A Tribute to Richard “Dick” Hugh Nash 1935-2020 – The Nash Family Album 1893

After taking time to peruse the album I discovered that it first belonged to the family of Dick Nash’s grandparents, Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) and Emily Harriet Hutchison (1861-1915) – pictured below at the Peigan Agency near Macleod in the mid-1890s.

The Album is 130 years old and has travelled extensively – from Plymouth or Exeter in England as a Christmas gift in 1893, to Battleford and MacLeod in the NorthWest Territories of Canada, to Victoria and other parts of British Columbia, perhaps to California, eventually to Fort McMurray and finally to Edmonton. Unsurprisingly, it is in a dilapidated state but many of the larger photos are still remarkably clear as is the handwriting of labels and verses. The smaller snapshots, unfortunately, are more faded but are still interesting. Possibly, Dick Nash had forgotten about the album as he did not leave any instructions regarding it. There is evidence, from small notations in the album, that copies had been made of some of the photos so perhaps he felt that the most significant photos had already been reproduced and passed on.

Although this is primarily a family album, depicting up to four generations of the NASH, HUTCHISON, ESTEN, and DAUNAIS families, it also contains some snapshots from the time in the 1890s when the Nash family lived in Canada’s NorthWest Territories, in Battleford (now in Saskatchewan) and Macleod (now in Alberta). These snapshots are of some historic interest and initially we thought that it might be appropriate to offer the album to the Provincial Archives of Alberta. Fortunately, before doing this, and with the help of our Past President Lynn Duigou, I was able to find an address for one of Dick’s nephews in British Columbia and was successful in making contact with him. He and his sister, who is now the keeper of Dick Nash’s genealogical research, were delighted to hear about the album and very much wanted to have it to add to the family archive so we were able to pass it on to them. 

Before coming to this happy resolution of restoring the album to family members we had not expected to locate,  I thought that we might, as a tribute to Dick Nash (1935-2020) and his generosity to the Alberta Genealogical Society, shine some light on the story this album tells of a long-ago period in the Nash family’s history and the family’s part in Canadian history.  

With that goal in mind I scanned each of the forty-five pages of the album (containing 137 photos) and have researched the family’s history in order to make captions for these charming old photos. I hope that this reproduction of the Nash Album and its story will find a place on the website of our Society so it can be enjoyed by our members and anyone else who may have a genealogical interest in the NASH, HUTCHISON, ESTEN, or DAUNAIS families. 

Dick’s nephew, niece, and a number of their second cousins have recently reviewed the narrative which follows and his nephew was kind enough to say:

Family Trees and Family Group Sheets: In an Addendum after the last page of the album is some genealogical information for the Nash, Hutchison, and Esten families.

Bertha Ellen HUTCHISON (1867-1941) gave this album to her nephews and nieces, the Nash children, for Christmas in 1893. We do not know who took each of the  photos but several people must have contributed by the time the album was filled.  Bertha, as the original producer of the album, probably took most of the photos of people and places in England and others during her visit to Canada. Members of the Nash family will also have contributed some of the Canadian photos.

The album contains family photos from England, selected by Dick Nash’s Great-Aunt Bertha Ellen Hutchison (1867-1941) who lived at the Hutchison family home in Devon,  and photos taken in Canada.  Most of the photos taken in Canada are from the 1890s and very early 1900s when Dick Nash’s grandparents, Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) and Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash (1861-1915) lived in what was then called the North West Territories. They lived at Battleford (now in Saskatchewan) and at Macleod (now in Alberta). In 1905 the family moved to British Columbia. All of the photos pre-date that move.

NOTE:  A number of hand-written notes have been added to the album, offering further information on the pictures. Who added the notes and when they did so is uncertain. Because the notes appear to be in ball-point pen ink, it is likely that they were added much later than the original 1893 date of the album. Ball point pens did not come into common use until the mid-to-late 1940s. One note added on a post-it note mentions the year 1989.
The note on the dedication page which says that “Aunt Bertha” was “Mother’s half-sister” indicates that the person who wrote that is one of Emily Harrriet (née Hutchison) Nash’s nine children who lived to adulthood (two children died very young). 

One note, accompanying two verses on Page 43 refers to “Mother” and  is signed “Agatha” so that must be Agatha Cotton Nash (1888-1966), the third child in the family but the other notes do not seem to be in the same handwriting  and appear to be made later. Several of the notes refer to “Bob” who is the seventh child in the family, Robert Edward Nanton NASH (1895-1989). e.g. arrows point out  “Bob’s Dad” and “Bob’s Grandpa”, etc. That makes it possible that the note-writer was Bob’s second wife Jessie Bowman whom he married in 1948. But the notes may have been written by several  different persons. Some could have been written by Bob himself or some of  his other siblings. Bob Nash who died in 1989 was the final survivor of the eleven Nash children so he may have been the last of his generation to inherit the family album. His wife died in 1992 and perhaps it was then passed on to someone in the next generation. It may have passed to several different relatives before it came into Dick Nash (1935-2020)’s possession. As he left no notes on the album we can only speculate.

