Collections - Township of Langley

salishan Place

Collections

salishan Place by the River currently maintains a collection of over 9000 photographs, 2000 archival documents, 9000 objects, 500 works of art, and 300 oral history recordings. This collection, spanning hundreds of years, is a wonderful window on the past and present life of our community.

Stay informed about our news, programs, and events by subscribing to eNews.

Enter a keyword below to search the collection. The search will find all records that contain the entered keywords. For example, if you enter "button", the search will return records that contain "button", "button card ", "button hook", etc. If you enter "buttons", the search will not find images that are described with only "button". If you would like to search for multiple terms, please try our Advanced Search.

Search

Search results - click each item for more information

Object Description

Share

Object Name

Oral History

,

Recording

Object ID

SR-071

Title

Ernest James William Brown oral history interview conducted by Don Waite in 1976.

Extent

1 audio cassette.

Date

1976.

Description

SR-071: Tracks 1 - 2 discuss the Brown family, including William Harvey "Billy" Brown, Ann Elizabeth Medd. The family hotel is discussed. The Taylor family is mentioned.
Tracks 3 - 4 discuss the Houston family, including Alec Houston and James "Jimmy" Houston. Local Indigenous people, including James Houston's wife, Chief Casimir, and a Chinese launderer named only as "Old John" are mentioned.
Tracks 5 - 7 are conversations about Billy Allard, Mrs. Moore, and George Towle's hotel.
Track 8 describes travelling in Hope-Princeton.
Track 9 describes travelling on Vancouver Island.
Track 10 discusses Herb Titmus.
Track 11 briefly mentions Billy Miner.

People/Subject

Allard, William Jason

William Jason (Billy) Allard was born June 15, 1889 to parents Jason and Seraphine Allard. He served during WWI like his older brothers, including Eugene, who died at Ypres in 1917 and had Allard Cresent named after him. Billy joined up in the fall of 1914, enlisting with the 104th battalion and serving at Ypres, Vimy, and the Somme. He was wounded four times during these battles, and at Vimy Ridge he went out into no man's land after a Montreal Crater explosion and pulled out two men to the allied lines. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery at Buckingham Palace, and died November 23, 1962, at the age of 73.

Brown, Ann Elizabeth (nee Medd)

Ann Elizabeth Brown (nee Medd) was born in about 1885. She married William Harvey Brown on May 7, 1902. They had six children: Muirice (Min), Lorne, Russell, Ernest, Milton (Bob) and Pearl. She died in Fort Langley on January 13, 1958, at the age of 73.
Term Source: Roads and Other Place Names in Langley, B.C. pg 45 (Pepin). / HPC Records (HPC-275a/1071)

Brown, Ernest James William

Ernest James William Brown was born on December 3, 1909, to William Harvey Brown and Ann Elizabeth Medd. Nickname "Ernie". He married Dorothy Lillian Brown (nee Houston) by whom he had two children, Marilyn and Barry. He later married Ada Brown (nee Harper) and had two children by her, Anne and Jane. One of the owners of the Fort Langley (boat). Ernie died October 27, 1990.

Term Source: Roads and Other Place Names in Langley, B.C. pg 45 (Pepin). / HPC Records (HPC-275a/1071), The Lang

Brown, Harvey

Racer at Langley Speedway.

Brown, William Harvey (Billy)

NOTE : THERE IS ANOTHER WILLIAM H. BROWN IN LANGLEY PRAIRIE, NO RELATION. Carpenter and builder William Harvey Brown, known as Billy, was born on June 15, 1875 in Parham, Ontario.
He came to BC around 1895. He married Ann Elizabeth Medd, known as Annie, on May 7, 1902. Their children were Muirice (Min), Lorne, Russel, Ernest, Milton (Bob) and Pearl. Billy was hired, between about 1908-10, to build Jacob Haldi's house, later the Bedford House Restaurant (ca. 1979 - 2014). When the Canadian Northern Railway line was coming through Fort Langley in about 1910, they offered the old Towle Commercial Hotel house, now vacant, to whoever could move it out of the way of the railway. Billy, as a builder, had the tools needed to move it across the street and slighty north, to where "Billy Brown Road" now is, off of Glover Road. Billy moved to another house on Francis Street in the years before he died. His family lived in the old house at Billy Brown Road until the 1930s, when it was torn down, rebuilt, and lived in by son Ernie Brown and his family. Billy died in Vancouver on March 8, 1937.

Chinese-Canadians

Houston, Alexander

Alexander Houston was born in 1869. He married Mary Ann Hough, formerly Mrs. Charles Devine, around 1910. They had 4 children: Margaret Emma, Florence Mary, Dorothy Lillian, and James Thomas.

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company was formed in 1670. For much of its history it was focused on trading with the many Indigenous peoples of North America for furs. The company was central to the colonization of Canada and early European / Indigenous relationships. The Hudson's Bay network ran across Canada and it held claim over large portions of the land, often acting as the local non-Indigenous authority. The company lives on today as "The Bay" a department store.

Term Source: HPC Record (HPC-297/1063)

Marr, Benjamin Butler, Dr., 1882-1939

Benjamin Butler Marr was born on August 10, 1882. He graduated from Tuft's Medical School in Boston in 1907 and came to Vancouver. He set up his medical practice in 1910 and became Langley's first doctor. In 1913, he married Isabel Drew McIntosh (1895-1936). In 1914, Marr enlisted in the cavalry; he was transferred to the medical corps in Britain in 1916. Benjamin died on October 14, 1939.

Dr. Marr was also the Chairman of the Fort Preservation Committee during the late 1920s when the Fort was undergoing revitalization.

Native Peoples of North America

Link to Search Results

salishan Place

Stay informed about our news, programs, and events by subscribing to eNews.

Copyright 2025 Township of Langley | Privacy & freedom of information | Terms of use

Opens in a new window.

Argus v4.4.2.32 - Langley Centennial Museum