My Family History and Roots

Tony Hardie at the Stein Rock on the Fraser River  at the mouth of the Stein River, Lytton BC, Canada 1999.

Well lets take it back to the year 1854 when my Great Great Grandfather Alexander Hardie (He is on the left in photo which was taken in the early 1900's) born in Scotland  1831.  He was now the age of 23. He emigrated to California with his two brothers Frank and Oswald trying their luck hunting for the elusive Gold Nuggets during the California Gold Rush. That didn't pan out, so in the summer of 1858 Alex took to the Northwest Trail with Major Robinson's Company of 320 men and 700 horses and mules. They went overland from Sacramento, California all the way up the coast to Fountain Valley along on the Fraser River in BC Canada on the 5th of September that same year. 

Alex then got back together with his two brothers  and five other partners and tried his luck on the mighty Fraser River. He had fair Success on the Calendonian Claim at Camerontown in the Cariboo that yielded nearly a quarter million dollars. In 1864 he  went on to open a hotel there and  later moved on to open a new hotel in Barkerville as well. Things went quite well till the hotel in Barkerville was destroyed in the devastating and disastrous fire of 1868. That was it, in 1869 Alex decided to move to Savona and try  a more peaceful life of ranching. The next year he took up at Indian Gardens, but that was not his bag and 2 years later he sold in favor of moving to Copper Creek. In 1876 he had started the Copper Creek ranch, and with his son Thomas and became active in the Cinnabar Mines discovered there and proceeded to add more property in the Criss Creek area. Here is where his cattle flourished and his self sown apricots still abound.  In 1888 the bridge at Savona was badly damaged and in 1894 it was completely swept away so that the ferry was restored under J.B. Leighton. After repeated requests to rebuild the bridge is was not until 1904 when construction was restarted on a new one. It was not completed till 1906 two years later. Two more years passed and with no firm foundation under the piers on the north side of the bridge and high water the bridge was once again swept down river only this time Alex was on the bridge and was able to scramble to safety, but a Japanese angler was not so lucky being carried for  four miles downstream on broken timbers before he was able to reach the safety of the shore.  By the year 1890 his mining experience had served him well and was well revived with the discovery of mercury ore on his land and to establish the Savona Cinnabar Mining company with Oliver Redpath as manager. They shipped a fair amount of ore over the next decade and optimism ran high. Unfortunately there was not enough capital, or perhaps ore to develop a large enterprise. In his old age Alex Hardie sold his holdings at Copper Creek to John Wilson Junior and moved to the town of Savona. He passed away on October 11th 1917. About  Thomas Hardie who was Born on a stagecoach in 1869, was a well mannered and educated young man. Not very much is known about his eary life but in the late 1890's Christine Smith ( Christine Squires)  the daughter of a Native Princess from the Alkali Lake or Clinton area came to live with her father Newman Squires (who was a cowboy with a very fast gun who worked on the cattle drives to gold fields in Barkerville), at Copper Creek in 1895 or 1896. She was married to Harry Smith and had had two children with him , Bill who was about 10 and Jack who was only 2. It has been said that she had lost two little girls, Darlene aged 2 and Marguerite (Dee Dee) aged 4 on a trip from Barkerville that took two months! Jack was born in Clinton. Harry Smith deserted her and the two boys at Copper Creek or Tranquille. Tom Hardie at that time asked that Christine to stay with him so she moved in and stayed with him till Tomas Hardie Died in 1925. 

About Christine Charlotte Hardie ( Christine Squires) She was born in or near Clinton BC. her mother had hung herself because she had a half white baby. Christine was raised by her uncle and his wife, who also raised two other orphaned girls. Her father Newman Squires accepted her as his own, but left her in the care of her uncle on the reserve and always left money for clothes on his trips thru on the cattle drives to Barkerville. Christine used to say the hills around were covered with cattle on those drives. Her Uncle was very kind to her and from her reminiscences seemed to be a very wise man. It is very probable that she had learned English from him very early in her life, although she was brought up in all the old Indian traditions, learning the legends including being sent away with the other young girls into the hills for her puberty rights for a certain period. On one family occasion she traveled to Ashcroft to see the first train arrive, as nobody had an idea what a train was like! 

To be continued as I get more time.........................

NEWMAN SQUIRES	CHRISTINE SQUIRES	EDWARD HARDIE	MY DAD EDWARD ROY HARDIE

 ABOUT ME

  I have been collecting Arrowheads, Artifacts, Old Bottles and various other Collectables from BC and the Northwest for the last 28 years and have amassed thru inheritance and acquisition a very Spectacular Collection that can be viewed on my Website at Westcoast Arrowheads & BC Artifacts. I have a superb variety of Stone Artifacts, Projectile Points and Knives as well as Baskets, Carvings and Perishables from the Coastal Fraser River Basin and Fraser Canyon areas of BC. My Bottle Collection consists manly of  BC Drugstores, Pops, Beers and various old booze and black glass bottles dug in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. I also have quite an extensive collection of early Chinese Pottery and items from the Gold Rush and late 1800s. I have also dabbled in Coins and Paper Currencies, Stamps, Collector Cards and many other collectables from the Northwest. 

View some of my personal Artifact Collection  CLICK HERE!

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Tony Hardie
PO Box 71088
7921 120 Street
Delta, BC V4C 8E7
Canada