This portion of the recording pertains to Florence (Hart) Godwin's description of her family's stories of the New Westminster fire. She also mentions B.R. Hill and his three sons, Claude, Frank and Minard Hill.
This portion of the recording pertains to Florence (Hart) Godwin's description of her family's stories of the New Westminster fire. She also mentions B.R. Hill and his three sons, Claude, Frank and Minard Hill.
Date Range
1898-1917
Photo Info
Arthur Morrow, Kingsley Hart, Florence Hart (later Godwin), and Katherine Maude "Kitty" Hill (later Peers) in the woods at the south side of Deer Lake photographed by W.T. Cooksley [1908]. Item no. HV976.139.3
Recording is of a speech given by Florence Hart Godwin at a Burnaby Arts Council meeting held May 28, 1973. Major themes discussed are: pioneer families and early residences in the Burnaby Lake District.
Biographical Notes
Florence Hart was born in 1898 in New Westminster. Florence first saw Burnaby in April of 1905 on a trip made by horse and buggy from the family home in New Westminster where her father worked as a real estate agent. By 1911, he had built a permanent home for his family in Burnaby, building what is now known as the Hart house and is currently owned by the municipality. Frederick John “Fred” Hart married Alice Chapman in Yale BC on August 13, 1895. They had four children together; Kingsley Chapman born May 27, 1897, Florence Elizabeth born October 23, 1898, and ten years later, Edwyna and Jack.
They followed their family nurse, Miss Maude Woodward to Burnaby and purchased thirteen acres of land at Deer Lake to build a summer cottage. Mrs Hill and the children spent the summer months there while Frederick continued working in New Westminster, joining his family on the weekends.
Florence Hart attended Douglas Road School before boarding at Crofton House in Vancouver.
Kingsley Hart had enlisted in the army on March 23, 1915 when he was only seventeen years old. He was killed in action on September 26, 1916.
The Hart family then moved to Kerrisdale, Vancouver. Florence worked at the Carnegie Library. On August 7, 1922 Florence Hart married Harold “Hal” Godwin and moved back to Edmonds in Burnaby where they remained for their entire married lives.
In 1929, Florence and Harold’s daughter, Elizabeth Godwin was born.
Alice (Chapman) Hart died May 24, 1935 at the age of sixty-eight. Frederick John Hart died August 29, 1945 at the age of seventy-seven.
Florence Hart Godwin was named Good Citizen of Burnaby in 1971 and received a life membership to the IODE (Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire) for her long tenure. Both Florence and her husband Harold were awarded life memberships from the VON (Victorian Order of Nurses) for more than half a century of service.
Harold Ward Godwin died December 12, 1962 at the age of sixty-six.
Interview was digitized in 2010 allowing it to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council and the BC History Digitization Program of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia. It was recognized by the Heritage Society of BC with an award in 2012.
Images
Audio Tracks
Track five of speech given by Florence Hart Godwin
Track five of speech given by Florence Hart Godwin
1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm on cardboard 22 x 27.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of a group of farmers loading their crates onto a railway car. Identified (left to right), Bernard R. Hill, Louis Claude Hill, Charles Frederick Sprott, George E. Clayton, and Louis "Edgar" Sprott, who are loading up their strawberries on a street car.
The farmers are lined up in a row,…
1 photograph : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm on cardboard 22 x 27.5 cm
Description Level
Item
Record No.
477-938
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Accession Number
2007-12
Scope and Content
Photograph of a group of farmers loading their crates onto a railway car. Identified (left to right), Bernard R. Hill, Louis Claude Hill, Charles Frederick Sprott, George E. Clayton, and Louis "Edgar" Sprott, who are loading up their strawberries on a street car.
The farmers are lined up in a row, each sitting in their own horse and cart as they bring their strawberries to the station.
1 photograph : b&w albumen print on card ; 20 x 25 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of two streetcars at the Central Park siding of Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Co. Conductors, engineers and riders are posing with the streetcars. The fronts of the streetcars include painted signage reading "12" and "13" and the sides of the streetcars read "WESTMINSTER AND VANCOUVE…
1 photograph : b&w albumen print on card ; 20 x 25 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of two streetcars at the Central Park siding of Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Co. Conductors, engineers and riders are posing with the streetcars. The fronts of the streetcars include painted signage reading "12" and "13" and the sides of the streetcars read "WESTMINSTER AND VANCOUVER TRAMWAY CO. LTD.".
History
Photographers Richard H. Trueman and Norman Caple operated out of Vancouver between 1891 and 1894. The photographers worked between Winnipeg and the west coast of Canada specializing in mountain and railway views, ranch scenes and Indigenous peoples.
