When Tom from Urban Repurpose made this post to the store’s Facebook page, it immediately piqued my interest as I know this house!
It’s a gorgeous Arts and Craft house that features prominently on the East Keith streetscape. I rushed in to see the photo and learned that it was part of a “Snap Shots” photo book that had been donated to his non-profit store. I quickly realized it documented the personal life of the family who lived in that home. Tom very kindly agreed to gift this important historical document to the North Vancouver Archives where it could remain in the public domain. After some detective work, I determined that it had once belonged to Gwen, the daughter of the original owner of 368 East Keith, William Goldsmith-Jones. The story that this book tells is amazing as it documents the life of the Goldsmith-Jones family from the time William arrived in Canada in 1908, to when his own children were adults, all in one book! Who needs an i-Cloud?! The “Snap Shots” book features photos of their various homes (all still standing!), their family members, treasured pets, close friends, their favourite vacation spots, their leisure activities and their places of employment. Alone, these photos tell a story of a pioneering North Vancouver family who were an integral part of society in the early 20th century. But then I tracked down two grandchildren of William Goldsmith-Jones, Geoffrey and Leslie, who really brought Gwen’s “Snap Shots” book to life! Below are some snippets of their family story:
William Goldsmith-Jones was born in London England on May 11, 1877. He was a Veteran of the Boer War where he served with the City of London Imperial Volunteers. He arrived in Canada in 1908.
William Goldsmith-Jones, Point Grey, October, 1911 (labelled as WGJ). Photo #9, ACC 2022-026. Photo courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
Between 1908 and 1914, he was employed as a Surveyor by BC Electric Railway laying down many of the BCER streetcar lines in Lynn Valley and Capilano and as a Civil Engineer with the Vancouver Joint Sewage Board where he laid sewer lines in Vancouver’s West End.
William Goldsmith-Jones at BCER Camp, Lynn Valley. Photo #57, ACC 2022-026. Photo courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
William put his career on pause during WWI when he served with the 68th Battalion, Canadian Field Artillery. From 1918 to 1947, he worked for the Burrard Drydock as a storekeeper and later on, he was in charge of first aid and yard security.
William Goldsmith-Jones at the Burrard Dry Dock. Photo #87, ACC 2022-026. Photo courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
In terms of William’s personal life, in 1913, he embarked on a trip to New Zealand by ship and met Edith Mary Lewington, also a British citizen, on board. After a short ship romance, including a visit to Fiji, they got married in New Zealand on February 11, 1914 and returned to Canada on the RMS Empress via Victoria.
Photos of William Goldsmith-Jones’ trip to Fiji in 1913 where he travelled with Edith Mary Lewington, his future wife. Page 17, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
Another page in the Snap Shots Album on their 1913 trip to Fiji featuring EML (Edith Mary Lewington) in the centre. Page 18, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
William and Edith settled in North Vancouver at 815 Ridgeway (“Our First Home”) and initially had 2 children; Gwyneth, the owner of the photo album (DOB: April 18, 1915) and Geoffrey (DOB: Sep 10, 1918). Digby followed many years later (DOB: March 15, 1927) after the family had moved into a new house at 368 East Keith Road.
The “Snap Shots” page below shows a photo of the Goldsmith-Jones home at 815 Ridgeway and a photo of Edith with baby Gwen on the front porch. I believe that William Goldsmith-Jones was the photographer in the family but I have to wonder why he did not capture the entire house in his photo of “our first home”!
Page 42 of the Snap Shots album containing photos of “Our First Home” at 815 Ridgeway in 1914 and a photo of Edith and baby Gwen (the owner of the photo album) in 1915. The photos of Digby were taken in 1929 after the family moved to 368 East Keith Road. Image taken from ACC 2022-026, courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
The Goldsmith-Jones first house at 815 Ridgeway was across the street from Ridgeway Elementary school as seen in this photo below:
Gwyneth, 1916 in pram beside 815 Ridgeway with Ridgeway School in the background. Photo #115, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
The house at 815 Ridgeway was designed by Alexander Law, and built by Robert Law, along with the four other homes on that block (813, 821, 825 and 829). Alexander Law, an architect, immigrated from Scotland in 1907 and was so busy that he persuaded his brother, Robert, to move to North Vancouver in 1908 to deal with the construction. They are responsible for the design and construction of a number of buildings in North Vancouver including 452 and 458 East 7th and the Law Block at 123 East 3rd. Alexander Law and his wife, Gwendolyn, lived in the house at 813 Ridgeway and were therefore also neighbours of William and Edith Goldsmith-Jones. Although Alexander Law and his wife moved to California in 1920, Robert Law and his wife Ruby remained in North Vancouver, along with their two sets of twins, Alie & Henry and Chrissy & Nancy, and remained lifelong friends of the Goldsmith-Jones family.
