Basket Maker Bios

unknown life dates

The genealogy of the Campbells and the Florences can be confusing in the diversity of their relationships, but the basics can be traced through the 1901 Census and BC Vital Events, along with some personal communications from family members. On March 14, 2003 I interviewed Sonny Campbell to fill in some of the blanks.

John Campbell (b.1892) remains a bit of a mystery. He first enters the picture as a 9-year-old in the 1901 Census, as Joe Florence’s adopted son. There is still no hard evidence to suggest who his mother was, though he is listed as the informant and brother on George Campbell’s death certificate, so he was probably the son of George’s father, William Campbell. The personal communications of Sonny Campbell and his mother Helen Campbell assured me that John was the brother of George, and that John’s mother’s name was Mariah Florence.

John married Marion Creegan, who had previously been married to his adopted brother Frank Florence. They had at least one daughter, Helen, who is the mother of Sonny Campbell. Sonny’s father is a Mussell from the Chilliwack area. His half-brother Dick Mussell is married to Sonya Stromquist, another family with Spuzzum relations.

George Campbell (1891-1939) was the son of William Campbell of Scotland and Agnes of Anderson Creek, near Boston Bar. He married Alice Jones, and they had seven children; Esther, Agnes, Wilfred, and four more children who died young. Sonny Campbell remembers George from when he was a very young child.

No one has been able to tell me anything about Annie Campbell, who made the nice little basketry frying pan. The only information given on the accession record is that it was made by Annie Campbell of North Bend, who was about 10 years old when she made it, sometime in the 1920’s. Sonny Campbell speculated that perhaps Annie was a nickname for his grandmother Maryann, but his mother does not remember such a nickname. Besides, the time frame is not right. Annie would have been born sometime after 1910, which would more likely make her fit into the generation of George Campbell’s children, or perhaps the daughter of a sibling of George’s that we don’t know about. In any case, it is a very nice artifact, especially if made by a 10-year-old girl.

Accession #994.2.5, Historic Yale Museum

1882 - 1944

"She did fine, exquisite basket work, and favoured diamond patterns."

Emma Florence was born in June of 1882 in North Bend, BC. She was the daughter of Big Charlie, also of North Bend. Her mother’s name is unknown at this time. The Roman Catholics record Emma’s aboriginal name as ‘kolchasta’.

Emma married William ‘Billy’ Florence on November 8th, 1907, in the North Bend Catholic Church. Billy was born April 15th, 1880, the son of Joe Florence, a Portuguese immigrant, and Helene, a native woman of North Bend. Joe also had children with Margaret of North Bend, Billy’s half-siblings Jimmy, Catherine and Joseph.

Billy worked as a labourer for the Department of Highways. He and Emma had one child, Minnie, who died in 1936 at age 33 of heart complications.

Emma may possibly have been either the aunt or half sister of Lena Hope, whose father is also recorded as Charlie of North Bend. Another recorded child of Charlie is Chief John Charlie, born in 1880, from a mother named Hiagatuo.

Emma did fine, exquisite basketwork, as can be seen in this basket. Her designs favoured diamond patterns, among others.

Emma died of over exertion in June of 1944, in Boston Bar, at the age of 62. Her husband Billy died at age 77 in 1957.

Emma’s baskets were collected in the 1920’s by Ms. K.E. Pearson Southwell of North Bend, and donated to the Historic Yale Museum and the Langley Centennial Museum by her daughter, Mrs. Aida Freeman.

• Diamond Pattern Bowl with Lid
• Bowl with Lid
• Diagonal Squares Bowl with Lid
• Zig Zag Bowl
• Bowl with Interlocking Ovals
• Diagonal Lines Basket

1851 – 1926

“Chief Stout’s Wife”

These unique rattles made by Hannah were collected and recorded by Ms. KE Pearson of North Bend only as being made by Chief Stout’s wife. The only Stouts local to that area were George and Hannah Stout of Boston Bar, and it is believed that she was referring to Hannah.

Hannah Kwonkwaintko was born in North Bend about 1851, to Tlam-hien of Kopchitchin, Boston Bar Indian Reserve # 1. Her mother’s name is not recorded, but her birthplace was noted as North Bend.

Hannah married George Stout (Soye) of Spuzzum, born about 1858 to Swiech and Zilzilatco, both also from Spuzzum.

Spuzzum IR # 8 is named Stout, and it is quite likely that George came from there. There are several reasons he might have been called ‘Chief Stout.’ He may have been a local leader or speaker for the people of Stout, or he could have become a chief in North Bend or Boston Bar after his marriage to Hannah. Another possibility is that he was a ‘chief of the spirit’, which meant that he was appointed by his people or his clergyman, as a leader in the church similar to a Captain or a Watchman.