I did check the notes where it was possible – some were very helpful while a few proved to be inaccurate and I have noted that on the appropriate pages.

In both the Nash and Hutchison families for several generations the men were career officers in the British Army and served in many far-flung outposts of the Empire. Home base was England (mostly in Devon) so some of the children in their large families were born in England, but others were born in Bermuda and other parts of the British West Indies, India, Sri Lanka, and Canada. Both Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) and Emily Harriet Hutchison (1861-1915) were born in Canada, in what is now Ontario.

Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) must have had an adventurous spirit for he left the family home in Ontario and came out west to serve as a member of the NorthWest Mounted Police from 1879-1883. He applied for a few homesteads in various parts of the West, perhaps for the sake of his children, but he did not seem to take up farming. In the 1890s he was appointed to a Federal Government position of Indian Agent. He also established and ran a hotel at MacLeod. In 1902 he enlisted in the Canadian force that was going to serve in the Boer War in South Africa but by the time his regiment arrived there the war had ended. Unfortunately, he became ill while in the Army in South Africa and suffered some severe physical disabilities. In 1905 he moved his family to Victoria, and in spite of those disabilities, he worked as a civil servant until his retirement. 

Most of the photos in this album are labelled with names and although not all are dated it is possible to estimate the dates fairly closely due to the number of photos that contain children whose birthdates are known.

Harry Holdsworth Nash and Emily Harriet Hutchison married in 1884. Their eleven children were born in the North West Territories, some at Battleford and some at Macleod Their second youngest child, Ronald Thomas Kitchner Nash (1900-1968), born at MacLeod, was DICK NASH (1935-2020)’s father.

The eleven Nash children were: Mary Caroline Nash (1885-1979); Lawrence Richard Hutchison Nash (1886-1955); Agatha Cotton Nash (1888-1966); Harry Bourke Nash (1889-1977); Nancy Esten Nash (1891 – after 1948); Honor Nash (1893-1970); Robert Edward Nanton Nash (1895-1989); Angela Nash (1896-1965); Eric Christopher Nash (Jan 1898- May 1898); Ronald Thomas Kitchner Nash (1900-1968); Pamela Edith Mary Nash (1905-1912).

THE ALBUM


The front of the album is a dedication page which reads “For the children from Aunt Bertha Xmas 1893”. Bertha Hutchison, aged 26, was Aunt to her 32-year-old half-sister Emily Harriet Nash’s six children, then aged three months to eight years old. Later, five more children were born to the Nash family. Most of them probably leafed through the album many times.

Dimensions of the album: 10.5 inches (27 cm) by 14.25 inches (36.5 cm).

The photo album contains 45 pages, un-numbered. I have scanned each page separately, and for clarity, have assigned a number to each, showing it at the top of the pages. No numbers actually appear on the original pages of the album.

There is a Dedication page: “For the children from Aunt Bertha Xmas 1893.”

 The six Nash children for whom the album was intended (photos reproduced from small snapshots on Page 31) at Macleod. With the baby Honor (born Sept 1893) is their mother Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash (1861-1915). 

An added handwritten note indicates that Aunt Bertha is “mother’s half-sister”. “Mother ” is Emily Harriet [née Hutchison] NASH (1861-1915).

She and Bertha were daughters of Colonel Frederick Joseph HUTCHISON (1830-1891) but they had different mothers. Emily Harriet Hutchison’s mother, Harriet Charlotte ESTEN (1835-1865) married in 1855 and died in 1865, age 30, after giving birth to at least four children.

In 1866 Colonel HUTCHISON married again, this time to Edith SCHLESINGER (1844-1923) and had another six children: Bertha (1867-1941); Bob (1869-1921), Alick (1871-1930); Mabel (1873-1961); Janet (1875-1939); and George (1877-1945). All six are pictured in this album.

Major James Christie Palmer ESTEN (1805-1864), of the British Army, was the maternal grandfather of Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash (1861-1915) whose husband was Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923). [Major Esten is Bob Nash (1895-1989)’s great-grandfather NOT grandpa as the note added in ball-point pen states.]

Major James Christie Palmer ESTEN (1805-1864), born in Bermuda, son of James Christie ESTEN (1772-1838), Chief  Justice of Bermuda, studied law in England but decided to settle in Upper Canada in 1836.  He was called to the bar in Upper Canada in 1838 and had a very distinguished legal career, including becoming Vice-Chancellor of the Court of Chancery. There is a biography of him, written by Robert Hett, (former history professor at the University of Alberta) in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Volume Nine.     

