Category: Marcus Smith, Letters

Headquarters C.P.R. B.C. Aug 19, 1881 Marcus Smith letter to his wife

Headquarters C.P.R. B.C. Aug 19, 1881 Marcus Smith letter to his wife

“..I hope he [Tom] now has time to improve himself and instead of reading trashy novels he will get some Harper’s standard publications. They are very cheap – his biographies are only 75 cents each – so that if he only got one or even two a month it would not hurt his pocket much – I suppose Arthur will be going back before you get this – I hope he will do as well this year as last – I suppose all the big girls are away from home and left you and Clarice alone – tell the sprat she must write to Papa –

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New Westminster, B.C. 19 Jul 1881 6-pg Marcus Smith Letter home

New Westminster, B.C. 19 Jul 1881 6-pg Marcus Smith Letter home

July 19th,1881
My dear Wife
I have had a very hard month’s work surveying the Harbour of Port Moody and adjacent grounds for the western terminus of the C.P.R. It is surrounded by high hills wooded with trees of enormous size. Many of them fallen and with the rankest growth of underbrush-..

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Port Moody, B.C. 26 June 1881 Marcus Smith 3-page letter to his wife

Port Moody, B.C. 26 June 1881 Marcus Smith 3-page letter to his wife

Sold for $605, Port Moody, B.C. 26 June 1881 Marcus Smith 3-page letter to his wife
“The surveys are fairly commenced and I have been forced to do some very hard work- owing to the incompetency of the assistant Ailyn who has had very little experience and is naturally very dull & stupid- Gamsby is very little better. He has hitherto got on by always having good assistants but knows nothing himself- has no brains but for old woman’s gossip- has no instruments, never had any in his life nor does he care about the work- ..”

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Victoria, B.C. 9 June 1881 4-sided Marcus Smith Letter to his wife

Victoria, B.C. 9 June 1881 4-sided Marcus Smith Letter to his wife

“There will be a glorious out crop of this state of things- and in the muddle- no one will be responsible. ..Trutch I find is very unpopular – here as he is ostentatious and haughty, and considered as a spy, and a disturber instead of a peace maker between the Dominion and Provincial Govt. And will cause trouble to the former. This however is none of my business but I forsee that the time will come when he must cease to muddle with engineering matters-

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Shoal Lake, N.W.T. 27 Sep 1880 Marcus Smith 2 pg letter to his wife

Shoal Lake, N.W.T. 27 Sep 1880 Marcus Smith 2 pg letter to his wife

Shoal Lake N.W. Territories 1880
“My Dear Wife… We have had wretched weather for six weeks past especially the last month. High winds and cold with rain overhead and swamps the men are constantly soaked to the waist almost- Our tents are always dripping and everything is damp some of us are suffering from rheumatism, and my joints are stiff. But I am otherwise well- But my long journeys are over..”

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Fort Ellice, N.W.T. 26 July 1880 4-page Marcus Smith letter to his wife

Fort Ellice, N.W.T. 26 July 1880 4-page Marcus Smith letter to his wife

Fort Ellice, NWT July 26th 1880, My Dear Wife.. go to Halifax at the end of the season when the weather is cooler as the journey is a long and wearisome one..
you should hire a french girl to help you with the house work and make the girls talk as much as possible with the people so that they may pick up the vernacular tongue.-

Call on Dr. Robataille at Quebec when you are returning home- he you know is Lieutenant Governor-
…
The weather is hotter here than ever I have found it before- and I have had some hard work and expect to have a month more of it mostly in woods where the mosquitos are dreadful-.. ove and Kisses to all the children and yourself #marcussmith #canadianrailways #canadianrailwaysurvey #bchistory

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Camp 110 Miles West of Winnipeg 4 July 1880 Smith letter to his wife

Camp 110 Miles West of Winnipeg 4 July 1880 Smith letter to his wife

“..At the same time comes a telegram from Schreiber asking me to report to him at least once a fortnight and before work is commenced to submit all plans and profiles for the impr approval of the Govt. The Govt. being Mr. Schreiber- The first part is literally impossible and useless. The second implies that I am not to be trusted in designing the work- I shall take no notice of either excepting a simple acknowledgement of his telegram..”

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C.P.R. Manitoba District Engineer’s Office 7 Sep 1878 Marcus Smith letter “My dear wife..”

C.P.R. Manitoba District Engineer’s Office 7 Sep 1878 Marcus Smith letter “My dear wife..”

Realized $605 in our auction 10th July 2021, Marcus Smith 1878 to his wife “..any motive to act dishonestly or underhand in a great national question- he [Fleming] took the sneaking course of finding out what the Govt. wanted and acted accordingly- ignoring me altogether, and keeping me in the dark as to what he was reporting even up to the last moment both in regard to the work to be done and the assistants to be appointed &.c-..”

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