Hannah and George Stout may have had at least three children, two of whom were both named David. The first was baptized in 1895, and his death is recorded as March 1897, in Kopachichin, (North Bend) Boston Bar IR # 2. The second David was baptized on September 26th, 1898. His death is recorded as November 2nd, 1898. Someone named Willie Soye was recorded as a witness for both baptisms, possibly a brother to George.

A third child, Jennie Soye, is recorded as a student at All Hallows between 1887 and 1891. She is listed as the daughter of George Soyé, mother dead. This leads to the conclusion that Hannah may have been George’s second wife, married sometime after the 1887 notation.

Hannah died of green sickness in 1926 and George died in 1928 from heart disease. They are buried in the Kopachitchin Indian Cemetery in North Bend, BC.

Hannah’s meticulous handiwork and attention to design can be appreciated by close inspection of the rattles shown here. It is a wonderful example of her creativity and skill.

life dates unknown

1897 – 1955

“She lives on in the few photos and the legacy of her basketwork”

Mary Ann (James) Graham was a Nlaka’pamux woman who was a gifted and prolific basketmaker from North Bend, BC. Her aboriginal name was Kle’ye. She was the granddaughter of Paul Youla, who was known as one of the last surviving warriors in the Fraser Canyon War of 1858, as well as being one of the best hunters and trackers in the country around the Canyon and Lower Mainland, as it is known now.

“She lives on in the few photos and the legacy of her basketwork”.

We do know Mary Ann James Graham was a basketmaker from North Bend; taught in the art by her mother Christina, and by various aunts and grandmothers as well.

We really only know a little about Mary Ann’s life. We know she was the daughter of Patrick and Christina James, who was born about 1897; she married William (Bill) Graham of Spuzzum, had one daughter Elizabeth, and died at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in Lytton, BC, in 1955. She was laid to rest at the Anderson Creek native cemetery in Boston Bar, BC, where others of her family were also buried. She lives on in the few photos we have of her, her basketwork, and in the memory of her last living relative, her sister-in-law Mary James.

Mary Ann (or Marion, or Margaret Ann) has two birth years attributed to her; 1894 and 1897. The 1894 year is most likely inaccurate, as the informant on her death certificate, Arthur Skuki, did not even know the names of her parents, and he was most likely guessing at her age. His estimation of Mary Ann’s age was 61 in 1955. Her mother Christine James’ estimated age was 69 in 1952; whose son Harry was the informant. Both death certificates are almost certainly in error. It is extremely unlikely, though not entirely impossible, that Christina had Mary Ann at age 11; but it must be mentioned because the certificates are legal government records.

The accepted birth year for Mary Ann James should be 1897, as this is what the family had carved into her grave marker, so this would have made her about 58 when she passed away in Lytton on July 30, 1955.

Mary Ann was the daughter of Captain Jesse Patrick James, 1859 – 1939; and Christina James, 1877 to 1952. She had four siblings, Harry James, 1909-1976; Dennis James, 1910 – 1925; Annie Helen James Chow, 1914 – 1980, and Minnie James, 1916 – 1941.

Her grandfather was a noted Nlaka’pamux, survivor of the Fraser Canyon War, and tracker Paul Youla who was noted for his longevity and witnessing the Canyon War. We know she lived for a while with her grandfather Youla in 1914.

One of the best photos of Mary Ann is the joint portrait (see Mary Ann above and Bill and Mary Ann below) that were taken of her and her husband in their youth, probably when they were married. It was obviously done professionally, as, if one looks closely one can see that the photographer altered the photograph to erase the mole on her right cheek.

Another excellent photo shows her seated on the walk of Harry and Mary’s North Bend home, with all of her and her mother’s baskets stacked on the porch steps. A fine basket sits beside her, overflowing with split cedar roots ready for making baskets. A personal communication from Mary James indicates that Christine made most of the large baskets, and that Mary Ann’s were several of the small ones. However, this researcher’s personal opinion is that, judging from her prominent position in the pose beside the basketry materials, Mary Ann likely made more than just a few of the smaller ones. Please note that this is just an opinion. Perhaps Christine did make all of the large baskets, but did not want to be the focus of attention.

Family History

Mary Ann married William Graham, (1871 – 1957), and they had one daughter, Elizabeth Graham, (1922 – 1995). When Elizabeth was still fairly young, Mary Ann left her husband and daughter in Spuzzum, and moved back to her family’s home in North Bend. She did, however, teach her daughter how to make baskets. Elizabeth’s very first basket resides in the collection of Clare Chrane.