Visit Palmer’s biographi.ca webpage 

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/esten_james_christie_palmer_9E.html

These pictures of a house labeled “Maplewood, Newmarket” are NOT in England as the added note in ball-point pen suggests. In the 1861 Canada census Major Esten and his family were living in St. Patrick, York, Canada West but their residence is designated in the census column called “out of limits” and written in as “Newmarket in Whitechurch”.  

This area is in present day Toronto. Presumably, “Maplewood” is the name of the house.

Major Esten’s son James Hutchison ESTEN (1833-1892) was a barrister and Secretary of the Law Society of Ontario and resided for a time at Osgood Hall. This may be the reason that one of the pictures above was taken of “York Street Toronto from Osgood Hall”.  

James Hutchison ESTEN (1833-1892) was an uncle of Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH (1861-1915), brother of her mother Harriet (née Esten) HUTCHISON (1835-1865).   [The little yellow post-it note dated April 1989, that says ” Looking South” indicates that someone in the Nash family may have gone to Toronto or otherwise tried to determine the location of the photo taken from Osgoode Hall.] 

The HUTCHISON family lived for a time at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire (at the time of the 1881 England census and probably much longer). Pictured here are Colonel Frederick Joseph HUTCHISON (1830-1891) and some of his children – “Charlie” or Charlotte HUTCHISON (born abt 1864), Janet Forster HUTCHISON (1875-1939), ‘Alick’ Alexander Richard Hamilton HUTCHISON (1871-1930), and George HUTCHISON (1877-1945).

Also pictured is a woman identified only as ‘Nurse’. But, the 1881 census reveals that in the Hutchison household is a “Nurse Domestic Servant”, Elizabeth FOX, widow, age 55, born about 1826 in Saltash, Cornwall, so that must be her although this photo would have been taken a few years later than that census. The clothing, and the fact that the family home apparently includes a conservatory, indicates that the family was quite well-to-do. In the 1881 census the family had three other servants in addition to Nurse Fox.

The two women, one man, and two dogs in the small photo at the bottom of page 2 are not identified but the man might be Harry Esten

The Hutchison sons followed their father into military careers in the British forces and served in many different locations around the world. ‘Alick’ was knighted and became Sir Alexander Richard Hamilton HUTCHISON.

This page may have been blank originally except for the photo of “Uncle Bob Hutchison” (1869-1921) because the pictures of the children at the sea side in England must have been taken in about 1901 or 1902, eight or more years after the date of 1893 that is on the dedication page of the album.

The children are Bob Nash, who was born in 1895 at MacLeod, N.W.T., (died 1989 at San Diego, USA) and Hazel Daunais (married surname Hastings), who was born in 1897 at Battleford N.W.T. (died 1993, Oxford, England). They were cousins and it seems that Bob accompanied his aunts Janet Hutchison and Mabel Daunais  and Mabel’s daughter Hazel Daunais to England in 1901, perhaps as a companion for Hazel. He probably returned to Canada with his Aunt Janet. She married in British Columbia in 1906.

For further information on the interesting career of Hazel DAUNAIS (her married surname is HASTINGS) click through to this article in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_Hastings

The main reference for the Wikipedia article is a longer biography in the Oxford National Biographical Dictionary. This reference work is viewable only by subscription or onsite at a Library that owns the item, such as the University of Alberta Library.

Hazel (née Daunais) Hastings’ son Adrian Hastings (1929-2001) was a notable figure as well.

For his biography see this link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Hastings

The two men on this page, Hutchison ESTEN and Harry ESTEN are relatives of Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH (1861-1915) whose mother was an ESTEN.

James Hutchison ESTEN (1833-1892) is a brother of Harriet Charlotte (née Esten) HUTCHISON (1835-1865) and uncle to her daughter Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH (1861-1915). He was also a lawyer, like his father, and became Secretary of the Law Society of Ontario.

Henry ‘Harry’ Lionel ESTEN (1863-1934) is son of the above James Hutchison ESTEN (1833-1892) and first cousin to Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH (1861-1915).  On his death certificate his occupation is listed as “surveyer”.

For at least three generations the HUTCHISON and ESTEN families seem to have intermarried, living and working in England, Bermuda and Canada. The pencilled in numbers by the photos refer, I think, to copies, sized 4 inches by 5 inches, that were made for some other members of the Nash family.

Photo taken at Exeter, Devonshire, England. Colonel Henry MacLeod HUTCHISON (1840-1925) and dog Whisky.

He was a first cousin of Colonel Frederick Joseph Hutchison (1830-1891) who was the father of Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash.

