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John Walter Berry was born on December 18, 1869 in Bruce County, Ontario to parents William Berry and Susanah (Sterne) Berry. In 1890 he married Lydia Bowman of Mannheim, Ontario. They had 7 children: Edith (b. 1891), Edward (b. 1894), William (b. 1900), Harold (b. 1901), Anne (b. 1903), John (b. 1905), and Thomas (b. 1910). John moved his family to Langley in 1897 to help long-time friend David Moss Coulter open a general store. The pair opened two stores, one in Murrayville (managed by Berry) and one in Fort Langley (managed by Coulter). In 1904 John sold his store to Hugh A. MacDonald. During the time he owned the store, John purchased a 135 acre price of land and went on to build a successful dairy farm (Belmont). In 1910 he helped form the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association. John was a prominent Langley citizen. He served as Municipal Clerk in the Township of Langley from 1899-1909, as Chairman of the Langley School Board from 1912-1936, and as MLA for the Delta Riding (which consisted of Delta, Surrey and Langley) from 1928-1932. He also served as an auctioneer and valuator. John died at his home on Old Yale Road after a lengthy illness on September 5, 1943 at the age of 74. He is buried in the Murrayville Cemetery.

See Also: Coulter & Berry Store
Term Source: The Langley Story, pg. 249 (Waite) ; From Prairie to City, p. 85 (Sommer).

David Moss Coulter was born in 1862 in Perth County, Ontario. He went to school where he trained to become a teacher. He taught school in Ontario for 15 years. He married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Burton in Ontario in 1885. The Coulters had six children: William (b.1889), Agatha (b. 1891), Ruby (b. 1893), Enid (b. 1896), Alice (b. 1899), and Bertha (b. 1903). In June of 1897 David went west, intending to go to the Yukon after stopping in Fort Langley to visit friends. His friends sold him their store, and he stayed in Fort Langley. Lizzie Coulter came out in August of that year with her four young children, by rail. David convinced his friend John Walter Berry to move to Fort Langley and help him run the store. The pair operated two stores, one in Fort Langley (managed by Coulter) and one in Murrayville (managed by Berry). Their original Fort Langley store was in the old Hudson's Bay Company Store, north of what is now Mavis Street on the east side of Glover Road. A new location was later built on the south-east corner of Mavis and Glover in about 1900. He sold the store in 1923, and it was destroyed by fire years later. David was a government liquor vendor in 1929, and a member of the Eureka Lodge. The Coulter family was also very involved in St. Andrews Church. David Coulter died in a car accident in 1935 at the age of 73.
See Also: Coulter & Berry Store

Term Source: Sears List of Subject Headings (16th. Ed.)