Mary Ann was the daughter of Christine and Patrick James of North Bend. Mary James of North Bend remembers Mary Ann as her sister-in-law. When asked if she knew why the mother had left her family, she replied that Mary Ann was left alone for a long period of time, and had grown lonely, and left. She never went back to live in Spuzzum. Although Elizabeth was angry with her mother for leaving, she still loved to visit her North Bend relatives, and particularly enjoyed the company of her favourite Aunt Mary.

Mary Ann James did have roots in Spuzzum. Her grandfather was Paul Youla, (1831 – 1942) one of the last aboriginal survivors of the Fraser Canyon War of 1858. This war was actually a series of pitched battles caused by the incursion of Caucasian prospectors into Nlaka’pamux territory, precipitated by the white men’s disregard for Native territorial rights and especially by their abuse of native women. Rape was one of the deciding factors. Four companies of men made their way upriver from Yale to engage the Nlaka’pamux people, burning a number of food storehouses along the way. People on both sides were killed before a peaceful conclusion was reached due in large part to the actions of Chief Spintlum.

Paul Youla passed away in 1942, leaving three daughters and their children to mourn him. His daughters were Christine James, Pauline Carlson, and Sarah Pettis. Mary Ann James was one of his grandchildren, and her daughter Elizabeth was his great-granddaughter. A newspaper article describes his surviving family: “Youla left three daughters, Mrs. James of North Bend, Mrs. F.O. Carlson of Port Moody, and Mrs. Pettis of Agassiz; five grandchildren, Marion James, Annie James and Harvey James at North Bend, and Angus and Jack Pettis of Agassiz, and Elizabeth Graham at Spuzzum.” Obviously the reporter included Elizabeth as a grandchild instead of the great-grandchild that she was.

Mary Ann’s husband Bill Graham passed away in 1957. Their daughter Elizabeth Graham Pappenberger passed away February 23, 1995 at age 73, leaving her basket and photo collection to Clare Chrane, the daughter of her cousin May Algie (nee Clare). Since that time, Clare has shared the knowledge passed on to her by Elizabeth and other family members. She is the source of the photos which sparked the investigation into the James baskets.

On December 26, 1965, there was tragedy for the James family in North Bend; in a terrible house fire, the home of Harry and Mary James burned to the ground. Three children and a grandmother died and as well most of the baskets in the James photos were lost. Another photo in the James collection, showing Harry posed with the baskets was also burned.

Christine James and Mary Ann James Graham had long since passed away by the time of the James house fire, so they did not live to see all of their hard work destroyed, or the sad passing of their loved ones.

Several of their baskets had already passed on to other collections, so we do have some of their work preserved in museum, community, and family collections. Three of these baskets are lovingly cared for at the Lytton First Nations band office; and two are at salishan Place by the River. There is also another basket with the family flower design in a private collection, which was saved by Bill Graham’s sister, Clara Clare. However, this basket is not shown in the James photographs.

Written by Irene Bjerky

• Thunderbird or Eagle Basket
• Three-Flower Spray Basket
• Triple Cross Pyramid Design
• Stone Hammer Design
• Butterfly Design

life dates unknown

Unfortunately, we know little about the basket maker Mrs. Louis. Information from the donor of these baskets originally given to the Native Sons in 1946, Mrs. J.L. Kingswood, indicated that the three baskets were made by “Mrs. Louis of the North Shore Indians.” This means that Mrs. Louis was, therefore, likely a member of the Squamish Nation. See Skxuumish Uxwumixw Network.

salishan Place by the River would appreciate any leads on the identity of Mrs. Louis of the North Shore Indians.

• Tray with Gnats & Stars
• Mountain Treeline Storage Basket
• Stepped Ladder Bowl

life dates unknown

Unfortunately, little is known about the basket maker Mrs. Susan. Information received from the donor Mary Peters indicated that the maker of basket 996.2.1 was Mrs. Susan, wife of “old Louie” from Chehalis. The couple lived on Nieaman Island. Susan died in the1950s or 1960s.

salishan Place by the River would appreciate any leads on the identity of Mrs. Susan, wife of “Old Louie” or Louis of Nieaman Island.

ca. 1879-1976

Basket Donors: Mr. & Mrs. John Davison Manley
Collectors: Either the Douglas/Manley family or the Senkler family
Basketmakers: likely the Nlaka’pamux weavers of Spuzzum, probably the Oppenheim women in particular.

We are spotlighting Rose Oppenheim and her mother Hannah in this article, because she was the most likely source of the JD Manley basket that he donated to the LCM in 1984. In 1901 Rose was employed as a housekeeper in Vancouver by the Senklers, the family of JD Manley’s mother. I have researched these Vancouver families involved in this donation, and Rose is the only link I can find to the Fraser Canyon area.