“Who is the tallest” at Cheltenham shows.
Colonel Frederick Joseph Hutchison (1830-1891) (second from left) and his six youngest children: Alick, the tallest on the far left (1871-1930); then, in descending order of size: Bob (1869-1921); Mabel (1873-1961); Bertha (1867-1941); Janet (1875-1939); George (1877-1945).

In 1881 they lived at Leeson Villa (College Lawn) Cheltenham. “Tea in the woods” at Exeter is another family group, all female. The man photographed at ease in a hammock is Robert ‘Bob’ Hutchison (1869-1921).

“Family Group Cheltenham is more of the Hutchisons. The three Berthas include Bertha Hutchison, her mother’s sister Bertha Schlesinger, and another unknown Bertha.

Robert ‘Bob’ Schlesinger Hutchison (1869-1921), half-brother of Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash (1861-1915) followed the family tradition and joined the British Army. He became an officer in the 1st North Staffordshire Regiment and is pictured here with fellow officers from the regiment.  

It is worth noting that Bob’s father Frederick Joe Hutchison was a colonel of the 64th regiment of Foot but in 1881 the infantry regiments of the British Army were re-organized and the 64th was merged with some other regiments and renamed the North Staffordshire Regiment. So, Bob really had joined his father’s old regiment although the name had changed.

There is an interesting Wikipedia article about the regiment and its history:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Staffordshire_Regiment

“Carved Chairs” Katie Truscott.  

Katie Truscott (1856-1939) married Colonel Henry MacLeod Hutchison (1840-1925) in 1898.

The crests on these chairs may be the same as the ones on the fireplace surround in the Truscott home shown on Page 20 so they may be the Truscott family’s  coat of arms

Aimée’s wedding. Exeter, Devon, England, June 9, 1891.   Aimée TRUSCOTT (1870-1935) is a half-sister of Katie (Katherine Eleanor) TRUSCOTT (1856-1939) who later married Colonel Henry MacLeod Hutchison (1840-1925). 

Aimée and Katie Truscott’s grandmother was a Hutchison so they are also second cousins of the Hutchison children – Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash (1861-1915) and all her siblings. 

[A note made beside an 8″ by 10″  copy of the photo, indicates that the Groom’s family is on the left and the Bride’s is on the right. But Bertha Hutchison and her half-sister Harriet Nash are on the left, according to a note by Dick Nash.

There are no clear identifications of this group except for the bride Aimée Truscott (centre with large bouquet) and the groom Edward de Burgh, standing near the centre of the row just behind the bride, slightly to the right.]  

It is interesting to note that the wedding was of such importance that Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH (1861-1915) made the long journey from western Canada in order to attend. Her father Colonel Frederick Joseph Hutchison (born 1830) died a few months after this wedding so concern for an aged parent may also have encouraged her to make the trip.

Some scenic photos from Devonshire perhaps near where the Hutchison family lived
and in the centre a photo of ‘Alick’, Alexander Richard Hutchison (1871-1930).

Aimée Truscott (1870-1935) and Eddie de Burgh (1864- 1936) at Exeter, England  prior to their wedding in 1891.

[From the small note on the right it looks like an 8″ by 10″ copy was made of this photo]

This couple had two children, Nancy Olive DeBurgh (1892-1984) and John Maurice Truscott DeBurgh (1895-1915). John joined the British Navy but, sadly, died accidently in 1915, drowning at Scapa Flow, the main British Naval Base.

Aimée’s Wedding Exeter:  Wedding party of Aimée Florence Truscott (1870-1935) and Edward Joseph de Burgh (1864-1936) at Exeter, Devon, England, June 9, 1891.

BATTLEFORD – a selection of photos taken in Canada while the NASH family were living at Battleford, including one of Thunderchild’s Reserve, an independent Cree First Nations band. As late as February 1891 the Nash family was at Battleford but by the time of Bob’s birth in January 1895 they had moved to Macleod.

The small photo of Bertha E. Hutchison (dated 1890) indicates that Bertha probably made a visit to her half-sister Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH at Battleford and took some of these photos which she then placed in the album that she gave to the Nash children.

The other photos give a picture in summer and winter of the area, as well as  individuals who were friends of the family – Harry Parker, W Peterson, Bob Wyld, Annie Bourke, and the Bourke family home. The picture labeled “Chow Chow” seems to be showing some residents from the Thunderchild Reserve.  A closer look at the top photo shows that the woman is holding a teapot so water for tea must have been boiled by the man at left who is holding a small pail.

Photos from PLYMOUTH, England, where many of the Hutchison family lived.

Included are two churches – Plympton St. Mary (Church of England) and St.Peter’s (Church of England) and the Plymouth Cemetery.

The inscription on the grave in Plymouth Cemetery reads, “Frederick Joe Hutchison, Colonel of 64th Regiment, Born 17 Nov 1830, Died 2 Dec 1891, Grant Him O Lord Eternal Rest And Let Light Perpetual Shine Upon Him”.  According to military records found on the FindMyPast  website he was a Lieutenant-Colonel at the time of the Indian Mutiny and received the Indian Mutiny Medal 1857-1859.

