North Ward

The North Ward had some notable residents, many of whom were related. Firstly, there was George Norris, his wife Amanda, and their four children, lived in a wooden house on Commercial Street (see photos). Norris came to Nanaimo from England via Toronto and Victoria. In Victoria, he worked on the Chronicle newspaper, and married Amanda Gough (a daughter of one of the Princess Royal's families) in 1869. Norris was the founder of the Nanaimo Free Press in 1874, located beside the family's home. The Free Press did not start as a daily paper but became one in 1888 in response to increasing competition. Norris did more than print newspapers; the company also did bookbinding, ledger printing, and wedding stationary. As of 1891 census, he employed five men, all of whom were lodgers at various hotels in Nanaimo. Norris was active in the community, having been a school trustee; on the management teams for the Hospital and the Agricultural Society; and as a member of the Order of the Odd Fellows. He also covered the civic proceedings on a regular basis due in part to his family connections to the city clerk, Samuel Gough, his brother-in-law.

Samuel Gough, as a young boy, was among the pioneers who arrived aboard the first boat to bring mining settlers to Nanaimo, the Princess Royal. He lived on Skinner Street with his wife, Emily, and son, Hiram. Appointed city clerk in 1880, Gough was one of the leading members of the community with his work as secretary of the School Board from 1893 and his rise to City Comptroller in 1920.

William Leighton was also related to George Norris - their wives were sisters. Leighton, his wife Hattie, and their two children lived with a large number of boarders, likely in a hotel (probably the Opera House) that was brick and wood on Church Street. He was an insurance salesman and real estate agent. He also worked with Al Davis to bring entertainment to the Opera House hotel owned by John Mahrer. They brought in such acts as wrestling, boxing, stage shows, and stage plays to entertain the hotel occupants, as well as the population of Nanaimo.

Storekeeper and mayor John Hilbert, his wife Mary, their three children, and a female servant, Phoebe Bennett, lived on Bastion Street across from Hilbert's furniture store and undertaking business. His talent for carpentry earned him the tasks of building a variety of buildings in Nanaimo, including the Methodist church in Wellington. His undertaking parlour was officially established in 1890; however, he had begun to custom make caskets in 1886. Hilbert was very active in civic affairs, belonging to the board of School Trustees, board of Hospital Trustees, and Board of Trade. He was involved with a variety of fraternal organisations including the Odd Fellows, and he founded the Order of Foresters and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was also the District Deputy Grand Commander of the American Legion of Honor, and treasurer of the Order of Druids. He was elected mayor of Nanaimo in January 1890 and January 1891.

Another politician, Richard Nightingale, was the manager of the Newcastle Quarry, and had owned and operated various hotels in the mid-1800s. He was once fined $100 for 'selling liquor to Indians.' He lived with his wife Margaret and their four children in a wooden house with eight rooms on Wallace Street. Nightingale was an alderman for many years (1875, 1877-1880, 1883-1885, 1888-1890, 1892-1893). Nightingale came to a tragic demise in an 1898 train accident when the Trent River trestle bridge collapsed and seven of the nine passengers were killed (see photo). His wife received a $9500 settlement in 1905 after many legal proceedings.

Thomas Dobeson was also civic minded. He was an alderman for North Ward. An immigrant from England, Dobeson worked as a mechanical engineer. He was married to Barbara, who was also of British descent. The Dobeson family, which included six children, resided on Comox Road. The youngest Dobeson child was born in BC indicating that they had been in BC for at least three years at the time of the census. In 1891, two of the Dobeson children were employed. Seventeen-year-old Joseph worked as a foundryman and the eldest daughter, eighteen year old Elizabeth, worked as a milliner for Spenser & Perkins' dry goods store.

Another notable resident of North Ward was John Shaw, who was principal of the Boys' School. Shaw was of Scottish descent. He lived on Stewart Avenue with his wife Catherine and their two children. In later years, he served as school trustee and chairman of the Nanaimo school board. John Shaw School (formerly Central School) was named in his honor.

Another North Ward resident dedicated to the cause of public education was Thomas Hodgson. He came to work in Nanaimo as a stonemason around 1891, and he eventually became a general insurance broker. He was an Alderman for North Ward from 1904 to 1908, and became Mayor of Nanaimo in 1909. He was also a member of the school board. In 1921 the Thomas Hodgson School was so named to thank Hodgson for his hard work.

James Atkinson Abrams, president of the Nanaimo Tanning Company, resided in the North Ward. Arriving in Nanaimo in 1876, Abrams opened a general store on Commercial Street, where he employed Marshall Bray before Bray became the provincial Government Agent for Nanaimo. In 1888 Abrams sold his business and went into politics, joining the city council in 1889. A justice of the peace, Abrams was also a member of the Masonic Order and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Successive generations of the Planta family were significant members of Nanaimo's North Ward. J. P. Planta (father) formerly worked as a teacher for a boys' school in Victoria (one of his pupils was Richard McBride, a future premier of B.C.). He resigned as a teacher to work as an accountant for the Vancouver Coal Company in Nanaimo, a position he occupied for ten years. Afterwards, Planta became a Stipendiary (police) Magistrate, a position he held at the time of the census in 1891. Planta was also an Alderman and member of the Nanaimo Board of Trade. A. E. Planta followed in his father's footsteps by starting his own financial business in the North Ward in 1888. He was an alderman for eight years, may from 1906 to 1910, vice president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, and senator of Canada. Both father and son were charged and imprisoned for embezzlement, although at different times. J. P. Planta was charged in 1895 and stripped of all his offices, while his son, A. E. Planta, was charged in the 1930s.

Finally, in recalling the notable residents of North Ward, one must not forget pioneer mining families, like the Muirs. They were one of the original Scottish settlers who came to Vancouver Island in the 1850s. Forty-two year old Mary Muir and her six children were living on Prideaux Street at the time of the census. Mrs. Muir was a widow. Her husband Andrew was one of 148 miners killed a few years earlier in the 1887 Esplanade shaft mining explosion. Families like the Muirs also contributed to the character of this part of Nanaimo.