The reasoning behind this link is the distinctive style and weave of the basket, which very typically appears to come from Spuzzum or the lower Fraser Canyon. This actually means that anyone in her family could have made it, but I would bet on Rose or Hannah, as it would have been far easier to sell or gift a basket made by oneself or one’s mother, as opposed to one that was given as a gift by a sister, aunt, or grandmother. This is assuming, of course, that the basket came from Rose.

Another scenario is that the basket could have been a gift to the Mayor of Vancouver by a delegation from the Fraser Canyon; but this is pure speculation. Margaret Senkler married Davison Manley, the stepson of the 13th Mayor; so it could very likely have come from that source. As I said, we are just speculating.

The fine quality of the basket, as well as its obvious age, makes me think that it was a meaningful article, used in everyday life, and lovingly remembered. Certainly, it is well-made slowly in the Spuzzum way, not hurried through with slats and large stitches. As well, it is not a brand new article that would be offered as a political gift to a mayor, but perhaps a gift to a family who had treated a young woman of mixed blood with kindness and understanding. Perhaps it was given from one young woman to another in appreciation of friendship.

Rose was born in Yale to an aboriginal woman from Spuzzum, the daughter of a chief, and a Jewish German immigrant gold miner. I will make my case for the basket after I relate the history of Rose and her family.

Important Note: In this biography I refer to the Oppenheim Letters. These are a series of letters housed in the Historic Yale Museum under the Oppenheim file that I have digitized into one document titled the “Appendix X - Oppenheim Letters.” These contain reminiscences by Rose Oppenheim Christofferson and Dorathea (Dora) Oppenheim Walters, as well as secondhand information written by Dora’s daughter Violet Stanyer. There are also two letters between Dora Walters and Major JS Matthews in the City of Vancouver Archives where photos and information are exchanged. Aside from the genealogical info in the letters, there are also many references to old Yale, including the paddlewheelers.

Rose’s, Dora’s, and Violet’s information, rightly or wrongly, assumes that their mother, Hannah, was the daughter of an Englishman of the surname Andrew. I also found a record that states her name as Hannah Grace Andrew.

Dr. Andrea Laforet, who has extensively researched Spuzzum genealogies, states that Hannah was the daughter of Chief Osamote, the Roman Catholic chief of the church. I will always prefer the Laforet information before the secondhand data, and so will state the preferred (documented) information before the secondhand, though I will also include the secondhand oral family history—even if it may be in conflict with the records—and I will always state that it is oral family history. In any case, Dr. Laforet has backed up all of her research with documentation, and has taught me the same. I trust her information before secondhand info at all times.

Introduction to Oppenheim Basic info

Rose Alice Oppenheim was born Oct 7, 1878, ‘79 or 1880, in Yale, to a Jewish German father, Louis Oppenheim (1810-1890), and a Nlaka’pamux mother, Nukwa, Christian name Hannah Grace Andrew, (1856-1910). Please note that this is not the Rose Oppenheimer who was born in 1862 in Yale to her father’s distant cousin Meyer Oppenheimer and his wife Babette.

Rose’s mother Nukwa, better known to history as Hannah Grace Oppenheim, nee Andrew, was born in May, 1856 in Spuzzum, BC, the daughter of Chief Osamote, the leader of the Roman Catholic members of that community. Hannah was 14 when she married Louis in 1870; their eldest son Philip was born in 1872.

Main Oppenheim Family Information

Family oral history states that Louis Oppenheim came from Frankfurt am Main, Germany to Sacramento, California with two brothers, Samuel and Raphael, circa 1849. They had a miners outfitting store in Sutters Mill. He journeyed to Canada, leaving his brothers behind in CA. The daughters also state that he owned a store in Fort Hope that burned down and then he moved to Fort Yale to open the first retail store there. The name of either store is not known. The information that records him as a gold miner may be true, but obviously he was a merchant at heart.

“Opened a store there, married and raised a family. I believe payment was made in gold dust, as I remember we had the gold scales for a while, and he had those chamois pokes for gold dust.” Rose Oppenheim Christofferson, 1972

Rose stated in her oral history that her father Louis was the one who donated the little oak stopless church organ to the Hope Anglican Church before he went to Yale. She said that she used to play it during her summer excursions to Hope.

It is uncertain whether Louis Oppenheim was a relative of the Oppenheimer Brothers. Some common knowledge says they were not; but oral history from Dora and her daughter Violet says that he was or may have been a cousin. All of the Oppenheims and Oppenheimers were residents of Yale at times between 1858 and the 1890’s. Louis was older than the Opp Brothers, being born about 1910 in Germany, whereas the brothers were all born in the 1830’s. They were the sons of Salomon Oppenheimer of Blieskastel, in the Bavarian region of Germany. Louis was born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany.

