I would like to visit the memorial garden and find the exact spot where my uncle is buried. His name was Gordon Scarlett. He died in 1937 at 6 years old. I have his plot # from this website, but when I clicked on the map that shows the exact location, the page won’t load because of “too many redirects”. The “full cemetery map”. He is buried in plot 9, block 17. Do you have access to this map? I would like to see a screen shot of where he is in the cemetery.
Ellen Harriett Smith (nee Moodie) was born July 16th 1883 in Manitoba to Alfred Moodie and Sophia Grace Moodie (nee Smith). Ellen grew up in Carmen Manitoba on the family farm. She married Arthur Smith in Winnipeg Manitoba Sep 9, 1908. Ellen had five children. She lived in Carmen Manitoba, Dauphin Manitoba, Humboldt Saskatchewan, Lucerne BC and Kamloops BC. Ellen and her family made Kamloops BC their permanent home in the mid 1920's.
She passed away in Essondale (Riverview) Dec 20, 1943. She had been a widow for three years prior to her death.
Hi my name is Shane Louie and I have a relative who married a William McNeil in 1919 and her name was Agnes Louis but probably spelled Louie. shane.louie@hotmail.com
Thank you for the work that has gone in to creating a compassionate memorial to those who lived and died in institutions.
I am the great great granddaughter of George Polden, who is buried at Woodlands along with his wife, Jessie, who died as Essondale 10 years prior to him.
Their existence was kept a secret. My grandfather didn't speak of our family history and took anything he knew to his grave. George and Jessie were his grandparents, but he would never know them. They died at Essondale before he was born. My heart aches for them and somehow feels like a piece that's been missing has finally been found. I'm sorry it took us so long, George. And I'm so thankful I now know where to visit you.
Frederick George Polden (George) was a pioneer who immigrated to Canada at the young age of 20 with his wife and infant daughter, Rose. They arrived in Quebec City and moved west, having three sons along the way. Their youngest son, Charles Arthur Polden (Charlie), is my great grandfather.
George enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force as part of the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion. He was a carpenter. The unit fug and built the trenches on the front lines of WWI. It isn't known if Jessie was admitted to Essondale before he returned home, and if so, what happened to their four children. Charles was 5 or 6 when his father went to war. He was 10 when his mother died. George died ten years later, also at Essondale.
Charles had one biological son, Arthur Charles Polden (Art), my grandfather. His children are Dean Arthur Polden and Lisa. Dean had two children, Brianna (myself) and Jarrett Charles Polden.
Rest in peace, George. May your memory never again be forgotten.
The comments made about your great grandmother break my heart. My great great grandfather and grandmother are buried at Woodlands. They were a secret my family kept for 3 generations which I recently uncovered. I visited their final resting place here just yesterday and am still processing what happened to them and so many like them, although I do not know why they ended up at Essondale.
The generational trauma really stands out to me. My father isn't a part of my life, and his father took this family history with him to his grave, never uttering a word about his dad or his grandparents. The son of my great great grandparents who died at Essondale was likely left an orphan. I imagine this began a long and poorly understood chain of trauma and absent fathers in my family.
If there ever is a support group for the descendents, I am absolutely eager to be a part of it.
Sending strength and with you in solidarity.
May your great grandmother's memory be remembered with compassion.
My great grandfather left New Brunswick and headed west leaving behind my great grandmother and my grandfather. How he ended up here is covered in a shroud of mystery. I do know my great grandmother was notified of his death but my grandfather refused to bring his body home.
Recently, through a DNA test my sister was contacted by a cousin in Australia. My sister and I decided to travel down under and met with all four of our cousins. While there, my cousin showed us medical records she had found in the BC archives. I was shocked to learn that my Great Grandmother was “incarcerated” in the then BC Hospital for the Insane and later died in Woodlands in 1913. Her name was Huldah Edlund. I found her name on your list.
Secrecy and shame permeate our family tree. I was appalled looking through the medical records to read words like stupid, dirty, problematic and awful… It was heartbreaking to read letters to her from the family. I’m no doctor, but the fact my great grandmother was taken to this institution mere days after giving birth to my grandmother screams post partem. 8 years later she died in Woodlands.
I have yet to really process any of this. I’ve read several posts on your site. I too would be interested in purchasing a new gravestone honouring the life of my great grandmother. I wonder too about whether any support groups have been formed to deal with the inter generational traumas that occurred as a result of this and other institutions like it. When I met my long lost relatives it became apparent we were sharing the same pain…
Was there ever any information gathered on how to go about having our relatives graves properly marked? I’m in the process of trying to find (closer) relatives of James T. Underhill. If I don’t find them or if they are not interested in replacing his marker, I would like to take care of it myself so he can be properly remembered.
Hello
Im not sure if i responded to your email before so here is the information. I worked with Eric Lees from Lees and Associates to get Arthurs headstone placed.
I am so excited I finally came across your post! I can't tell you how excited I am. I am related to you and so hope we can connect!
My dad is Gary, son of Anna, brother to Maryann, which was Ann's Mom, she replied here also.
My dad is also interested in finally learning of his ancestry background and we are wondering if you have any details in regards to native status? Do you know if any of our family is status?