The added note that says “Bob attended this Church as a child” refers to the time when Canadian Bob Nash (1895-1989), aged about six or seven travelled to England with his aunts Mabel Daunais and Janet Hutchison and cousin Hazel Daunais in 1901.

Photo taken at Plymouth, Devonshire, England, probably in the back garden of the Hutchison home.  

Standing: Alick HUTCHISON (1871-1930), Mabel Grant HUTCHISON (1873-1961), George HUTCHISON (1877-1945). Seated – on left, “Mamma” Edith [née Schlesinger] HUTCHISON (1844-1923), and on the right, Bertha HUTCHISON (1867-1941).

The small table in the centre holds three photos, probably deceased family members or some who were not at home and available for the photo session. Edith was the mother of six children who were half-siblings of Emily Harriet Hutchison Nash (1861-1915), grandmother of Dick Nash (1935-2020).

More photos from the HUTCHISON garden at Plymouth.

George Hutchison (1877-1945) and Mabel HUTCHISON (1873-1961).

Also a shot of George with two friends Norman Phillips and Walter Hose. (Norman Phillips was probably a relative as at least one Truscott and one Esten married a Phillips.) The use of chairs as props in these photos is probably to assist in keeping the subjects still to obtain a clearer photo.

Enlargement of Mabel

Mabel Grant (née Hutchison) DAUNAIS (1873-1961). Handwritten Note: “Aunt Mabel Donais married in Canada on visit. One child Hazel – later entered convent at Winchester with Hazel.” [This photo was probably taken in the period 1890-1893 when Mabel was 17 to 20 years old. The correct spelling of her married name is DAUNAIS but in notes in the album it is sometimes spelled a little differently, like “Donais”.]

When Mabel Grant HUTCHISON (1873-1961) was on a visit to her half-sister Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH in Canada she met, and in 1897, married Michael DAUNAIS (1851-1901) of Quebec. He had been farming in the Battlefords area but in April 1893 was appointed to the Federal Government position of  Indian Agent there. He must have been a colleague of Mabel’s brother-in-law Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) as he too worked as an Indian Agent.

Their daughter Hazel Mary DAUNAIS was born November 8, 1897 at Battleford. After Michael DAUNAIS died in 1901 Mabel returned to England with her daughter. Although the Hutchison family were Church of England Mabel probably converted to the Roman Catholic faith when she married. In about 1902 or 1903 she chose to enter a convent, Stanbrook Abbey, Callow End, Worcestershire, with Hazel who was educated at the convent’s girls’ school. In 1919 Hazel married a lawyer William George Warren Hastings (1881-1952) and moved to Malaya with him but Mabel remained in the convent until her death in 1961.

Staircase, Stoke, Plymouth – the Hutchison home. (photo 6 by 8 inches)

The added note says that the items hanging on the wall above the staircasea are, “Indian relics sent to England for protection by Bob’s Dad and Mother following Indian uprisings.”  This refers to the North West or Riel Rebellion/Resistance of 1885.

Harry Holdsworth NASH and his wife were probably near the action as they were living at or near Battleford at that time. The “relics” include a rifle, a pair of snow-shoes, a drum and other items that look to be fringed bags, etc. 

This is probably the Hutchison home – exterior and the Drawing Room (photo 6 by 8 inches), or the residence at 8 Baring Crescent which belonged to the Truscott family and later Katherine Truscott (1856-1939) and her husband Henry McLeod Hutchison (1840-1925).

This is decorated in the Victorian style popular in the 1890s among well-to-do families.

No. 8 Baring Crescent, Exeter was the address of Colonel Henry Macleod Hutchison (1840-1925) at the time of his death in 1925.

On June 20, 1898 at St. Mark’s Torquay, Devon he married Catherine Eleanor Truscott (1856-1939) who had been born in this house.

The many swords above the fireplace are probably a reference to the generations- long involvement in the British Army and Navy by the Hutchison and Truscott families. They have an impressive book collection in their library.

Katie Truscott (1856-1939), her husband Colonel Henry MacLeod Hutchison (1840-1925) and their dog Whisky, in the garden, at Exeter, Devon.

Carved Bureau – Katie Truscott.

The intricate carving and the nautical theme suggests that this item may be a souvenir reflecting the Truscott family’s service in the Btitish Navy.

A similar carving of ships at sea appears on the mantlepiece in the Truscott home shown on Page 20.

An interior scene at Exeter – George HUTCHISON (1877-1945) and his mother Edith (née Schlesinger) HUTCHISON (1844-1923)

Mabel HUTCHISON (later Daunais) (1873-1961) (at home in Exeter) posing with what may be the rifle on display above the staircase on Page 18, and her camera.