A Louis Oppenheimer photo is included with the Oppenheimer Brothers article on the Jewish Historical Society of BC’s website, and refers to him as a Cariboo gold miner. As well, Major JS Matthews, a former City of Vancouver archivist, acquired a lot of Oppenheimer Brothers photos for the City of Vancouver Archives. It includes the same 1858 photo, calling him Louis Oppenheimer. This photo probably came from the Oppenheim daughter Dora Walters, who was corresponding with him in the 1950’s (see Oppenheim Letters - JS Matthews to Dora). I believe this to be the true origin of the photo. The jury is still out on a relationship with the Oppenheimers until further information may be available.

Louis and Hannah had eight children, all born in Yale between 1872-90; Philip, 1872; Rachel, 1874; Esther, 1876; Rose, 1878 or 80; Helen, 1881; Dorthea, 1883; David, 1886; and Nathan, 1889-90.

According to the Oppenheim Letters, Louis got Hannah to take sewing lessons (probably at the night school run by the Sisters of All Hallows after their arrival in 1884), and she did a fair business sewing for the wealthier ladies of Yale.

The five daughters were all baptized into the Church of England in 1885, though on two different dates in April and May; Rose stated that she was baptized on her sick bed, and then her sisters were baptized later, just before Easter. Louis was unable to continue his tradition of Judaism so, as Rose stated, he knew the Sisters at All Hallows were good people, and he agreed to have them baptized as Anglican. They would have needed to be baptized before attending All Hallows School; and he had already donated the organ to the Anglican Church in Hope.

There is another Oppenheim, Lucy, 1877; possibly a cousin or in-law, as although there are no records that link her to this Oppenheim family, she might well have been related, as she was in Ashcroft in the same era. She married August Bara in 1927.

During the 1880’s, 1890’s and 1900’s, three of the Oppenheim daughters (Rose, Helen and Dora) were students at All Hallows School for Indian Girls. This was a boarding school for native girls operated by Anglican nuns from All Hallows in Ditchingham, England. It was quite different from what we know as residential schools. The girls who attended AH were being truly prepared for marriage, or at least service into the white world, and they were taught the life skills they would need as well as, of course, religious lessons. The curriculum included reading, writing, needlework, music, cooking, cleaning, manners and conduct, and even cedar root basketry. Awards were given for all categories, including Early Rising. This was the native girls’ curriculum.

Later, when the European settlers realized the quality of the Sisters teachings; they convinced them to open a section of the school to their daughters, named the All Hallows Canadian School. From that time the finer arts were taught as well; music, art, literature, and much more. Examiners came from McGill University to test these girls.

Louis Oppenheim passed away in Yale in 1890, and in 1896 Hannah married widower Eli Joseph ‘Joe’ Martel - formerly of Quebec (1864-1933) - moved with some of her younger children up to his ranch just north of Spences Bridge and had more children.

This area on the north bank of the Thomson, and north of Spences Bridge near the mouth of the Nicola, was later known as Martel. Eli already had one child, William Edward Martel (1891-1943) born at Yale. It is unknown when or where his first wife died.

Eli and Hannah had Minnie Rachel Grace Martel (1895-1959) and another son Arthur (native name Bellac or Pelek) Martel (1898-1969), both born in Spences Bridge.

By 1901 only 15 year old David was living with Hannah’s new family; her 12 year old son Nathan was staying nearby at the John Manning ranch just up from the mouth of the Nicola River, probably either as a helper, or perhaps to be closer to school.

Hannah passed away in 1910; and in 1914 Eli married again. In that year he married Janet Clark of North Bend. Eli Joseph Martel passed away in 1933, probably at his ranch, as his death record gives the location as Martel.

Martel Ranch, BC Archives Call # PDP08980 & PDP08981 Painter: John E Parker, 1969

Philip Oppenheim, her eldest son, may have married Katherine sometime before the birth of their son Raymond in 1890, though perhaps Katherine was a widow or divorcee with a son. The 1891 census records Philip as a sawmill labourer, single, living with the family of seal hunter William & Catherine Andrew, around the Yates St. Ward of Victoria. At the time of the 1911 census, Philip’s son Raymond, Ray’s wife Rosie, and their small son James were living near a CPR construction camp, and Philip and Katherine were staying & working with them. There are two more records for Philip, a marriage to Jamen Tooney in 1922 in Ashcroft, and his death on June 14, 1925 in Ashcroft. After this they disappear from the records, and nothing more is known of this family.