In 1890, two companies started building electric rail; the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Co., which undertook the ambitious project of building the first real interurban line from New Westminster to Vancouver, and the Westminster Street Railway. By April 20, 1891, both companies merged to form the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company. Streetcar service began in June 1891, travelling on twelve miles of track between New Westminster and eastern Vancouver and running through Burnaby. The line was taken over by the B.C. Electric Railway Company in 1897 until the line was closed in October 1953.
Inscription on recto of photograph reads: "1138_Central Parkk Sideing of Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Co. _Trueman and Caple. Photo. Vancouver B.C."
Inscription in gold ink on board reads: "Trueman & Caple_Vancouver, B.C."
1 photograph : sepia ; 5.5 x 8 cm on page 21.5 x 28 cm (pasted in album)
Scope and Content
Photograph of a man in a hat and a young child riding in a horse-drawn carriage; possibly Mr. L.C. Hill and Kitty Hill being pulled by Kitty's horse Tom.
1 photograph : sepia ; 5.5 x 8 cm on page 21.5 x 28 cm (pasted in album)
Description Level
Item
Record No.
477-897
Access Restriction
No restrictions
Reproduction Restriction
No known restrictions
Accession Number
2007-12
Scope and Content
Photograph of a man in a hat and a young child riding in a horse-drawn carriage; possibly Mr. L.C. Hill and Kitty Hill being pulled by Kitty's horse Tom.
Photograph of the Edison Road Power House, of the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Co. Ltd., the first electric interurban street railway in North America. This power house stood between Vancouver Road (Kingsway) and the line to Vancouver. (Edison Road is now Griffiths Avenue).
Photograph of the Edison Road Power House, of the Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Co. Ltd., the first electric interurban street railway in North America. This power house stood between Vancouver Road (Kingsway) and the line to Vancouver. (Edison Road is now Griffiths Avenue).
Field-book for railroad engineer. Circular and parabolic curves, turnouts, vertical curves, levelling, computing earth-work, transition curves on new lines and applied to existing lines, together with tables of radii, ordinates, long chords, logarithms, logarithmic and natural sines, tangents, etc., and a metric curve table.
A note on the back of item no. 379-001 (the copy print to this original reads: "Logging operation at Kingsway and Gilley Avenue carried on by Gilley Brothers before the turn of the century."
Photograph of five men standing on a flat-bottom vessel on the Fraser River. A label accompanying the photograph reads: "1st threshing outfit in Burnaby, about 1892. Owned by Pat Byrne, brother of Peter. Sold to Peter when Pat returned to Ireland to live. On Fraser River. L. to R.: Pat Byrne, C…
Photograph of five men standing on a flat-bottom vessel on the Fraser River. A label accompanying the photograph reads: "1st threshing outfit in Burnaby, about 1892. Owned by Pat Byrne, brother of Peter. Sold to Peter when Pat returned to Ireland to live. On Fraser River. L. to R.: Pat Byrne, Capt. Stewart of "Alice", Peter Byrne and another (unknown)." Peter Byrne was a member of Burnaby's municipal council from 1894-1895, 1898-1906 and served as Reeve from 1906-1910. The threshing machine (visible behind the side paddle of the scow) was loaded onto this scow for transport from New Westminster to the Byrne farm in Burnaby.
Photograph of a powerhouse with tall smoke stacks, located beside railway tracks. Three trams can be seen on the right side of the photograph and men are standing outside of the building. According to an accompanying note, the powerhouse doubled as a steam plant and a car barn. Constructed in 1891,…
Photograph of a powerhouse with tall smoke stacks, located beside railway tracks. Three trams can be seen on the right side of the photograph and men are standing outside of the building. According to an accompanying note, the powerhouse doubled as a steam plant and a car barn. Constructed in 1891, it was between Edmonds and Highland Park on the Central Park Interurban Line. The steam plant provided power to run the line, then operated by Westminster and Vancouver Tramway Company.
1 photograph : sepia ; 27 x 36 cm, mounted on card 27 x 36 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of a team of ten equine animals reined together in pairs at a logging site at Gilley Avenue. The pair in front looks to be a mule and a draft horse while all other pairs appear to be draft horses.
1 photograph : sepia ; 27 x 36 cm, mounted on card 27 x 36 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of a team of ten equine animals reined together in pairs at a logging site at Gilley Avenue. The pair in front looks to be a mule and a draft horse while all other pairs appear to be draft horses.
Photograph of a farm hand and horse team inside a large stump, taken on William Brenchley's farm. The farm was located at the northeast corner of Kingsway and 10th Avenue.
Photograph of a farm hand and horse team inside a large stump, taken on William Brenchley's farm. The farm was located at the northeast corner of Kingsway and 10th Avenue.