It was this very interesting photo which made me think that Mabel was a keen photographer. (Also, one of the verses on page 40 of the album says, ‘Mabel’s camera will be at hand’).

The unexpected juxtaposition of rifle and camera also led me to think that she and her sister had a good sense of humour. This photo was probably taken by her older sister Bertha Hutchison (1867-1941) who sent this album to the Nash children at Christmas 1893.

Here are some very intriguing photos. It seems that some of the Hutchisons – Mabel, Bertha, and perhap others, were keen amateur photographers. This is evident in the poses of a number of the family photos in the album, and more strikingly, in the ones in these five pages. In these five pages of photos they have set gone a step further and set up carefully constructed and fairly complex tableaux, at home in Exeter, England, using the Indigenous artifacts from Canada that are shown on Page 18.

Probably, they had  letters and perhaps some snapshots that served as a guide to their imaginative creation of these scenes. This also shows what a high level of interest there was in England, at the time, with regard to life in western Canada. That may be part of the reason that the sisters, Mabel, Janet, and Bertha Hutchison, all travelled to the North West Territories to visit their half-sister Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash and her husband Harry Holdsworth Nash who lived at Battleford and later at Macleod.

Page 25

EXETER: They have carefully labelled the scenes as being set in Exeter, England but show their ideas of possible scenes in Canada’s North West Territories, “Interior of settler’s house, N.W.T.” with Mabel and her Mamma (Edith Hutchison) and an “Ideal Cowboy” (probably Alick).

Page 26

Two more 6 by 8 inch photos of the “interior of settler’s home”, this time with an “Indian visitor” wearing some of the authentic clothing from western Canada – a beaded bag, moccasins, and feathered headgear. A quill basket sits on the table,  snowshoes and moccasins hang on the wall, and a rifle is propped against a chair. Someone with knowledge of Indigenous tools, clothing, etc. would be able to identify other items and attest to their authenticity or not. Mabel Hutchison and Mamma (Edith Hutchison) are playing the roles of “settlers” and it looks like Alick Hutchison is portraying the “Indian visitor”.

Page 27

An 8 by 6 inch photo, taken at Exeter, England of a simulated teepee and Indigenous hunter wearing showshoes and a blanket, carrying a rifle. It looks like they may have covered the ground with bed sheets to simulate snow.  

Page 28

Another simulated tableau titled “Indians cooking a meal (Exeter)”

Page 29

Another simulated tableau titled “Indians Exeter”.

Scenes at the NASH home at Macleod, N.W.T. (now Alberta). Harry Holdsworth Nash worked for a time as an Indian Agent for the Canadian Government.

Photos are of the exterior of the “Agent’s House Peigan Agency” and two interior views of the Sitting Room. The dog Barney is pictured and an unidentified man on the horse-drawn Water Cart.

Several of the NASH children were born at Battleford (from 1885 or 1886 through 1891) but by the time of Bob Nash’s birth on the 16 Jan 1895 they were living at Macleod. 

Snapshots of several of the NASH children at MacLeod, – Bourke (1889-1977),  Lawence (1886-1955), Nancy (1891-1948), Agatha (1888-1966), Mary (1885-1979), as well as parents EHN (Emily Harriet Nash) (1861-1915) with Honor (1893-1970) and Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) standing on the porch.

If the pictures were all taken at the same time it was probably late 1893 as Honor who was born 5 Sept 1893 looks to be a few months old.

More photos from the PEIGAN AGENCY.  Harry Holdsworth NASH (1856-1923) and horse Swike; Agatha Nash (1888-1966) , Mabel Hutchison (1873-1961), Mary Nash (1885-1979), Bourke Nash (1889-1977) , Annie ?, Lawrence Nash (1886-1955)  and horse Peggy. From the mid to late 1890s.

More snapshots from the PEIGAN AGENCY: S. Charles, Father Foisy; St. Peter’s Mission; Harriet; Pat; Children at the Mission. Probably from the mid to late 1890s.

PEIGAN AGENCY: More photos of the Nash children – three of Honor, Agatha, and one of “The Agent”, Harry Holdsworth NASH and his wife Emily Harrie.

PEIGAN AGENCY: W. Holland with horses Sally and Abner// Billy Humpey// Agent’s House// S. Heap and Grinoline (sp?).

PEIGAN AGENCY:

1) Indian Grave,  

2) R.C. Cemetery,  

3) Smike & Major (horses), Harry H NASH and The Canon,  

4) On ladder – Mabel (née Hutchison) Daunais, Janet Hutchison, Honor Nash, Hazel Daunais,  

5) Hazel Daunais (1897-1993) and Honor Nash (1893-1970)  (cousins).