By 1891 Esther was 14 and working as a nursemaid for Bank of BC accountant Charles A. Goffin & his wife Claire in their home at 162 Menzies St. in Victoria. After 1894 we have no more records for her or the Goffins, so perhaps they moved away and she decided to go with them. Or, see below on Vienna family, since she may have had children with Nicholas Vienna and died in childbirth.

It is probable that the rest of the Oppenheim children remained in Yale after their father’s death until their mother married Martel in 1896, the younger girls lived at All Hallows. We do know that Helen, Rose and Dora (Dorothea) were registered at there in 1891, and Rose was there for eight years, Dora for ten.

The other girls were young women by 1901. Rose was working as a housemaid for the Senkler family in Vancouver. Rachel and Helen were living and working as cook & waitress for Arthur and Esther Clemes, who owned a hotel in Spences Bridge.

Living with a Chinese family adjacent to Rachel and Helen were their infant nephew & niece, Robert Louis Oppenheim Vienna, 3, and Ruby Katherine Oppenheim Vienna, 2. Both of them were born in Victoria. Ten years later in 1911, these children were living under the Oppenheim name in an orphanage in Victoria along with their younger sister Annie Oppenheim, born 1901.

It is not known at this time who their parents were; the only recorded Viennas in BC lived in Victoria, and their father could have been young Nicholas Vienna who died early in 1901, possibly leaving his children orphans. This might explain how these Oppenheim children came to be in Victoria; to be close to their elderly grandfather, Greek fishmonger George Vienna and uncle Peter George Vienna. There was likely also a Vienna daughter, Kate, who married William McKenzie in 1894.

These may even have been mysterious Esther’s children, but there is no death record of her to be found. See their further histories below, at end of Oppenheim siblings.

In Vancouver in 1907, Helen E. Oppenheimer was married to Henry Gilbert Cook, and from there we also lose track of her. There are many Henry and Helen Cook death records, and we don’t know which are theirs.

Rachel Oppenheim married Edward Elliott McLellan (1874-1924), at Nicola in 1913. She passed away in Merritt in 1924 at the age of 50. It is not known if they had children.

Dorathea (Dora) Oppenheim married Clyde Brenton Walters (1881-1969). She passed away in Kamloops on Dec. 23, 1977. She had at least two daughters, Violet Walters Stanyer and Loretta (Rita) WaltersHighland. There must have been at least one more child, as Violet states, “Mother (Dora) used to talk more to me than the other children because I was the oldest and was also interested in what she had to say.”

Lucy Oppenheim married August Bara (1860-1954) at Ashcroft in 1927. We are sure that Lucy was not the daughter of Louis and Hannah; the only time her name appears is for her marriage and death. She is not included in any of the census records between 1881 and 1911. We do know she was 50 when she wed Bara, and was likely not the mother of the various Baras born in the Ashcroft-Nicola vicinity after 1927. August was previously married in 1910 to Mary, another native woman, who died in 1926.

August passed away in 1954, and Lucy 1956, both in Ashcroft.

David Oppenheim began his family in the Nicola and Merritt region. He married a Nlaka’pamux woman, Mary, in 1925 at Coldwater. He passed away in Merritt in 1965, and she in Kamloops in 1970. There are a lot of Oppenheims and Oppenheimers in the Nicola and Okanagan; further research would have to be done to determine their family histories.

As for the orphans, Robert Louis (Vienna) Oppenheim, born 1897 or 98, died in Vancouver in 1957. Nothing else is known of Annie Oppenheim, b 1901.

Ruby Katherine (Vienna) Oppenheim, born 1899, was married to Charles Borgeson in 1917 in Lytton. A year later she married William Robert Smith in Merritt, also under the name Curnow. It is not known how she came to use this name as well as Oppenheim, perhaps she was adopted by the Curnow family of Spences Bridge. A Ruby Katherine Smith died in Penticton in 1963; we can reasonably assume that this was her.

Now we can finally come to Rose Alice Oppenheim.

It would have been interesting to have lived in the world of Rose Oppenheim.

She grew up in a unique place during interesting times. She was born surrounded by spectacular mountains and a powerful river, to diverse parents who likely ingrained their separate principles and morals into the large family. Yale and Spuzzum have excellent fishing stations, and there was an abundance of salmon in those days. The main diet of the Fraser Canyon peoples has always been fish, and there is little doubt that Louis and Hannah fed their eight children well on a lot of fish and at least some wild game.

