What do you think?
Rate this book
A Pioneer Gentlewoman in British Columbia: The Recollections of Susan Allison
In 1860, at the age of fourteen, Susan Louisa Moir left England for British Columbia. After settling initially at Hope, she lived briefly in both Victoria and New Westminster, then B.C.’s two most important settlements. Returning to Hope, she helped her mother open the community’s first school, and in 1868 she married John Fall Allison, riding on her honeymoon over the Allison Trail into the unsettled Similkameen Valley. Her record of the voyage, of Victoria, New Westminster, and Hope as they were in the 1860s, and her memories of the isolated but fulfilling life she, her husband, and their fourteen children led in the Similkameen and Okanagan Valleys provide a unique view of the pioneer mind and spirit.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Margaret A. Ormsby
5 booksDr Margaret Anchoretta Ormsby, OBC (7 June 1909 – 2 November 1996) was a noted Canadian historian, particularly concerning the History of British Columbia.
Born in Quesnel, British Columbia, she was raised in the Okanagan Valley. She enrolled at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1925, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1929, and a Master of Arts in 1931, both in History. While pursuing her Ph.D. at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania she interrupted those studies to work as a teaching assistant in history at UBC, then graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1936. She taught in the United States for the next three years, then became a lecturer at McMaster University in 1940, returning to teach at UBC in 1943. In 1955 she was appointed Professor and in 1965 became head of the university's Department of History, a position she held until her retirement in 1974.
Ormsby was chair of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada from 1960 to 1967. She received honorary doctorates from the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University as well as UBC, and holds the Insignia of the Order of British Columbia.
Ormsby has been perhaps the most influential historian of British Columbia. In British Columbia: A History (1958) she presented a structural model that has been adopted by numerous historians and teachers. Chad Reimer says, "in many aspects, it still has not been surpassed." Ormsby posited a series of propositions that provided the dynamic to the history:
the ongoing pull between maritime and continental forces; the opposition between a "closed," hierarchical model of society represented by the Hudson's Bay Company and colonial officials, and the "open," egalitarian vision of English and Canadian settlers; and regional tensions between Vancouver Island and mainland, metropolitan Vancouver and the hinterland interior.
Born in Quesnel, British Columbia, she was raised in the Okanagan Valley. She enrolled at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1925, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1929, and a Master of Arts in 1931, both in History. While pursuing her Ph.D. at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania she interrupted those studies to work as a teaching assistant in history at UBC, then graduated from Bryn Mawr in 1936. She taught in the United States for the next three years, then became a lecturer at McMaster University in 1940, returning to teach at UBC in 1943. In 1955 she was appointed Professor and in 1965 became head of the university's Department of History, a position she held until her retirement in 1974.
Ormsby was chair of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada from 1960 to 1967. She received honorary doctorates from the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University as well as UBC, and holds the Insignia of the Order of British Columbia.
Ormsby has been perhaps the most influential historian of British Columbia. In British Columbia: A History (1958) she presented a structural model that has been adopted by numerous historians and teachers. Chad Reimer says, "in many aspects, it still has not been surpassed." Ormsby posited a series of propositions that provided the dynamic to the history:
the ongoing pull between maritime and continental forces; the opposition between a "closed," hierarchical model of society represented by the Hudson's Bay Company and colonial officials, and the "open," egalitarian vision of English and Canadian settlers; and regional tensions between Vancouver Island and mainland, metropolitan Vancouver and the hinterland interior.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 27, 2020
Although the actual memoirs of Susan Allison are somewhat short--she covers 30 years in just 70 pages--they offer a fascinating glimpse into the pioneer life of the BC Southern Interior, ranging from Hope to Kelowna. This selection of Allison's reminiscent writings, curated by BC historian Margaret Ormsby, is nicely rounded out by a couple of stories she learned from the Similkameen Indians.
Susan Allison, nee Moir, arrived with her older sister, mother and stepfather in BC in 1860. They settled in Hope, and the young British woman became quickly accustomed to life in Britain's colonies on the west coast of North America. She became enthralled with its pioneering spirit found amongst immigrants of all nationalities and the mysterious habits of the noble indigenous people who inhabited the beautiful wild landscapes of tall forests, mountains, rivers and canyons. Susan was soon married to John Fall Allison, a cattleman/prospector who had settled near what is now Princeton, BC, a small town where the Tulameen and Similkameen rivers join in the interior plateau grasslands just on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.
The memoirs are a valuable record of life in this area, and set in the time when the Allisons raised their large family during the 1860s to 90s, sometimes at their homestead along the riverbank in Princeton and also, for a large spell in the 1870s, at Sunnyside, the latter-day Westbank across Lake Okanagan from Kelowna. Susan generally admits that Sunnyside in the Okanagan was her favorite residence, with its warm bright days of dry heat and their property overlooking the beautiful long and wide Okanagan Lake. The winters could be cold and snowy, but perhaps not as isolating as up nearer the mountains by Princeton. We are presented with true tales of southern BC notables such as Father Pandosy, Judge Haynes, Edgar Dewdney, Judge Begbie, and there is even a cameo appearance of US General George Sherman.