Unfortunately, this interesting photo is very faded, but perhaps a more knowledgeable viewer can discern greater detail.

From Western Canada – back to Exeter, England – “Bob”, i.e. Robert Schlesinger HUTCHISON (1869-1921), a half brother of Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) NASH and uncle to the eleven Nash children.

In Exeter, England: “Harry” Henry Macleod HUTCHISON (1840-1925) and “Bob” Robert Schlesinger HUTCHISON (1869-1921).

At Exeter, England: Phil Walter or Walker, Colonel Henry Macleod HUTCHISON (1840-1925) and George HUTCHISON (1877-1945)

Our trip to Elko [in British Columbia, about 190 kilometres from Macleod] 16th September 1901. Verses written by Emily Harret (née Hutchison) Nash (1861-1915) Accompanying photo: “The Loop”

Verse 1: Lovely travelling weather / Spinning along in the train! / Five of us altogether / Off to Elko and back again / The Canon will get some fishing / Mabel’s camera will be at hand / The mountains will be so glorious! / The scenery is always grand.

Verse 2:  We started in splendid spirits / The train was a little late / We found though we couldn’t struggle / Against the decrees of Fate! / For the Canon here came a message / (We were actually in the train) / “There’s something gone wrong in the Parish, / “You’ll have to come back again”!

Verse 3: As the train steamed out of the station /   And the Canon homeward hove/ Nobody spoke for five minutes/ But silently, inwardly swore/ It was such a disappointment / (For the Canon’s such fun on the way) / And only his collar and slicker / Came to Elko with us that day.

Verse 4: Switzerland may be more gorgeous, / The Alps may be more high, / But the splendid Rocky Mountains / Never looked more splendidly! / And the vegetation round us / Golden and green and old / With the purple mountains tow’ring / To the clouds above our head!

Verse 5: At three we got to Elko/ Hoggarths’ was fully filled! / So we had to take up our quarters/ In a house they were going to build, / And when we got into our bedroom / They hastily built the door, / About windows nobody minded / Many boarders found rest on the floor!

Verse 6: Oh that splashing, flashing river,/ Rushing and tumbling down/ Right in the heart of the mountains/ Close to Elko town./ We scrambled down to the River,/ The mountains around us rose,/ And we just revelled in that beauty, / Till the darkness began to close.
Accompanying Photos: “Elko”, “The house they were going to build”, “Hoggarth’s”, “The River”

Verse 7: Why should the Canon be taken?/ And W. Pearse be left?/That night would have been so jolly/ If we had not been bereft!/ We sat there in Hoggarth’s parlour/Which is just above his bar/ And the language they said, or the songs they sang/ Would have been better heard from afar!

Verse 8: Next morning we breakfasted early/ (The snores nearly kept me awake)/ Then we rushed down to the river, / The photographs to take. / Pack bridge and Falls and Beauty/ And Harry’s old Hotel/ And other views of lovliness/ (I hope they will turn out well)!

Accompanying Photos: “Pack Bridge”, “The Falls”, and “Harry’s old hotel” 

Note: For a time Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) owned and operated a Hotel, or perhaps more than one, as the log structure pictured is called “Harry’s Old Hotel”.  In the 1901 census he is living at Macleod (now in Alberta) and his occupation was “Hotel Keeper”. 

Verse 9:  There just in time at the station/ To catch the East bound train/ Goodbye to our fellow tourists/ Back to Macleod again./ Goodbye to the lovely mountains/ Back through the Pass we’re whirled,/ No matter what other tourists say/ That’s the lovliest place in the world!  Accompanying photos: “Elko”, “Crow’s Nest Lake”

35 years later  

These two verses were added in about 1936 by Emily Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash’s daughter Agatha Cotton Nash (1888-1966).

(1) In Mother’s old album I found/ This poem so fresh & so gay,/ Too bad the pictures have faded./ Mother’s writing was put there to stay. /Hoggarth’s old cabin has fallen,/ The town looks deserted & dead;/ But the mountains with lasting splendour, / Still tower above one’s head.

(2) We, too, have traveled these mountains/ They are in Fernie Parish you see/ We’ve been thrilled by their beauty, their splendour, / Charles, his spaniel, do we / lap in the midst of the star dust,/Where clouds shed their silver sheen/ Our souls flowed over with riches,/ Almost to heaven we’ve been. (Agatha)   [This is Agatha Cotton Nash  (1888-1966) – married surname Raven – the third child of Harry Holdsworth Nash (1856-1923) and Harriet (née Hutchison) Nash (1861-1915)]

Although not all labelled, these are more snapshots of the Nash children.