Rose lived in a boom time, in a gold rush town turned railroad town. Yale had begun as a trading post, and during the gold rush it was a centre of commerce, being the head of steamboat navigation and the start of the Cariboo Waggon road. Everyone had to pass through here, and most of them stopped. When Rose was a small child in the 1880’s, the Canadian Pacific Railroad was being built, so with the construction camps nearby and no dearth of saloons, CPR payday in Yale was as close to a wild west town as one could get in western Canada.

By the time Rose was about seven, the construction had abruptly ended, and Yale was headed for a dry spell. However, she attended All Hallows, one of the premium schools of the time in BC, so she had the best education she could have had.

She was part of a large family, and quite likely had at least some contact with her aboriginal relatives from Spuzzum, especially when it came to fish drying and preservation, and salmon fishing in general. She would also have had contact with her female relatives, and probably knew a lot about basketry because, in those days, baskets were not yet such a commercial enterprise, but mostly a functional household item. However, she would soon learn the commercial value of basketry when she attended All Hallows School for Indian Girls. All Hallows was begun in 1884, and the baptism of the Oppenheim girls in 1885 was a preparation for them to attend the school.

We do not know a lot about Rose’s father Louis Oppenheim, except that he was German from a Jewish culture, and came first to California and then to BC about 1858 as a gold miner, along with thousands of others. Aside from prospecting, we know from his daughters that he began the fist retail store in Yale. We don’t know how an older man such as he convinced a Spuzzum chief that he should marry his young daughter, but he did, and created a legacy of family that continues to this day. Louis grew up with an entirely European background; the environment of his new wife must have been totally alien to him. As well, he was 46 years older than she.

Rose’s mother Hannah (Nukwa) was born before the gold rush. She grew up in a completely aboriginal family in Spuzzum, with all of the tradition and culture of her time; before the advent of much European influence. By 1870, when Hannah was a very young woman, times had changed drastically, and it must have seemed a good idea to marry into the white community.

They married, either by native code or church code. They had eight children, and at least five of their daughters were baptized into the Church of England (Anglican).

It must have been a blow to his family when Louis passed away in 1890, though he was close to 80 years old by that time. They likely struggled to survive, with everyone working where they could. We know Philip may have married around that year, worked in a sawmill in Victoria and must have worked for the CPR (he was working casually for the railroad in 1911). Esther was working for the Goffins as a nanny in 1891. We have little information on what the rest of the family was doing in 1891 except the All Hallows records, but by 1901 we know that Rose, Rachel and Helen were in service to various employers.

This was to be expected. Louis probably did not leave his children in any privileged position and, in any case, their half-caste status did not give them much room for social climbing, had they the inclination or opportunity.

Hannah did the best she could for her remaining youngsters; she married a man with land, where there is room for everyone to expand. She wed Eli Martel, who owned a ranch just north of Spences Bridge. Eli already had two small children from a previous marriage, and it must have been a great relief to Eli, Hannah and the children to have a full family home again.

As well, Hannah married into the area of her people; the Nlaka’pamux territory extends from Spuzzum, north along the Fraser River to Lytton, and then along the Thompson River to Spences Bridge, and east from there to Merritt in the Nicola River area. The Martel ranch was still within the Nlaka’pamux territory and language demographic, so her children would have still been comfortable. In fact, her son David founded a whole new branch of the family in the Nicola, beginning on the Coldwater Reserve.

We can assume that whomever in the Oppenheim family that was not off at school, working, or married moved up to the Martel ranch in 1896. However, they did not stay long and, by 1901, only David was still living with his mother. Although Nathan was on a nearby ranch, Rachel and Helen were working at a hotel in town, and some girls were still in school.

As stated earlier, Rose was born circa 1879, though when she was working for the Senkler family she stated her birth year as 1878. This was in 1901 when she worked for them as a housekeeper. Her employer was the Vancouver barrister John Harold Senkler (1866-1926), who married Margaret Hargrave Richards (1874-1947) in 1895. The Senklers had three children at the time; Harold Richards Senkler, 1896; Margaret Ellen Senkler, 1898; and Phoebe Buell Senkler, 1900. John’s mother Margaret McLeod Senkler (b. 1831) also lived with the family. The Senklers later had more children.

Rose Oppenheim was counted as one of the domestic servants, listed as a housekeeper. There were two other servants in the household as well, Ah Bing and Ah San. Ah Bing (b. 1879, China) was the cook, and Ah San (b. 1876, China) was probably an all-around servant or ‘house-boy’ in the terminology of the day.

If Rose gave or sold this basket to the Senkler family, it was likely for a reason. Perhaps she appreciated the way she had been treated. Perhaps she had a special friendship with the daughter Margaret; she probably served as a nanny to her, being 20 years older. Without corroborating stories from the family, all is speculation.