Susan Allison must have been quite a woman. She often travelled with her husband on cattle drives, or was later alone on their property with small children, while he attended to business at the coast and the nearest neighbour typically miles away. She often made close friendships with the indian peoples residing nearby, and learned some of their language and captured their local stories and legends.
Luckily for us fans of local history, her writings were kept by historical societies and many made their way into this little book.
Susan Allison, nee Moir, arrived with her older sister, mother and stepfather in BC in 1860. They settled in Hope, and the young British woman became quickly accustomed to life in Britain's colonies on the west coast of North America. She became enthralled with its pioneering spirit found amongst immigrants of all nationalities and the mysterious habits of the noble indigenous people who inhabited the beautiful wild landscapes of tall forests, mountains, rivers and canyons. Susan was soon married to John Fall Allison, a cattleman/prospector who had settled near what is now Princeton, BC, a small town where the Tulameen and Similkameen rivers join in the interior plateau grasslands just on the east side of the Cascade Mountains.
The memoirs are a valuable record of life in this area, and set in the time when the Allisons raised their large family during the 1860s to 90s, sometimes at their homestead along the riverbank in Princeton and also, for a large spell in the 1870s, at Sunnyside, the latter-day Westbank across Lake Okanagan from Kelowna. Susan generally admits that Sunnyside in the Okanagan was her favorite residence, with its warm bright days of dry heat and their property overlooking the beautiful long and wide Okanagan Lake. The winters could be cold and snowy, but perhaps not as isolating as up nearer the mountains by Princeton. We are presented with true tales of southern BC notables such as Father Pandosy, Judge Haynes, Edgar Dewdney, Judge Begbie, and there is even a cameo appearance of US General George Sherman.
Susan Allison must have been quite a woman. She often travelled with her husband on cattle drives, or was later alone on their property with small children, while he attended to business at the coast and the nearest neighbour typically miles away. She often made close friendships with the indian peoples residing nearby, and learned some of their language and captured their local stories and legends.
Luckily for us fans of local history, her writings were kept by historical societies and many made their way into this little book.
April 15, 2015
Interesting for anyone who likes BC history. The intro is written by Margaret Ormsby. The rest of the book is the writings of Susan Louisa Moir Allison who immigrated to Canada with her family in 1860 and settled in Hope. An amazing story of her life around Hope, Princeton and Westbank. She was the first white woman to arrive in Westbank. Her descriptions of her life and the country side are amazing. She had 14 children and they all grew to adulthood. She lived until 1937 and died at the age of 92.
May 11, 2021
A very factual sort of memoir, not really any thoughts or emotions of the author involved, very bare bones and I like books that make history come alive and let me feel something. It was sort of like "Nice day,hay drying well. Had picnic with the kids,saw a neighbour on ride back. Made apple pie." No emotions. I guess I was expecting more of a detailed diary and lots of inner thoughts. Even key events in her life were bland,I thought the meeting of her husband,their courtship and such would be romantic and cute but she said "I met my future husband there" and that was it. Her 14 kids are barely mentioned either. (My heart goes out to her there, what a ton of pain and responsibility!) I skimmed through most of it.
A lot was also just about things I wasn't interested in,how the town was doing,how the mine was doing, farming stuff,etc. There was sad parts with animals dying.
The introduction is about 30 pages long and very dry,it details the grandparents and parents of the author and I didn't need to know any of that to understand the book. I skipped past that.
The good part was Ogopogo and Sasquatch are mentioned a couple of times and there's a wonderful, hilarious Sasquatch account in the appendix,the best part of the book for sure! And the most famous Ogopogo account was told to the author by the witness himself,that was cool.
A lot was also just about things I wasn't interested in,how the town was doing,how the mine was doing, farming stuff,etc. There was sad parts with animals dying.
The introduction is about 30 pages long and very dry,it details the grandparents and parents of the author and I didn't need to know any of that to understand the book. I skipped past that.
The good part was Ogopogo and Sasquatch are mentioned a couple of times and there's a wonderful, hilarious Sasquatch account in the appendix,the best part of the book for sure! And the most famous Ogopogo account was told to the author by the witness himself,that was cool.
August 29, 2020
A valuable historical diary of the Similkameen, Hope and the Okanagan.
May 29, 2018
This book is really interesting! Quite short, but if you want to know more about what it was like for pioneers living in the Okanagan area in the 1860s and beyond, this is full of information. It's nice reading familiar names like Dewdney, Agassiz, Princeton, Similkameen ... Allison also wrote a lot about her encounters with the Natives which I found quite interesting. The Allisons lived through a lot of hard times. I encourage you to read this book if you are interested in Canadian, particularly BC, history because it doesn't take too long and you learn a lot.
October 29, 2009
Interesting but rather short memoirs by Susan Allison who moved to British Columbia in the 1860s. She paints a vivid picture of the pioneer life, of Native Americans and their customs and of all the work she had to do.
October 18, 2007
What an amazing woman Susan Allison was. I can't imagine what I would do if one house burnt down and the other was washed away in a flood.
Liz
Liz
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews