The Christine Procter Story: if these photos could talk
Part I: Unlocking the Secrets of my Great-Grandmother
Discovering my ancestral twin!
When I was a young girl, I was fascinated by a portrait of a young woman in a gold oval frame that hung on the wall above my father’s desk in our living room. She was my paternal great-grandmother, Christine Violet Procter.
Transfixed by Christine’s Mona-Lisa type smile, I saw some of her features mirrored on my own face. An aspiring artist, I made several childish attempts to sketch her delicate features and curly hair piled atop her head.
“Decades later, I’ve added colour to several of Christine’s photos and our resemblances are even clearer.”
My father recalled a few basic facts about his grandmother’s life: she was Scottish and had married prominent Vancouver physician Dr. Arthur Percival Procter. Together, Christine and Arthur had four children.
Over the years, my farther told many stories about Dr. Procter’s illustrious career, including his untimely death, at the hands of a patient. But Christine’s story remained untold.
I wanted to know more about my look-alike great-grandmother, who had been born nearly 140 years ago, in Inverness, Scotland. What had Christine been like? What had her hobbies, interests, and aspirations been? I wondered if we shared more than just a physical resemblance.
Unfortunately, with few living relatives left to answer my questions, I had to get creative if I was going to tell my great-grandmother’s story.
Luckily, I have an interest in ancestry and a knack for it! I’ve enjoyed spending the past two decades gathering information about Christine from mementos, photographs, letters, news clippings, official documents, and more! I am thrilled to say that today, I feel I have a much clearer understanding about who my great-grandmother was.
Marilyn and Christine at Finnerty Cove, 2020 and ca. 1906
One of the photo albums placed at the foot of the Arbutus tree at Finnerty Cove
The Photo Albums
When I moved to Victoria to begin my career as a librarian, my aunt and uncle showed me several old family albums that featured the Procter family.
“Finally! I had a visual record of my great-grandmother.”
A young wife and mother in the early 1900s, the earliest photos of Christine were taken in Donald, Yale, and Kamloops, as well as other parts of British Columbia.
The photos depict an active, independent woman who relished new experiences.
Fun and Family Time
In one of the albums, I was delighted to find many snapshots of Christine fishing, swimming, hunting, and camping. As someone who is squeamish about touching raw fish, I have tremendous admiration for my great-grandmother who bravely posed for the camera with a freshly caught salmon in her gloved hand!
The photographs portray a loving mother, who doted on her children. Christine and her husband actively engaged with their children - playing games, teaching them how to swim, and exploring the beach, at their summer cottage in Finnerty Cove on Vancouver Island.
A colourized photograph of the Procter family in a canoe at Finnerty Cove, circa 1911. Left to right: Arthur (junior), Dorothy, Aunt Elsie, Sarah (Christine’s mother), Christine, Mary (my grandmother), and Dr. A.P. Procter.
The photos have given many more dimensions to Christine including her fondness for the outdoors and her closeness to her husband and children; still, many unanswered questions remain. I know I have just scratched the surface to understanding my great-grandmother’s story. There is much more to discover about her life, including what it was like before marriage, and also the circumstances that brought her family to Canada.
Stay tuned for the next instalment of Christine’s story!