Born in Cornwall, England, in 1823, Henry Hunter was 12 years old when he went to sea. In 1849 he went to the California gold rush where he did very well, banking his gold in the Homemaker's Bank of San Francisco. After nine years of saving, Henry lost everything when the manager of the bank embezzled and fled to New York. It was a devastated Hunter who left the States for Canada, and the Fraser River Goldrush. In 1861 and '62, Hunter was on Williams Creek with Billy Barker. Moving to Hope, where he built a trading post, Henry married a native woman, and they had two daughters, Lucy and Mary. As the girls grew older Hunter sent them away from home to be educated. The eldest girl made the adjustment quite happily, but Mary, who was only 10, was dreadfully homesick, and returned to her father. Hunter taught her at home, where Mary also worked in the store. While she was still a teenager, a group of Chinese miners broke into the store to steal the gold they knew was there. When Henry called for help, Mary came to defend him, and was stabbed several times. To scare the robbers off, Hunter knocked over a coal-oil lantern and set fire to the building. Once the robbers had fled, he smothered the flames with blankets. Henry Hunter passed away in 1910, at 87 years. (Info from "Forging A New Hope", p.200)
Henry Hunter came from the California Gold Rush, worked through to Barkerville before settling in Hope. (credit: Hope Museum)
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© Quesnel & District Museum and Archives unless otherwise
noted. Thanks to the B.C. Archives for permission to show various
images. Thanks to the BC Encyclopedia for permission to quote information
on the roadhouse communities. Thanks to the Living Landscapes Project,
the Royal British Columbia Museum, Ministry of Community, Aboriginal
and Women's Services for their support of site development.
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