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Archival description
Murder--British Columbia
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Inquisitions/inquests

  • GR-1328
  • Series
  • 1859-1871

The series consists of copies of inquisitions and inquests selected and microfilmed from the Colonial Correspondence (GR-1372).
It includes inquisitions (inquests) conducted during the colonial period, including the following:

Vancouver Island (Colony), 1859 - 18 Nov 1866 numbered VI 1859/1 to VI 1866/4
British Columbia (Colony), 1859 - 18 Nov 1866 numbered BC 1859/1 to BC 1866
British Columbia (United Colony), 19 Nov 1866 - 20 Jul 1871 numbered BC 1866/2 to BC 1871/3

The files usually contain an inquisition form, which indicates the name of the deceased, the coroner's name, where the inquest was held, the date, names of the members of the coroner's jury and the cause of death.

These inquests were filed in the Colonial Correspondence under the name of the coroner or person conducting them. The indexing was incomplete and only those inquests held by persons whose last name begins with letters from A-M have been listed. It is not known whether this section of listings is complete.

To locate unindexed colonial inquests, researchers should look under the heading "deaths" in the index to miscellaneous correspondence inwards to the British Columbia Colonial Secretary, 1858-1863 (C/AB/30.lKl/l). Letters to which the index refers will be found in the Colonial Correspondence under the name of the author of the letter. Researchers should also look in indexes under the names of the Gold Commissioners, since they acted as coroners. Indexes of correspondence inward to the Colonial Secretary should be checked generally for references to deaths.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

Governor's approvals of death sentence

This files includes death sentences for two Indigenous individuals accused of murder. The first document is dated 2 November 1860 for Hotch-k. The second is dated 2 December 1862 for Ja'ack, with a duplicate copy stating the execution was carried out on 6 January 1863. Both documents authorize High Sheriff Peter O'Reilly to carry out the executions and are approved by James Douglas, Governor of British Columbia.

British Columbia (Colony). Governor

Inquisitions/inquests conducted by coroners

  • GR-1327
  • Series
  • [1862], 1872-1937

This series contains inquisitions and inquests conducted by coroners in British Columbia [1862], 1872-1937. To obtain the inquest number for inquests on reels B02374 to B02445, consult the contemporary indexes and registers. For indexes and registers see GR-0432.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

Coroner's inquiries/inquests

  • GR-0431
  • Series
  • 1865-1937

Inquisitions/inquests conducted by coroners in British Columbia and selected by archives staff for retention in their original formats. Most, if not all, of these Inquests also occur in GR-1327 and GR-1328.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

Conditional pardon

The item is a conditional pardon issued by the Governor General of Canada, Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood in 1872. The pardon is in favour of Sabassa and Thraket, two Indigenous men convicted of piracy and attempted murder near Metlakatla, 1862.

Registers and indexes to coroner's inquiries/inquests

  • GR-0432
  • Series
  • 1874-1937

This series consists of registers and indexes to coroners' inquiries and inquests, 1874-1937. In the registers (1889-1937), names are listed chronologically by year. In the indexes (1879-1937), names are arranged alphabetically by year.

Coroners' inquiries and inquests that are registered and indexed in this accession are held in GR-1327 and GR-1323.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

Transcripts and other material in case of Regina v. Stroebel and Eyerly

  • GR-0606
  • Series
  • 1893

This series consists of records November 1893 New Westminster Supreme Court case Regina v. Stroebel and Eyerly. Records include inquest, information, depositions and transcripts of the trial of Albert Stroebel and Franklin Eyerly for the murder of John Marshall, Upper Sumas, April 1893. The series also includes minutes of evidence from Regina v. Albert Stroebel for the same murder at the Victoria Fall Assizes, December 1893.

British Columbia. Supreme Court (New Westminster)

Reward poster

The item is a reward poster put out by the Superintendent of Provincial Police for information leading to the arrest of Simon Gun-an-noot [sic] and Peter Hi-ma-dan.

Reward poster

The item is a reward poster put out by the BC Provincial Police for the arrest and conviction of William Haney.

