Agassiz-Harrison Museum

The Hazeley Letters

Follow along as we learn about the Wright siblings who travelled from Liverpool, England to Agassiz, British Columbia in 1896. This collection of letters, photographs, and stories from May, Cecil, Jack, and Harold Wright let us see into their daily lives in Canada. From being chased by chickens to a connection to the Titanic, their stories are being told here for the first time, and you won’t want to miss a moment.

From above of stack of letters with sealing wax spread out near bouquet of pink roses on wooden desk

The Beginning

  1. 1896 Letters from British Settlers: Their Journey to Canada
  2. Setting Sail on the RMS Majestic in 1896
  3. A Stay at the Grand Union Hotel 1896
  4. Victorian Siblings Journey from England to Canada 1896
  5. The Victorian Siblings Travel Across Canada By Train
  6. A Victorian Girl’s First Days in Agassiz, British Columbia
  7. Settling Into Life in Agassiz 1896
  8. 2nd Lieutenant Harold Purton Wright
  9. Victorian Tea Time in the Canada in 1896
  10. The First Planting Season in Canada 1896
  11. Gold Fever, Church Building, and Pioneer Life in Agassiz, BC 1896
  12. Life in 1896 Agassiz: Mining Hopes, Farming Plans, and the Mysterious Sister Francis
  13. Letters from Hazeley Ranch 1896
  14. Repairing the Farm, Building the Church, and Picnics in the Harrison: Hazeley Letters from June 1896
  15. Picking Fruit and Raising Rafters: May’s Letters from 1896 Agassiz
  16. Skunk Trouble, Haying Season, and Angels on Mt. Cheam
  17. Harold Wright’s July 1896 Letter: A Drowning in the Prairie
  18. Disasters and Daily Life in Agassiz, BC, 1896: Floods, Train Crash, Wagon Accident, and Mosquito Plague
  19. August 1896- The Great Excursion to Agassiz, British Columbia
  20. Autumn in Agassiz 1896
  21. Gold Mines and a Winter Trip to Yale, B.C.
  22. ‘Frozen Solid’: The Wright Siblings’ First Winter in Canada, 1896
  23. The Odd Fellows Ball: Dancing Until Dawn in Agassiz, British Columbia (1896)
  24. A Victorian Christmas in Canada 1896
  25. New Year’s in Canada in 1897
  26. Winter Life in Agassiz, British Columbia
  27. Harrison Lake: New Visitors and Mining Excitement in 1897
  28. Gold Mining in British Columbia 1897: Peril in the Mountains and Trains Through Agassiz
  29. Family Tension & Chinatown in Agassiz, B.C. 1897
  30. Observation Cars, Mining Camps, and Settler Life in 1897
  31. Victoria, British Columbia in 1897: Travel, Church, and Social Life
  32. Life in Victoria and Agassiz, BC in 1897 | The Hazeley Letters
  33. The Final Chapter of the Hazeley Letters: How the Story Ends (1897)