Rose Oppenheim’s baptismal record states her parents as Louis and Hannah, consistent with all other information. She was baptized in the same year as her sisters, but on her own day, on April 17, 1885. Her sisters were also baptized in 1885, but on different days; Dorthea and Helen on May 4th, and Rachel and Esther on May 16th.

She is included in the registry of All Hallows School for Indian Girls for 1890-91, along with her sisters Helen and Dora (Dorthea).

We have two marriage records for Rose; the first in 1903 in Vancouver, to John Mitchell. He likely died between 1910 & 1912 (there are several John Mitchells who died in that period); and she remarried in 1913 to Edward M. Christafferson in Vancouver. We know that these are both her marriage records, as they both state Rose Oppenheim, and the second states Rose Oppenheim and Mitchell on the same day, same place. As well, the Oppenheim Letters confirm this.

As well, the letters state that Rose had four children; two from John Mitchell and two from Edward Christafferson. Unfortunately, the letters only name two of these children; Lillian Annie Mitchell (1914-1986) who married Robert Irving in 1928 and the other daughter mentioned is Grace Campbell, from Rose’s second marriage.

Edward died in Kamloops in 1939, and Rose Alice Oppenheim Mitchell Christafferson lived much longer, passing away at age 95 in 1975 at Nanaimo.

If this basket does come from her or her family, it is a wonderful legacy to her.

Summary for Rose Oppenheim for Basketry Analysis:

There is a long family history for Rose. She was born about 1879, to a German Jewish gold seeker & merchant, and a Spuzzum chief’s daughter, who very likely came from Nlaka’pamux basketmakers.

Rose was the second youngest daughter of Louis and Hannah Oppenheim, who had eight children in Yale, BC. Her elderly father died when she was ten, and her mother remarried a Nicola rancher six years later. Hannah had two children with Eli Martel.

Rose and her sisters were fortunate to attend All Hallows School, and would have carried the lessons from there throughout their lives.

By the time Rose was 21, all of her siblings were working away from home except the four youngest. Rose worked as a housemaid for the Senkler family, and it is likely during her employment for them that she may have given or sold this basket to them. The basket may have been made by Rose herself, or by her mother or her Spuzzum relatives.

Rose was 23 when she married her first husband, John Mitchell. He passed away a year or so before her second marriage to Edward Christafferson in 1913. He died in 1939, but she lived on to be 95, passing away in Nanaimo, 1976. Rose had four children.

1868 – 1943

Rosie Charlie was Lawrence Hope’s grandmother. Rosalia began her life as the child of a Mexican packtrainer called Gutterriez, in Spuzzum about 1868, along with another sister named Maria.

Rosie’s mother Susan Kalalse eventually gave up on the absent packer, and married Chief James Paul Xixné of Spuzzum, who adopted Rose and Maria as daughters after the marriage. Susan and Chief Paul gave them three more siblings; Mary (Mali), Marion, and Edward, as well as two older half brothers, one who became Chief Henry James, and one called David Peykawtkn, who died as a young man in North Bend.

Rosie was recorded in various documents by the names Rose Gutterriez, Rosalia, Rosie Paul, Rose Charlie, and Rosie Charlie. Though her marriage record lists her as Rose Gutterriez, her death record lists her father as Chief James Paul, who was her stepfather.

Rosie gave birth to Lena Charlie in 1902, by Charlie of North Bend. In 1905 she had a daughter, Gladys, by Harry James of Lytton. Lena eventually married Alfred Hope of Yale in 1917. I don’t know what happened to Gladys.

Rose Gutterriez Paul married Chief Jimmy Charlie (1863-1943) of Yale. Their Catholic record shows that they were married in Spuzzum in (unknown date, perhaps 1918). They lived on the north side of Yale Creek where the Charlie’s have always lived, by Mary Ann Creek.

Rosie has no less than seven beautiful baskets on display in the Yale Museum, and at least one at salishan Place by the River. Throughout her life Rosie passed on the fine Spuzzum basketry to her daughters, granddaughters and nieces. One large basket may be on display in the Vancouver Museum.

Rosie Charlie was admitted to Coqualeetza Indian Hospital in Sardis, and later died there of pulmonary tuberculosis on June 4th, 1943. She was buried in the Seabird Island Cemetery. Her husband Chief Jimmy also died in 1943, and was buried beside her.

• Cup with Arrow Design
• V Design Hot Plate Mat
• Wing Design Hot Plate Mat
• Red & Black Ring Plate
• Diamond Pattern Plate
• Diamond Pattern Plate
• Bowl with Open Weave Rim
• Arrowhead Trivet