Sex Archives | British Columbia’s Black Pioneers

Oberlin College Class Photo 1855

Oberlin College, originally called Oberlin Collegiate Institute until 1850, is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. In 1833, Presbyterian ministers John Jay Sipherd and Philo P. […]

On British soil he was free. The Case of Fugitive Slave Charles Mitchell

John Adams is an author, historian, and he owns and operates a walking tour company “Discover The Past” that offers walking tours of Victoria. Location: Bastion Square marks […]

Sir James Douglas, 1863. Governor of Vancouver Island (1851–64) and British Columbia (1858–64)

Since 1851 James Douglas held 2 jobs, Chief Factor for the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), operating from Fort Victoria and Governor of the Crown Colony of Vancouver Island. […]

Willis and John Stark (1890)

Willis Otis Stark and his brother John Edmond Stark, in a professional portrait taken at the Elite Studio in Nanaimo, B.C. John Edmond made his living by prospecting […]

In memory of Emily Arabella (Emma) Stark 1856 – 1890

Emma’s great-grandniece Naidine Sims with her daughter and granddaughter view the plaque at Emma’s former address in Nanaimo, B.C. The plaque reads: In memory of Emily Arabella (Emma) […]

Emma Stark as a young woman (1875)

The photo is believed to have been taken at a portrait studio in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, B.C. Emma was teaching in the nearby community of Cedar.

Emma Stark, daughter of Sylvia and Louis Stark

A formal portrait of Emily Arabella Stark, hand tinted, possibly taken while she was a schoolteacher.

Courage, Hope, Anticipation, Confidence is reflected in the faces of these intrepid Black pioneers

These are a few of the men, women and children who had an indelible effect on Colonial B.C. and the future of British Columbia. Top L-R: Nancy Lester: […]

Willis Stark and the cougar (1900)

Willis Stark, known for his cougar hunting expertise, pictured here with one of his dogs, a gun and the cougar that he has shot on Salt Spring Island, […]

Willis Otis Stark as a young man (circa 1870, age about 18)

When his father, Louis, moved the family to another farm near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, Willis Stark stayed on Salt Spring Island and kept the farm. His mother, […]

Mystery surrounds the death of Louis Stark

A rich coal seam was discovered under Louis’s Vancouver Island property; several interested buyers, including his neighbour Ed Hodgson, offered to purchase the land. Louis was happy farming […]

Marie Albertina Stark Wallace, age 98, author of “The History of the Stark Family”

Marie’s story about the Stark Family was published in The Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper as an 11-part series in 1979-1980.