Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Henry Mole fonds
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- Textual record
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- Source of title proper: Title based on provenance.
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Fonds
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Physical description
0.6 m of textual records
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Henry Mole was born in St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, England on September 17, 1839, the son of Henry Tingey Mole and Mary Ann Brown. Henry arrived in Victoria in 1862 and headed for the goldfields. He moved to New Westminster in the later of that year. He and E.J. Betts applied for and received pre-emption right for land at District Lot 314 where the Point Grey Golf and Country Club is today. Henry later built his home and farm there. According to the 1886 Vancouver Voters’ List, Henry also owned a piece of land at Lot 2, Block 3, O.G.T. which was the area of Old Granville Townsite.
Henry married Elizabeth Ann Cornish on November 7, 1881, in the Methodist Church in New Westminster. Elizabeth had been married previously to Charles Paull and had two daughters with him. Paull was an engineer on the streamer “Maggie”. He died in early 1881. Elizabeth was born in Redruth, Cornwall on May 16, 1847, the daughter of William and Ann Cornish.
Henry and Elizabeth had twins, Annie and John, born on September 28, 1882. In 1889 Henry leased his farm and moved to a new house he had built on Comox Street in Vancouver, so that his children could attend school. Elizabeth died on August 11, 1893, and in 1898, Henry moved back to his farm after the children completed their schooling.
Henry was elected as “Councilman” (alderman) for the Municipality of South Vancouver in 1894. He held this post until 1899. He was very active in the Council and was a member of the Board of Works as well. He was involved with road construction and the laying out of Marine Drive. In 1922, Henry’s son, John Mole, sold the family farmhouse to the Point Grey Golf and Country Club. Henry died on January 18, 1923, in Vancouver and is buried with his wife in Mountain View Cemetery.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consist of 35 diaries written by Henry Mole from 1872 to 1914. These diaries chronicle the activities of Henry Mole as a pioneer, farmer and alderman. The diaries mainly document the descriptions of weather, family life, work was done on the farm, farm expenses, visitors, church involvement, and interaction with other pioneers. Many of the First Nations people were mentioned in the diaries as they were hired by Henry as farm workers. Additional documentation of Henry’s involvement in the Municipality of South Vancouver as an alderman is included in the diaries from 1894 to 1899. Some diaries include Henry’s cash account and balances. The fonds is arranged into files, with each diary comprising one file. The fonds is missing the diaries of 1873-1874, 1897, and 1909-1913.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by Mole Family members on May 8, 2017.
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
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Finding aids
File list available.
Associated materials
Accruals
Alpha-numeric designations
Accession 2017-023