Here’s another page from the book that shows every member of the William Goldsmith-Jones family. It also shows how meticulous Gwen was in the design of her photo book, each photo outlined with a white pencil border.
Page 30 of Gwen’s Snap Shots Album, ACC 2022-026, courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
In 1923, the Goldsmith-Jones family upgraded residences and moved to 368 East Keith, a fashionable Arts and Crafts house which was built for them by Honeyman and Curtis. Tragically, Edith died in 1937 of an infection that resulted from a tooth extraction but William Goldsmith-Jones lived in this house until 1961. Evidently his picture-taking abilities improved with time as there are several photos of 368 E Keith which include the entire house!
368 East Keith Road. Photo #157, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
368 East Keith Road. Image from ACC 2022-026, courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
While the “Snap Shots” album tells the story of the entire Goldsmith-Jones family, it was assembled by Gwen and thus, many of the photos pertain to her life and circle of friends. The album contains photos of the local Brownie troop, Gwen in her Girl Guide uniform, and other photos such as the photo below, labelled Our Gang, 1924, which was clearly taken in the middle of Grand Boulevard, in front of the home at 750 Grand Boulevard.
“Our Gang. 1924”. Photo #183, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
750 Grand Boulevard, August 2022. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Clay.
As mentioned already, the bond between the Goldsmith-Jones and Law families was strong, particularly with Robert and Ruby Law and their two sets of twins. Alie Law and Gwen Goldsmith-Jones were best friends, and Alie features prominently in Gwen’s book. There are lots of photos of these two families having fun on Gabriola Island where the Laws had 10 acres of property and a few cottages, including one built for the Goldsmith-Jones family! Gwen obviously had very fond memories of her carefree summers on Gabriola with her friends including Alie, Chrissy and Nancy Law (Alie’s twin, Henry died in WWII as did Geoffrey Goldsmith-Jones).
Gabriola Girls, 1932. ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
Girls Posing at Gabriola Island, 1934. Gwen Goldsmith-Jones at far right, labelled as “Self”. Photo #179, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
Gwen Goldsmith-Jones and Alie Law at Malespina Galleries, Gabriola Island. Photo #242, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
In my discussion with the grandchildren of William Goldsmith-Jones (the children of his son Digby), Geoffrey and Leslie, they mentioned the importance of various animals in their life, including Gerty the goat, and Mary, the white horse, who apparently pulled a wagon at the Law’s place on Gabriola Island.
Gerty the Goat, Alie Law, Mary the Horse in 1934 at Gabriola Island. Image from ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
Geoffrey and Leslie also spoke of their grandparents’ close ties to the local Squamish people. Edith apparently traded clothes with the Squamish women and the family still has baskets which were gifted to them. These relationships were obviously important to Gwen as she included a photo of Chief Joe Capilano’s grave in her album.
Chief Joe Capilano Grave from ACC 2022-026, courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
The “Snap Shots” album covers the entire life of Gwen and includes photos of her as an adult. Gwen studied nursing at St. Paul’s Hospital, finishing in 1938. She included a photo of herself in front of St. Paul’s Hospital as well as several from her time at the Tranquille Infirmary (a Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Kamloops) in 1937 where she is thought to have done a practicum. After graduating from nursing, Leslie told me that Gwen worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London England until the lead up to WWII when her father asked her to come home.
Gwen Goldsmith-Jones in front of the Nurses’ Residence at Tranquille Tuberculosis Sanitorium, 1937. Photo from ACC 2022-026, courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
Gwen Goldsmith-Jones at St. Paul’s Hospital, 1938. Photo #242, ACC 2022-026. Courtesy of MONOVA: Archives of North Vancouver.
These are just snippets from a book that contains 101 pages and 270 photos! But they will have given you a glimpse into the lives of the Goldsmith-Jones family, their contributions to the development of North Vancouver, and their connections to many people and places in North Vancouver. It is clear that Gwen Goldsmith-Jones cherished her family, her carefree childhood and her chosen profession. She never married and did not have any children, and her brother Geoffrey, died in WWII but the Goldsmith-Jones legacy lives on in Digby’s children, Leslie Jones and Geoffrey Goldsmith-Jones (named after his uncle). And the Law-Goldsmith-Jones friendship lives on too as Geoffrey is married Pamela who is a descendant of Alexander Law!
Thank you to Leslie and Geoffrey for adding “colour” to Gwen’s Snap Shots!
Thank you to Christy Brain of the North Vancouver Archives for helping us document this family’s important history and for obliging my requests for copies of these photos!
Thank you to Tom of Urban Repurpose for helping us keep this photo album in the public domain!