Charles Clark - Endnotes
1A. Colville to McKenzie, 5 March 1852, Puget Sound Agricultural Company [PSAC] Correspondence inward, F.12/2 fos 423-424 Hudson's Bay Company Archives [HBC Arch].2Ibid., 25 March 1852.
3Advertisement in North British Advertiser, 9 June 1852. Cridge Papers, Provincial Archives of British Columbia [PABC], KHC84.
4Letter sent applicants as Schoolmaster for Vancouver Island, Correspondence outward, McKenzie Collection, A/E/M19/M19/1, PABC.
5 Ibid., McKenzie to Barr, 22 June 1852. See Appendix 1 for further correspondence.
6Construction of the Victoria School was begun that spring (1853).
718 November 1853, PSAC Correspondence inward, F. 12/2, fos 530 A-531 B, HBC Arch.
8Ibid., Colville to McKenzie, 10 February 1854. F, 12/3 fo. 43. Colville's nephew, George Wedderburn of Edinburgh, and a Dr. Cook assisted in the inquiry. See Appendix II for Colville's letter regarding Silver.
9Ibid., fo. 46; of the 723 acres which initially comprised Craigflower. McKenzie estimated that about 70 acres were arable. See Appendix III for McKenzie's description of the completed schoolhouse.
10 Ibid. 21 Aprril 1854. F.12/3 fo. 168. Influenced by the more advanced teachers' training colleges of Glasgow and Edinburgh, Dr. James Kay and E. C. Tufnell had established a residential, non-sectarian training college in 1840 at Battersea, south of London. The non-sectarian aspect was negated when, due to financial problems, the college was taken over by the National Society in 1843. (cf. 250 Years of Scottish Education pp. 140-141).
11 W. G. Smith, Secretary HBC, London, to Douglas April 21, 1854, HBC Correspondence outward, HBC Arch A/6/31.
12Ibid. Smith to Board of Management of Western Department, 1 June 1854. The Princess Royal was built on the recommendation of Sir George Simpson to replace the HBC barque Norman Morison; due to her "great draught of water" the Morison was forced to discharge her cargo at Esquimalt in order to enter the Victoria harbour. The Princess Royal weighed 538 tons, was 145 ft. in length, 29.5 ft. in breadth and 18.5 ft. in depth. She was utilized by the HBC from 1854, until 3 October 1885 when she sank after grounding on a bar near Moose Factory, James Bay. The first party included 23 miners and their families (83 total) bound for Nanaimo and 10 Norwegians "engaged for general service." The omnipresent David Wishart was ship's captain. (cf. Barrie Goult, "First and last days of the Princess Royal ", British Columbia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 3, 1939, pp. 15-24.
13Goult, op. cit. p. 17.
14Log of Princess Royal, 1854-55, Charles Gale, First Mate, HBC Arch c.1/975. It is unclear whether the child died at birth. Clark's honour seems to be in question here.
15Ibid., 8 November 1854.
16In a classic example of understatement, Douglas reported the arrival of the ship: "The passengers are in tolerable health and have all arrived here except two, a miner and a female passenger who both died at the Sandwich Islands and were there decently buried." (Douglas to HBC London, 23 November 1854; B 226/b.11 HBC Arch).
17Robert Melrose, "Royal Emigrant's Almanack...1852-57." [Melrose diary]. Melrose was one of the original settlers at Craigflower. His diary has provided a mass of detailed information for the early period.
18 McKenzie to Colville, 25 December 1854, Correspondence outward 1854-56, McKenzie Collection A/E/Ml9/M19/1, PABC.
19Melrose diary, 10 February 1856.
20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. Although septicemia following childbirth was a common occurrence, Melrose indicates that in this case an autopsy was performed, "Mrs. Clark opened." McKenzie's account book records: June 12, 1855, Mr. Clark to coffin mounting... $25. Daybook #6, A/E/M19/M19.2. The Burial Register shows that Eliza Clark's age at the time, of her death was thirty-two. (Add. MSS 520, fo. 6). Presumably Clark would have been of a similar age.
22McKenzie to Colville, Aug. 8, 1855, PSAC Correspondence inward, F. 1213 fo. 314d-315 HBC Arch.
23The infant was christened Matilda Anne, 8 July 1855, Christ Church Baptismal Record 1852-59. At present one can only speculate as to Clark's choice of name and whether the woman he married one year later, Matilda Botwood (aka Boatwood), was known to him at this time.
2416 July 1855, "To Mr. Clark 56 lb. 5 In. cut nails; " July 27 "to Indians per voucher for one months labour." McKenzie Account Book 1855, A/E/M19/M19.2.
