Andreen Creek, Haultain Creek (both flowing into Horsethief Creek); Ogelston Creek (flows towards Frances Creek)
A bit of a different post this week: three different creeks named after people that we either don’t know enough about, or aren’t locally interesting enough to warrant a post of their own.
A bit of a different post this week: three different creeks named after people that we either don’t know enough about, or aren’t locally interesting enough to warrant a post of their own.
Andreen Creek (flows into Horsethief Creek)
Known earlier as “8 Mile Creek”, denoting its rough location on the Horsethief Creek road from Wilmer up towards the Red Line Mine, Andreen Creek first appears by name in a water license issued in 1906 to E Andreen on Lot 1735.1
What was Lot 1735 was pre-empted on 4 July 1901 by Edwin Andreen,2 and surveyed in 1902.3 The survey record printed in 1902 in the British Columbia Gazette suggests that Andreen’s application was a land grant for service in the South African War, but this is unlikely – no record of his service can be found in official records held by Library and Archives Canada, and there is no mention of this being a war grant in Andreen’s formal land application (war grants tend to have different paperwork).
Survey of Lot 1735 for Edwin Andreen’s 1911 Crown Grant. British Columbia Land Grants Vol 270 (no 0801/0270-0900/0270), 1910-1911, FamilySearch database: img 231 of 985.
Andreen’s time in the Windermere Valley leaves a scant record. He was paid for services as an interpreter out of Golden in the 1906-1907 period, indicating that he knew a second language.4 He was also appointed by the Province as a Commissioner for taking Affidavits in the Supreme Court for both the years 1908 and 1909.5
In late 1908 Andreen applied to purchase an additional piece of land (Lot 9263), this time up Frances Creek just south of John Hurst’s ranch and west of Harry Ogleston’s property (Lot 7911).6
The last trace of Andreen I was able to find is in the 1910 British Columbia Directory as “Edwin Andren”, a rancher living in Wilmer. An “A Andreen” is also listed as living in Wilmer in this same directory as a miner and farmer, although it is unknown if there’s a connection between the two.7 Andreen’s name does not appear in the valley on the 1911 Census.
Andreen received a Crown Grant for his lot on Horsethief Creek at the beginning of 1911, and evidence suggests that he promptly sold the lot to the Columbia Valley Irrigated Fruit Lands Ltd: the Company’s name appears on the receipt for his Crown Grant,8 and the location of the lot appears on the Company’s survey map in 1911, roughly as Lot 114 of Division A.9 It is unknown when exactly Andreen left the valley or where he went.
Lot map for the Columbia Valley Irrigated Fruit Lands Ltd, c1911. Columbia Valley Fruit Lands Limited, Prospectus (30 September 1911).
Years Before
Unsurprisingly, there is no clear record of Andreen’s life before his time in the Windermere Valley either. An Edwin Andreen appears living as a miner in Trout Lake City in the Arrowhead district of the West Kootenay as early as May 1897, possibly along with a brother or other relative (Charles Andreen).10
This Edwin Andreen is listed in the British Columbia Directory as a miner in Trout Lake City as late as 1903,11 including as a boarder in the Slocan riding in the 1901 Census. This census record provides further genealogical information that Edwin Andreen was born 10 March 1851 in Sweden, immigrated to Canada in 1893, became naturalized in 1898, and was married.12
Unfortunately, it’s unknown if this is the same Edwin Andreen as the one who later lived in the Windermere Valley (an E Andreen is also listed as receiving a certificate of naturalization out of Nelson in spring 1904.13)
A Description
There is a somewhat extended description of Andreen’s residence along Horsethief Creek, printed in a 1905 newspaper:
Haultain Creek
Haultain Creek is another tributary of Horsethief Creek, and was named in 1960 by the Canadian Board of Geographic Names for Alexander Gordon Haultain, a topographic surveyor who had done work in the Windermere valley area in 1913.15
Haultain’s work in the valley was brief, extending from the middle of June until the end of October 1913, during which time he completed topographic mapping of the Windermere area that had been started in 1912. The focus of this work was on the area between Toby and Dutch creeks (ironically not including the area of Haultain Creek).16
Local newspapers make only one brief mention of Haultain in association with this activity. In June 1913, a brief report mentions that, “A.G. Haultain of Ottawa… is here in charge of the Dominion government geological survey operations for this season.”17 This was the only work Haultain did in the area: the following season he was working up at Lake Athabasca.18
A Brief Biography
Alexander Gordon Haultain was born 18 September 1887 in Cardinal, Ontario to parents Francis Gordon Haultain and Mary Gilmour.19 His uncle, Sir Frederick Haultain, was the first premier of the Northwest Territories (1897-1905), made a significant contribution in creating of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and was Chief Justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.