Vancouver Coroners’ inquiries

  • GR-1503
  • Series
  • 1938-1965

Series consists of Coroners' inquiries conducted in Vancouver for 1938-1965. The series continues on from GR-1323 (Attorney General correspondence, AG file codes C-49-1 and C-159). Records may also include some Vancouver inquisitions/inquests.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

Attorney General Coroners’ inquiries

  • GR-1504
  • Series
  • 1938-1970, 1972

This series consists of 1938-1970 and 1972 British Columbia coroners' inquiries filed within Attorney General correspondence under AG file code C-81-4. Inquiries are investigations conducted by a single coroner and usually consist of a single form. Not all coroners’ records between 1859 and 1970 have survived or are in the legal custody of the BC Archives. In this series, Vancouver inquiries do not begin until 1966.

Records are arranged alphabetically by community, repeated across several date ranges. Researchers should carefully crosscheck communities against dates when seeking specific records. On reels B04985 to B04987, record pages are consecutively numbered. On reels B04988 to B05026, record pages are consecutively numbered within a community. On reels B05027 to B05084, pages are consecutively numbered within a record.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Attorney-General

The Janet Smith murder case, 1924; Martin Starret interview

SUMMARY: In an interview with Thomas Koch, two anonymous women discuss the unsolved murder of nursemaid Janet Smith in Vancouver in 1924. The murder left many unanswered questions, and these two women give their opinions on the matter and their conclusions about who committed the crime. Both women lived near the F.L. Baker residence in Shaughnessy Heights at the time of the murder.

On side 2 of the same reel is an interview with Martin Starret.

Artie Phair interview

CALL NUMBER: T0360:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-26 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Art H. Phair discusses his background; in that he was born in 1880, details of his father's work, his experience at private school in Victoria, the story of the Golden Cache Mine swindle of 1886-98. He describes the early history of Lillooet from 1856, the gold rush of 1858, Chinese miners around Lillooet in the 1880s, pre-war land boom and economic cycles in Lillooet.

TRACK 2: Phair discusses Indian life prior to European contact, strained White-Indian relations, bad relations between Indians, the Poole murder at Pemberton Meadows, murders and hangings, more on Lillooet Indians, Lillooet as a "melting pot" of many races, and the Chinese in Lillooet after 1884.

CALL NUMBER: T0360:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-07-26 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Phair offers anecdotes about Indians and Chinese people, more about his own childhood experiences at school in Victoria, adventures and "close calls", hunting and prospecting, tobacco growing near Lillooet, the meaning of the word "Lillooet", early farmers between Lillooet and Pavilion, gold panning as a young boy, his family background, the red light district in Lillooet and the flourishing of Lillooet between 1858 and 1864.

TRACK 2: Phair comments more on the Chinese in the area, he describes how his store was a social center, how it was robbed, Indians in the store, and the start of big game hunting in Lillooet after 1884. Phair describes the Pemberton to Lillooet road, his family's relations with Indians, the John Bull murder, old settlements near Lillooet, crossing the Fraser River at Lillooet, how his mother was a musician, uncle was a poet, an incident about a priest who alleged to have beaten an Indian woman, and finally his father's background.

T. Alex Bulman interview

CALL NUMBER: T0665:0001 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-29 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Bullman discusses his father, who came to Canada from England in 1886 and worked on the Cherry Creek ranch; worked for John Hall and then worked with his brother in the Northern Nicola Valley. His father was a cattleman and a horse trader. He shipped horses from the Nicola Valley to Vancouver and sold them there. In 1908, he bought the Willow Ranch from John Peterson, then bought another 20,000 acres and kept expanding. By the time he died in 1935, he controlled over 40,000 acres. Several anecdotes are told about cattle; the railroad; hotels; stage lines; the Willow Ranch; the trip to Merritt; the Brigade trails; trade with Indians; the Hope trail, a man named Cootley; Joe Graves; Dave Lindley. TRACK 2: Mr. Bulman continues discussing saddle horses; gold rush days; cattle drives; the use of horses; how his father got into raising horses at the time of WWI; saddles; the cattle business; donkeys; migrant workers; and cowboys.

CALL NUMBER: T0665:0002 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1964-06-29 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mr. Bulman discusses a gunfight involving Ussher, Palmer, McLeod and McLean. Allan McLean and his gang killed Ussher and made their way out to Trap Lake. He talks about the Woodward family; more on the posse and gunfight; and Bill Miner. [TRACK 2: blank.]

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