25HBC accounts, Ft. Victoria, July 1855, p. 98, A/C/15/H86 PABC.
26John Work to W.F. Tolmie, 3 August 1855, Correspondence outward.
27Ibid.
28Two weeks later, Aug. 18, 1855, McKenzie was charged with assault "having knocked down Robert Barr." He appeared before Langford and Cameron and was fined f5. McKenzie appealed to Douglas for a new trial but was denied. (Douglas to McKenzie, Nov. 14, 1855, PSAC Correspondence inward, F. 12/3 fo. 346 HBC Arch.) Regrettably, Cameron's benchbook not record the case.
29McKenzie to Colville, 5 August 1855, op. cit., F. 12/3 fo. 313d, HBC Arch.
30Melrose, 16 August 1855. In his report on schools for August 1856. Cridge also refers to "the half year shortly about to expire." (F 395/1).
31McKenzie to Colville, 18 December 1855, op. cit., F. 12/3 fo. 364 d. HBC Arch.
32HBC Accounts, Ft. Victoria, pp. 160, 192, 198, AC/15/H86. Although these items appear in the account books for these dates they may have been undertaken at earlier dates.
33Douglas to Grey, March 1856, reporting Minutes of Council of Vancouver Island.
34Cridge had "privately examined " the children earlier in July; this refers to a public examination and according to Melrose again "held on a royal scale."
35The above are extracts from Cridge's report. In comparing this report with Cridge's report for Victoria School, under the tutelage of Robert Barr, two major differences appear: the structuring of the classroom apparently presented a problem for Barr ( "due to the different ages and abilities of the children I am unable to classify them "). Cridge noted: "They are therefore taught in detail or grouped miscellaneously... perhaps owing to this method... the young children do not make the progress which could be desired." Secondly, Cridge remarked that "the school is not well supplied with books and other requisites; an adequate supply should be ordered from England or San Francisco."
36Miscellaneous documents relating to Chas. Clark. E/B/C541, PABC. Matilda's signature on this document shows the spelling to be 'Botwood', not 'Boatwood' as rendered by Melrose. See Appendix IV for details of witnesses to Clark's wedding.
37Charles Clark, Correspondence outward, A/E/M19/C54, PABC.
38Melrose, 14 February 1857.
39Papers Relating to Court Actions 1857-67, McKenzie collection A/E/M19/M19.3
40Melrose, 20 Apri 1857. Also Vancouver Island, 1853-57, C/AA/30.3, PABC.
41Christ Church Baptismal Record, loc. cit.
42HBC accounts, Ft. Victoria, Oct. 1857, A/C 15/H86. The final amount was f 992/10/6.
43Minutes of the House of Assembly, 11 December 1857, PABC Memoir No. IV, 1918, p.32 This was determined from a report presented 4 December 1857 by the Committee appointed to enquire into the state of Public Schools.
44Present documentation pertains only to teaching supplies ordered for the schoolroom for 1858. cf. John Adams report, Furnishing Craigflower Schoolhouse Schoolroom c. 1855/58, Heritage Conservation Branch, Victoria, 1982. It is difficult to understand McKenzie's 1ack of concern for the physical deterioration of the building. Possibly this was due to the pressure which was placed upon him by the HBC with the realization that the PSAC farms were an expensive failure. Furthermore, the whole question of funding and responsibility at this period posed a problem. Monies for civil and military expenditure were derived primarily from HBC land sales. The House of Assembly, formed in 1856 at the direction of the British government, was still in embryo state and composed of inexperienced legislators. Initially, the control of expenditure was in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company and only revenue derived from licensed houses was at the disposal of the house. Therefore the whole issue of Craigflower School must be seen in light of a stringent financial situation, inexperienced representative government and also the labour shortage which existed at that time.
45 The Gazette, 4 August 1858, p.2
46 Cridge to Douglas, 18 March 1859, F 395/6 PABC.
47 W.A.C. Young, Colonial Secretary to Cridge, March 19, 1859, F 395/7 PABC.
48 Log of "Princess Royal", C.1/979. fo. 3 HBC Arch.
49 Clark to Cridge, 12 August 1859, A/E/C86/C86/C541 PABC. See Appendix V for this correspondence.
Return to essay on schoolmaster Charles Clark
Written and researched by Judith Stricker, British Columbia Heritage Branch, in 1983 and posted to the Craigflower Farm web site in 1998. This biographical sketch is posted on page devoted to Craigflower resources.
