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Interview of Hugh McLennan
May 25 2004 Hugh McLennan Audio is distorted by background noise and difficult to hear/inaudible at times. Born: Montreal, Quebec, Oct 22nd 1927. Eldest of two children. Younger sister Elizabeth passed away several years prior to the interview. She had 3 children. Father: William Durie McLennan, born in Montreal on Nov 24th, 1889. Youngest of 3 (2 older sisters). Worked as an architect. Also worked with the Canadian Field Artillery. Paternal Grandfather: Also William. From a large family.…
Interview of John Buchanan
John Buchanan Feb. 18 2015 Born: John Buchanan, on May 26, 1939, in the family home in Shettleston, Glasgow. Only child, oldest grandchild on both sides. They lived in a tenement building with no hot water. Father: Born in Bridgton, Glasgow in March 1915. Worked manual labour. A large steel company in his area had relocated to a town called Corby, England and he relocated there for work around age 17 or 18. It was called "little Scotland" due to the number of Scots who moved there. He worked…
Interview of Peggy Askew
February 10 2012 Margaret (Peggy) Maryanne Askew (née Gillies, b. 1943 in Sidney, NS) is the only child of Donald John Jones Gillies (b. 1901 on St. Kilda) and Lillian Gilmore (b. 1911 in Turriff, Scotland). As the youngest of five boys, Peggy's father grew up on the island of St. Kilda, collecting eggs and birds on the island's cliffs, one of the many jobs necessary to stay alive. The soldiers stationed on the island during the First World War intrigued many of the young people with stories…
Interview of Therese McErlean
April 25 2012 Therese McErlean Born: Therese MacInness, June 11th, 1949 in Vancouver. Five siblings (2 brothers & 2 sisters), Therese was the fourth. Father: Micheal MacInness. Born in Eriskay, Scotland in 1904. He was a master mariner, and when he came to Vancouver, he ran an icebreaker in the north, and was a longshoreman in the offseason. He was a quiet man, and Therese regrets that she didn't get to know more about him or his family. He spoke Gaelic, but didn't read or write it. He…
Interview of Willie McErlean
Willie McErlean April 25 2012 Born: William James Farrell McErlean on Sept 11, 1931 in Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up in a tenement with his two sisters (one living in Portland, Oregon at time of interview). All of his siblings were born in the same bed in the tenement. He shared a bed with his Dad while his Mom shared with his older sister Dot. The beds recessed into the walls. It was 3 stories high, and the bathroom was shared in the hallway on each floor. There was no heat in the bathrooms…
Interview of Dauna Neveaux
Nov 26 2011 Dauna Neveaux (née Daune Mae Currie, b. 1935 in Chilliwack, BC) is the youngest of four (three older brothers). Her father, Earl Marshall Currie (b. 1891 in Boissevain, Manitoba), was the eldest of five children. He trained as a teacher and, after a traumatic experience in Petersfield, Manitoba (two of his students drowned), he moved to Vancouver to join his family. In 1911 he took up a bread route in Shaughnessy before moving to Sardis in 1913. In 1938, Dauna's father bought ten…
Interview of George Morgan
George L. Morgan July 14 2011 Born: George Lambie Morgan, June 3, 1927 in Troon, Ayreshire, Scotland. One of 11 siblings (3rd youngest). Five girls were born first, followed by 6 boys. Father: Walter John Morgan. Born in London, England in 1893, passed in 1934. Was in the Army for a time and also a sailor. Served in the Royal Fusiliers during the First World War. Before the War, he was a cabin boy. He was a "jack of all trades", but was unable to care for 11 children after his wife passed.…
Interview of Cilla Bachop
February 27 2005 Lucilla Bachop (b. October 22, 1946, Edinburgh) was adopted into a family of nine children. As the youngest, she had four older sisters and four older brothers. Her adopted father, James (b. 1891, Glasgow), had a shoe-making/repair shop on the High Street that his father had started. He was the second eldest in his family. Cilla vividly remembers her father's fabulous vocabulary and his love for football and cigarettes. Cilla's paternal adopted grandfather, James (b. Glasgow…
Interview of Hal Senyk
Hal Senyk Nov. 10 2012 Born: Anthony Harold "Hal" Senyk, March 4th 1950 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Youngest of 3 siblings. Siblings: Older sister was a Highland Dancer, which is how he became involved in bagpiping. His brother was not involved in Scottish dance or music. Sister became involved in dance through their maternal grandmother, and took lessons from Liz Merrimen. Hal also took dance lessons starting from age 5. Attended Lord Nelson School for primary years. The family moved to Montreal…
Interview of John McIlwraith
March 10 2005 John McIlwraith (b. Sept. 4, 1926 in Glasgow) was one of four children. Father: William Mason Peyton McIlwraith (b. in Connel Ferry, Scotland (near Oban)), had three brothers and three sisters. He met John's mother after returning from service in the First World War. William was an engineer for Singer as well as an amateur musician (banjo, guitar, piano, choir conductor) and baker. He would compose and transpose music for choirs. During the Depression, he was forced to take on…
Interview of James Balfour Buchanan
March 8, 2004 James "Jim" Balfour Buchanan (b. March 31, 1921 in Vancouver) is the only child of James Buchanan (b. Feb. 1877 in Shanghai, d. 1944 in Vancouver) and his mother (b. in Kingston, Jamaica), whose maiden name was Balfour. Father: sent to boarding school in Yorkshire, England at age 8. After completing his schooling, he lived in Germany for one year, learning the language and thus preparing him for later services as an interpreter at the end of the First World War. He was living…
Interview of Chief Ian Campbell
Feb 27 2012 Chief Ian Geordie (middle name from the movie "Wee Geordie") Campbell (b. 1973 in North Vancouver, BC) of the Squamish Nation is the youngest of two children (older sister). His mother (of the Baker family, from the Englishman John Baker) has three siblings and his father, Wayne, has six. Ian's surname "Campbell" is from Jimmy Campbell, a Scottish emigrant who married a Katzie woman (Fort Langley area) in the mid 1800s. Jimmy's daughter, Jenny Campbell, was a member of the…
Interview of Reid Maxwell
Reid Maxwell November 6 2012, November 13 2012 Born: John Reid Thompson Maxwell. Born Jan 29 1961, raised in hospital in Concordie, family home in Bowhill, Cardenden. First grandchild, oldest of 2 sisters (one living in Fife, another in England), recently learned of a half-sister came from his father's time in South Africa. John Reid after his grandfather, who he knew quite well and considered his best friend. Thomas Maxwell was his paternal grandmother's first husband who died. He stayed…
Interview of Anne Vernon, 1, 2
Anne Vernon March 9 2011, June 29 2011 Born: Anne Leith Fraser, July 16, 1926 in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Born at a home called Balgownie. One brother, William (Bill) Fraser. Very good at sports as a young boy, he was the only male descendant on the Fraser line, and was quite favoured as a result. During the War, the headmaster told their mother that he should be sent away, as they lived so close to the docks in Glasgow, "a magnet for young boys". He went to Keil Boarding School and did well…
Interview of John Fraser
John Allen Fraser April 21, 2015, Second interview date unknown, May 1, 2015 Born Dec. 15, 1931, in Yokohama, Japan, moved to Canada at age 3. Baptised by an Anglican priest in Japan. Brother born in Canada in 1935. Interview begins abruptly, in the middle of a sentence. John describes speaking at a gathering of the Fraser clan. He describes Simon Fraser's history in B.C. – he doesn't think he is related, as his family is Presbyterian, and Simon Fraser was Roman Catholic. He wore his…