A.G Haultain married Edith Evans Young in December 1913,20 and the two had a daughter, Nancy. Haultain went on to serve overseas in the First World War as a Lieutenant with the Canadian Engineers. He was in France for just under a year when he was blown out of his cot while sleeping, and, although not physically injured, a couple of days later Haultain showed symptoms of “nervous disability” (shellshock, or PTSD). He was transferred to a hospital in England and granted leave to Canada, where he served the remainder of the war at a signal training depot.21
In September 1918 Haultain was announced as part of a large force to serve as an engineer on a military expedition to Siberia.22 Haultain was struck of the strength as part of general demobilization in April 1919.
Haultain trained at McGill University as a mining engineer, and spent his career as a topographical engineer with the Department of Mines and Resources. He lived in Ottawa, and was one of the original members of the Ottawa Ski Club. He was also, according to his obituary, “a keen student of nature” with an interest in studying birds and animals.23 Haultain passed away in Ottawa at age 51 on 8 May 1939.24
Ogelston
The official description for the location of Ogelston Creek, located south of Hurst Creek up the Frances Creek valley, is that it “Flows E. towards Frances Creek then sinks.”25 This leads me to suspect that the existence of Ogelston creek is not widely known.
The creek was named after Henry (Harry) L Ogleston (or Ogelston), who was born 16 October 1864 to parents Joseph and Dora Sophia. The earliest census records I found of Harry and his family (1881 and 1891) record the entire family as having been born in Germany.26 If this were the case, the family would have immigrated to Canada sometime between about 1868 (the birth of the youngest) and 1881, at which time they were farmers in Haliburton County, Ontario.
There is some uncertainty in these records, however, as in all later census records (1901, 1911, and 1921) Harry reports himself as being born in Ontario. Harry’s siblings, on the other hand, are all recorded at the time of their deaths as having been born in Germany.27
Windermere Bound
Harry moved away from his family sometime after 1891, possibly following his father’s death in 1897,28 and reappeared in Peterborough (Wilmer) B.C. in May 1900.29 In 1901 he was lodging in Peterborough (Wilmer B.C.) and working as a quartz miner.30
Ogleston spent most of the rest of his life in the Windermere Valley. As was often the case, his employment was varied. In addition to purchasing some interest in at least one mining property,31 his name appears at times working odd jobs for the Province, including providing wood to the Wilmer lockup, labour to move the Government office from Windermere to Wilmer,32 and as a special constable for three days out of Wilmer.33 Ogleston was also appointed by the Provincial Secretary’s office as a commissioner to take affidavits in the electoral district in the years 1907 until 1909.34
Primarily, however, Harry was a farmer, and he was one of the first to pre-empt land up the No 3 Creek (Frances Creek) valley (the first was John Hurst). In August 1902 Ogleston filed to pre-empt what became Lot 7911.35 He referred to his ranch as being located in Lucerne Valley, although there is no indication that this nomenclature came into broader use.36
Survey of Lot 7911 for Harry Ogleston. Crown Land Registry Services, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Victoria, B.C., Crown Grant No 2622/214, Harry Ogleston for Lot 7911, 14 February 1908, British Columbia Crown Land Grants Vol 214 (no 2610/0214-2709/0214), 1908. [img 104 of 859].
Ogleston also later pre-empted an additional adjoining lot of land to the north (Lot 9225),37 and purchased a third piece of land (Lot 9457) in March 1909 much further to the north.38 (This last lot is one of those under the care and later ownership of Dunbar Investment Co, mentioned in the post on Charles Trott Dunbar.)
In addition to acquiring land for himself, Ogleston acted as an agent for others applying to purchase land in the area, and his list of clients included Edwin Andreen, who purchased a parcel of land directly west and south of Ogleston’s pre-emptions.
Ogleston remains listed as living in the valley in both the 1911 census, when he was employed as a farmer and in doing roadworks,39 and on the 1921 census at which time he was living on his ranch.40 He continues to be listed as a rancher in Wilmer in British Columbia Directories from 1921 up through 1926.41
Harry died in Cranbrook on 4 March 1930.42 Although the creek named after him is officially “Ogelston Creek”, I have chosen to use the name “Ogleston” when talking about Harry himself as this seems to be the spelling he preferred (although both are certainly used).
See Also
John Hurst
Horsethief Creek
Red Line Mine
Charles Trott Dunbar
In The Windermere 