Nellie Shortreed Hall, nee Deans, oral history interview conducted by Paul Stortz on 29 Aug. 1988.

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Object Description

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Object Name

Oral History

,

Recording

Object ID

SR-131

Title

Nellie Shortreed Hall, nee Deans, oral history interview conducted by Paul Stortz on 29 Aug. 1988.

Extent

1 audio cassette.

Date

29 Aug. 1988.

Description

SR-131: Tracks 1 - 3 discuss the Deans family, including Charles Deans and his wife, a Shortreed. Sunday School, chores, and school are described. Hall's training to become a nurse is discussed. Hall's husband Neville Hall and their family are discussed.
Track 4 discusses the Depression and its impact on Vancouver.
Track 5 discusses World War II, and rations.
Track 6 describes the 1948 flood.
Track 7 names Swedish and Czechoslovakian families in Aldergrove, and discusses Japanese farmers and internment. Chinese and Native people are mentioned.
Track 8 discusses Hall's nursing career.
Track 9 continues to discuss the Deans family, including Albert Deans.
Track 10 mentions municipal politics in Aldergrove.
Track 11 mentions religion and Sunday School.
Tracks 12 - 13 discuss changes in transportation over time and advances such as telephones and electricity. The growth of Langley is discussed.
Tracks 14 - 15 conclude the interview.

People/Subject

Chinese-Canadians

Deans, Albert

Albert Deans was born February 19, 1848, in Ontario. As a boy he went to school in Wellington County, and subsequently worked as a surveyor. In 1868 Albert moved to Pennsylvania for a number of years, where he managed a lumber company. Here he married Elizabeth McColm in February 1873. Later that year they had a son, Charles Burnett, and in 1877, after they'd moved back to Ontario, a daughter named Nelly followed. Elizabeth died in Ontario, and Albert moved with his children and father-in-law, Charles McColm, to B.C. Shortly before 1891 Albert settled on homesteaded land just 1.25 miles south of the Otter post office. In the 1891 census, Albert is listed as a Presbyterian and a farmer. He used his skills as a surveyor to subdivide his land and by 1892 he was show in the Directory to be living in both Langley and Otter. On January 9, 1893, Albert married Barbara McKay. After 1897 they moved to Old Yale Road in Murrayville and were known for hosting church picnics on their property, which acquired the name "Deans' Grove;" this is now part of Newlands Golf Course. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Albert built up a multifaceted career in Langley. He was an Assessor in 1892, and also served as a School Trustee, Councillor and the first magistrate of Langley, a post he held for 26 years. It appears that Albert and Barbara Deans moved to the U.S.A., apparently California, and they died and were buried there.
Term Source: HPC Record (HPC-362/1131), 1901 Census, and "The Place Between"

Deans, Charles

Charles Barnett was born in Pennsylvania in 1873, the son of Albert and Elizabeth Deans (nee McColm). The family moved back to Ontario when he was quite young, and after the death of his mother, Charles moved with his father, sister, and maternal grandfather to B.C. Charles became a clerk at Robert Shortreed's General Store in 1895 (according to the directory). He married local school teacher Christina Shortreed on November 30, 1898. Charles became a general merchant, and by 1906 he had stores in Ashcroft, Clinton, and New Westminster. The couple had six children: Albert (1900), Margaret (1901), Robert (1905), Stanley (1906), Stuart (1908) and Nell (1911). In New Westminster on April 9, 1913, Charles, age 39, died of tuberculosis.

Fraser River Flood of 1948

Refers to the large, Fraser River flood of 1948. Similar subject term, "floods and flooding" refers more generally to floods and flooding.

Hall, Nellie Shortreed (nee Deans)

Nellie Shortreed Deans was born in New Westminster on June 23, 1911, to Charles Barnet and Christina Deans, nee Shortreed. Nell was raised in Aldergrove until she graduated, when she went into nursing training in Vancouver. She worked as a nurse for 3 years, until she married Neville Hall (September 27, 1913-February 4, 1997). They lived in Vancouver for 12 years until he was transferred to Chilliwack and the family moved to Aldergrove in 1951. Nell died on February 15, 1998.

Japanese Canadians

Japanese Internment

Native Peoples of North America

World War, 1939-1945

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