC. From what I am told, Mathilda and the Captain were often on trading exhibitions up and down the BC Coast. He spent most of his early life on the McNeill Family property in Oak Bay BC. When it came time, he was off to Fort Rupert to meet his brothers and to begin his education. Of course this is remarkable in that during this time in our history, racism was prevalent and often as they were referred to “half Breeds” were not in the position to gain an education. This was reserved for “whites” or those who could afford it.

None-the-less, he was well educated and he eventually finished with the expectation that he would head on into a career with the Hudson's Bay Company like his father William. From what some tell me, he chose not to do so and moved to the mainland along with his brother Henry. In 1870 Alfred is listed on the Washington 1870 census as a packer for Fort Colville on the Columbia River. There from what I can tell, he met his future wife, Susan Jane George, a keeping woman from the Colville Reservation. As in Mathilda’s case, little was known about Jane. What we can decipher is that she grew up in either the interior of BC or in Colville as back then there were no borders and often places had different names and boundaries.

Jane was born in about 1855, so she was significantly younger than Alfred, which was often the norm back then. Alfred and Jane presumably married about 1870 or so and soon had their first child, a daughter, Susan Jane McNeill (named after her mother) in 1872. When the Fort closed around 1872 or so, Alfred and his family moved back to what was then Priests Valley and soon to become Vernon BC. As Alfred was a packer by trade, at some unknown time he worked and his family lived and worked on the famous BX Ranch in Vernon. Before this time he farmed, raising five children, Susan Jane, Rebecca Fanny, William Alfred Henry, Emily May (my Great Grandmother) and George Herbert Wellington.

In his many years and pioneering times in Vernon, Alfred became connected with affluent men such as EJ Tronson and Price Ellison. Both of these men were of European heritage and had married Native wives. In 1885, with his friendships and influences he and the other two men opened the first school house in Vernon and became the first school trustees of what history tells of a “mixed race” school. In the article Lost Okanagan: In Search of the First Settlers Families it states that there were about 20 scholars (all Half-breeds), all in which spoke better Chinook and Indian than English.

Unfortunately the school house burnt down and another was built at a time not clear. All of Alfred’s children were educated, to what degree is unknown. However, with Alfred’s education I am assuming that it was a significant education given his influence and background.

From then on Alfred has been noted as working for Alexander Vance on the BX Ranch. Alexander Vance was a man from San Fransico, and I can only deduce that Alfred had met him in his time spent in Colville. Unfortunately as Alfred was a “half breed” the history on his many contributions to the history of Vernon is limited. EJ Tronson and Price Ellison are immensely noted and I can assume that with the friendships that these men had, Alfred was a part of whatever pioneering the others did. However, along with his family back in Victoria, they are noted in many books and articles such as "The Five Founding Families of Victoria" by Sylvia Van Kirk and a "Pour of Rain" by _______.

In 1887, while living on the BX Ranch, Jane passed on. The reason or cause is unknown, but she was the fourth person buried in Pioneer Cemetery in Vernon BC. Some of Vernon’s earliest pioneers are buried there. At this point Alfred’s oldest daughter Susan Jane, had married a man named William Smith and Rebecca Fanny had married ------ and Emily May had married James Pickering. The boys William Alfred Henry and George Herbert Wellington stayed with Alfred and there is little history about the boy’s future lives. In 1901, Alfred and George went to live with Susan and William on Blue Nose Mountain farming with his family. He spent some years on Blue Nose and when his senior years were upon him he was a resident of the Kamloops home for old men. Again, a lot of Vernon’s pioneers spent their last years there.

After the old mans home closed, Alfred was on in age and he was transferred down to New Westminster’s “Mental Hospital”. Unfortunately at this time the term “mental hospital” had a much different meaning than it does today. Alfred became old and developed dementia. With no other place for him to be taken care of, I am assuming, this became the only option.

Alfred lived there for a number of years. He lived a long life, passing in 1921 of Hypostatic Pneumonia and outliving his wife by 34 years. Alfred never re-married, it seems to me that his marriage to Jane was one of devotion and connectedness. Often in these times it was the norm, especially if you had younger children and were male, to remarry.

Alfred spent his last years without his family around him. It saddens me to think that it took us two generations of family to find him and acknowledge his contributions to the development of Vernon and the interior of BC. I am reminded of a quote:

Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit. The man who preserves his self-hood is ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence ... What are the fruits of silence? They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity and reverence. Silence is the cornerstone of character.

~Ohiyesa, Santee Sioux~

In my mind, my Great Great Grandfather is the embodiment of this quote. He spent his life, from what I can tell in silence. Silence of who he was, what he contributed and how important his family was to the development of our beautiful coast! He was a true family man, hard worker and major pioneer in our past history. He came from a long line of strong and patient people and he endured a hard life but did it with dignity and courage.

Now it is our turn, his relations, to honor him and break a silence to put him at rest and to remember the legacy that he leaves us today. He has many Grandchildren and Great grandchildren and Great Great Grandchildren to carry on the legacy that he so rightly passed on from one generation to the next. And so I write this story and say:

Alfred hínuu díi kya'áang.
(My name is Alfred)