Looking forward to hearing from you
Hello,
I would like to visit the memorial garden and find the exact spot where my uncle is buried. His name was Gordon Scarlett. He died in 1937 at 6 years old. I have his plot # from this website, but when I clicked on the map that shows the exact location, the page won’t load because of “too many redirects”. The “full cemetery map”. He is buried in plot 9, block 17. Do you have access to this map? I would like to see a screen shot of where he is in the cemetery.
Thank you,
Leah Shuler
Ellen Harriett Smith (nee Moodie) was born July 16th 1883 in Manitoba to Alfred Moodie and Sophia Grace Moodie (nee Smith). Ellen grew up in Carmen Manitoba on the family farm. She married Arthur Smith in Winnipeg Manitoba Sep 9, 1908. Ellen had five children. She lived in Carmen Manitoba, Dauphin Manitoba, Humboldt Saskatchewan, Lucerne BC and Kamloops BC. Ellen and her family made Kamloops BC their permanent home in the mid 1920's.
She passed away in Essondale (Riverview) Dec 20, 1943. She had been a widow for three years prior to her death.
Hi my name is Shane Louie and I have a relative who married a William McNeil in 1919 and her name was Agnes Louis but probably spelled Louie. shane.louie@hotmail.com
Thank you for the work that has gone in to creating a compassionate memorial to those who lived and died in institutions.
I am the great great granddaughter of George Polden, who is buried at Woodlands along with his wife, Jessie, who died as Essondale 10 years prior to him.
Their existence was kept a secret. My grandfather didn't speak of our family history and took anything he knew to his grave. George and Jessie were his grandparents, but he would never know them. They died at Essondale before he was born. My heart aches for them and somehow feels like a piece that's been missing has finally been found. I'm sorry it took us so long, George. And I'm so thankful I now know where to visit you.
Frederick George Polden (George) was a pioneer who immigrated to Canada at the young age of 20 with his wife and infant daughter, Rose. They arrived in Quebec City and moved west, having three sons along the way. Their youngest son, Charles Arthur Polden (Charlie), is my great grandfather.
George enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force as part of the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion. He was a carpenter. The unit fug and built the trenches on the front lines of WWI. It isn't known if Jessie was admitted to Essondale before he returned home, and if so, what happened to their four children. Charles was 5 or 6 when his father went to war. He was 10 when his mother died. George died ten years later, also at Essondale.
Charles had one biological son, Arthur Charles Polden (Art), my grandfather. His children are Dean Arthur Polden and Lisa. Dean had two children, Brianna (myself) and Jarrett Charles Polden.
Rest in peace, George. May your memory never again be forgotten.
Michael,
The comments made about your great grandmother break my heart. My great great grandfather and grandmother are buried at Woodlands. They were a secret my family kept for 3 generations which I recently uncovered. I visited their final resting place here just yesterday and am still processing what happened to them and so many like them, although I do not know why they ended up at Essondale.
The generational trauma really stands out to me. My father isn't a part of my life, and his father took this family history with him to his grave, never uttering a word about his dad or his grandparents. The son of my great great grandparents who died at Essondale was likely left an orphan. I imagine this began a long and poorly understood chain of trauma and absent fathers in my family.
If there ever is a support group for the descendents, I am absolutely eager to be a part of it.
Sending strength and with you in solidarity.
May your great grandmother's memory be remembered with compassion.
My great grandfather left New Brunswick and headed west leaving behind my great grandmother and my grandfather. How he ended up here is covered in a shroud of mystery. I do know my great grandmother was notified of his death but my grandfather refused to bring his body home.
To whom it may concern,
Recently, through a DNA test my sister was contacted by a cousin in Australia. My sister and I decided to travel down under and met with all four of our cousins. While there, my cousin showed us medical records she had found in the BC archives. I was shocked to learn that my Great Grandmother was “incarcerated” in the then BC Hospital for the Insane and later died in Woodlands in 1913. Her name was Huldah Edlund. I found her name on your list.
Secrecy and shame permeate our family tree. I was appalled looking through the medical records to read words like stupid, dirty, problematic and awful… It was heartbreaking to read letters to her from the family. I’m no doctor, but the fact my great grandmother was taken to this institution mere days after giving birth to my grandmother screams post partem. 8 years later she died in Woodlands.
I have yet to really process any of this. I’ve read several posts on your site. I too would be interested in purchasing a new gravestone honouring the life of my great grandmother. I wonder too about whether any support groups have been formed to deal with the inter generational traumas that occurred as a result of this and other institutions like it. When I met my long lost relatives it became apparent we were sharing the same pain…
Please let me know ..
Best regards,
-Michael
Was there ever any information gathered on how to go about having our relatives graves properly marked? I’m in the process of trying to find (closer) relatives of James T. Underhill. If I don’t find them or if they are not interested in replacing his marker, I would like to take care of it myself so he can be properly remembered.
Hello
Im not sure if i responded to your email before so here is the information. I worked with Eric Lees from Lees and Associates to get Arthurs headstone placed.
Mark Clark
Hi!
I am so excited I finally came across your post! I can't tell you how excited I am. I am related to you and so hope we can connect!
My dad is Gary, son of Anna, brother to Maryann, which was Ann's Mom, she replied here also.
My dad is also interested in finally learning of his ancestry background and we are wondering if you have any details in regards to native status? Do you know if any of our family is status?
Looking forward to hearing from you
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