Labels for the Calgary page are: 1) T.R.H. The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York,  2) Royal Escort North West Mounted Police. The initials “SM” may indicate a family friend who was in the NWMP,  3) NWMP Camp,  4) Mr Scott’s house, Sunday 29th September, 5,6,7) Hazel Daunais (1897-1993), her mother Mabel (Hutchison) Daunais (1873-1961), Bob Hutchison Nash (1895-1989),  8) Roman Catholic Church and clergy house, 9) Roman Catholic Convent.

The pictures on this page with the heading “Calgary” date to 1901. According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, it was in 1901 that Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) visited Canada as part of a larger royal tour of the British Empire to thank the various parts of the Empire for their contributions to assisting Britain in the Boer War. They were in Canada for about a month. Calgary in 1901 had a population of only 4,400 so a Royal visit would have been a major event.

1 ) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
In working with this album and trying to discover information about the families I am grateful to Ancestry.com and various other online resources such as Wikipedia and FindMyPast. 

Claudine Nelson assisted me in searching out information about Harry Holdsworth Nash’s homestead applications and also found the obituary of Lt-Colonel John Richard Nash that is reproduced below.

To keep tabs on my large “cast of characters” from the photos, and sort out their family relationships, I had to utilize my own Genealogy program Reunion where I entered over 150 members of the Nash, Hutchison, Esten and related families. This permitted me to include below a couple of family charts.

a)  This obituary of Dick Nash (1935-2020)’s great grandfather Lt-Colonel John Richard NASH (1815-1889) appeared in the Ottawa Citizen a few days after his death:

b) Transcription of letter from Harry Holdsworth Nash accompanying information about a Homestead application.

From “Alberta, Canada, Homestead Records, 1870-1930.”

From Harry Holdsworth Nash of 664 Battery Street, Victoria, B.C.    10 Dec 1908
To: The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Ottawa   

Sir,  I have the honour to draw your attention to the fact that owing to a disease of the pleura contracted during my term of service in South Africa, I returned to Canada a physical wreck: in order to cure this disease I have had ten operations under three different doctors to whom I can refer you for the truth of my statements – Dr. A.A. Kennedy of Macleod, Alta. Dr Mewburn of Lethbridge, Alta. and Dr O.M. Jones of Victoria, B.C. I spent five years under the care of their (sp?) doctors nearly four of them being in the Royal Jubilee Hospital Victoria, and had portions or the whole of my ribs removed on my left-side as well as half my shoulder blade. At the end of five years the disease was pronounced cured but I am of course crippled and unable to use my left arm at all and requiring support to even stand upright. You will therefore see that it is utterly impossible for me to perform the homestead duties in order to hold my land grant. I am greatly impoverished by all this sickness & cannot afford to employ a substitute. I have ten children, the eldest married with a family, and only three old enough to work & they had to be taken from school before being properly educated in order to contribute to the support of the family. I am in receipt of a small pension from the Imperial Government (illegible) per day.  What little work I can do brings me in a small salary. I have entered into all these details in order to show that although I cannot perform my homestead duties I am most anxious to hold my land as it would be a small provision for my wife & large family. The length of my life is most uncertain, I suffer constantly by the formation of abscesses in my injured side & should I have to wait three years on my land I may never see their completion. I can obtain certificates from my doctors if necessary & my case is well known to Mr John Herron M.P., A.B. Macdonald  of Macleod & many others. I can only hope that the Ottawa Government will specially consider my case. Awaiting your reply. I have a the honour to be Sir Your obedient servant,  H.H.Nash

Mr Nash received this letter in reply:
16 January 1909 (copy for Mr. N.O.Coté)

Sir,   Replying to your letter of the 10th ultimo, asking that you be dispensed from the performance of the usual homestead duties on account of physical infirmities, I am directed to say that there is no authority under which any of the conditions prescribed by the statute in connection to land grants to South African volunteers could be dispensed with or modified, and it is, therefore, very much regretted, under the circumstances, that your request cannot be granted. Your obedient servant, Assistant Secretary.

Note: There is an extensive collection of material under Homestead Records regarding  Harry H. Nash’s homestead applications but this hand-written letter seemed particularly poignant as it describes his struggle, at age fifty-two, to provide for his wife and ten children after he suffered a debilitating illness while in the Army. He survived until 1923, almost fifteen years after the date of his letter, but his wife died in 1915.  

It is difficult to produce a fuller Family Tree in an eay-to-read format so I have only included these two summarized versions for the Nash Family

a)  This “Fan” Family Tree shows Ronald Thomas Kitchner Nash (1900-1968) at the centre. He is Richard “Dick” Hugh NASH (1935-2020)’s Father.

The “Bow Tie” Family Tree chart shows Richard “Dick” Hugh Nash (1935-2020) at the bottom right with his parents above and his ancestors for a further four generations back, moving to the left. (The box that is blacked out is his sister who was still alive at the time of Dick’s death.)