A Victorian Christmas in Canada 1896
This post is all about the Wright siblings first Christmas in Canada in 1896 and how they brought their English traditions to their small community.
The Wright’s First Christmas in Canada
Christmas in Canada in 1896 looked very different for the Wright siblings than what they had known in England. They grew up in England living in large rectory homes with their family and servants. Now they were in Canada and those luxuries were replaced with farming, walking along muddy railway tracks and preparing their own British Christmas dinners for their siblings and family.
In their letters home, the Wrights record the realities of early settler life in the Fraser Valley. Church services without heat, turkeys transported by pony, and the planning and preparing of a Christmas feast for many. These letters offer a rare and intimate look into everyday life in British Columbia at the end of the nineteenth century.
Historical Context: All Saints Anglican Church and Community Life in 1896
At the time of these letters, All Saints Anglican Church in Agassiz was very much a work in progress as it had only recently opened up. Like many churches in late nineteenth-century British Columbia, it relied heavily on the time, labour, and financial contributions of local families.
The Wright siblings were actively involved in church life almost immediately after their arrival. Their letters reference choir practice, church decoration, and fundraising efforts, reflecting how essential voluntary participation was to creating and building the parish. Support for the church extended beyond Agassiz itself: the Wrights’ parents in England donated items to help furnish and equip the building, demonstrating how religious and community institutions were supported through transatlantic family networks.
Christmas services in 1896 highlight the church’s precarious early state. As Harold describes, the building was locked, unheated, and dependent on whoever happened to be available to open it and light the stove. Yet despite these challenges, the church functioned as the centre of social and spiritual life in the valley. Attendance mattered, participation mattered, and maintaining the church became a shared responsibility.
The Wright family’s involvement in All Saints Anglican Church illustrates how settler communities were built through collective effort. Religious institutions were not simply places of worship; they were hubs religious and social connection. The Christmas letters show that church life required constant effort, much of it unpaid and often carried by women.
Letters
The Wright family letters are preserved at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum & Archives. This post combines verbatim transcriptions with original historical research to contextualize daily life in the Fraser Valley during the late nineteenth century.
May’s Letter to Mother – December 19, 1896
In this letter written a few days before Christmas, May describes the quieter daily life at the Hazeley Ranch in Agassiz. Her comments on books, walking long distances, household order, and winter weather reveal how quickly the Wright siblings had settled into the physical and emotional routines of farming life. Though Christmas is approaching, the letter focuses less on celebration and more on work, movement, and maintaining domestic stability far from home.
Hazeley,
Agassiz, B.C.
December 19, 1896My dearest Mother,
It will be only a short letter to-night as I have been writing to Jack & now it is getting late. Please thank Father for my money it came a few days ago, the boys are very much pleased with the books. They report that they are all good ones, I shant have time to read any of them for some time to come, but I amnone the less pleased with them.
Our book case looks quite imposing now; part of the paper was town off the Dicken’s I am going to give to Cecil, & he caught sight of them before I packed them away & since he has continually asked me if I was quite sure they were mean for one because he can’t at all understand it he thinks they are sure to have been sent to him; anyhow he thinks I might let him have them to put in the shelf with his.
We are very peaceful again now that the boys have plenty of reading, & they have had a little work lately hauling manure & cutting down wood. Minnie & Connie Agassiz came to see us on Thursday afternoon & about ten minutes after they had gone Mr. George suggested walking back with them so we hurried up but I didn’t catch them till we got to the station, we stopped in about half an hour till the mail was sorted & got back in time for tea at seven.
We made pretty good time as it took us about two hours & ten minutes to walk eight miles, it is easy to make time on the track as it is perfectly flat & pretty good walking. I must try & write to Aunt Hester soon but it is hard to find the time for letters a I like to do needle work in the evening; if she suggests sending a hat again, a pretty black summer one would be very useful in Victoria in May. Miss. Jameson has asked me to go & stay with her then; winter hats are no use there as it nearly always rains & I just wear a cap or felt hat.
I really must stop & tidy the room, I hate to find it very untidy when I get up in the morning; we have had better weather on the whole this last week. Monday was a perfect day, & I dried all the washing out of doors, but I have been most lucky in being able to dry nearly everything out of doors for the last three weeks since I took to the washing again; I don’t think the rain has drifted in at all this week, except in the kitchen.
Ever so much love,
Your affectionate daughter,
May Wright
I seem to have written a fairly long letter after all & all sorts of remarks keep occurring to me.
May’s Letter to Mother – December 24, 1896
Written over several days and completed after Christmas celebrations, this letter provides a detailed look of the Wright’s first Christmas in Canada. May details the food preparations, neighbour visits, and the heavy domestic labour that goes into the holiday. Her description of the Christmas dinner offers a rare, firsthand look at how British traditions were adapted for settler life in rural British Columbia in 1896.
Rec’d Jan 14, 1897
Hazeley
Agassiz, B.C.
December 24th, 1896My dearest Mother,
I have a little spare time so I will begin my letter ton-night as I expect I shall be very busy the next few days as I have been all the week. The letters have been coming very quickly lately, one you posted on the 9th got here yesterday, exactly a fortnight.
I think a holland dress would look very nice but I don’t think I could find time to make it. I very seldom get any time for needle work in the day. I try & get about an hour in the week to mend the stocking as I don’t like doing them; I generally work from eight to ten at night & I have got enough to do to last be for a long time, the boys have both worn out nearly all their working shirts & I am making them some new ones, at least I have got the stuff but haven’t cut them out yet; they are very hard on their clothes.Please thank Aunt Hester for thinking of the piano, it could be very nice to have one but I don’t think it could be managed, it would become to cost a great deal & in this sort of weather it would be very hard to get it from the station here safely.
Cecil took a load of wheat to the springs a few days ago & had to stop & rest the horses every few yards the roads were so heavy. I am afraid going up to Vernon would cost a great deal, the return fare for two of us would be $100 without pullman or food & we could not judge of the place centers we stopped a long time; so I think that we had better stop here for another year anyhow & see how things go, the expense of moving would be so very great.
I promised to have a choir practice at two yesterday afternoon & the boys promised to help to decorate the church so we all went to lunch at the Agassiz’s; directly my practice was over I did my shopping & started home, I met Mr. George before I had gone many yards & we walked home together; he has sold his pony & so has to walk whenever he goes out now.
To-day I have done as much as I can towards to-morrow’s dinner as it will be rather a rush to do everything to-morrow. We are going to drive into church & take Mr. Gibson with us, & he & Mr. Collis are coming back to spend the rest of the day here. Leonard is coming on Saturday for a week, to which I believe he is much looking forward. His mother Mrs. Bestley came a few days ago from Alaska with her little girl to spend winter at the Jemmetts. Miss Woodward is coming down from Yale on Wednesday for a few days. I will finish this to-morrow or Saturday.
27th- I haven’t had time to finish this before. Christmas day went off wonderfully well; we went to church & got back at two o’clock, I just got afternoon tea & then cooked the dinner, we had soup, turkey, plum pudding & sauce, jelly, plum cake, sponge cake, oranges, almonds & raisins, figs, & ginger; it all went off well, there was of course a very big wash up but Mr. George & I did it in half an hour. Yesterday I had a busy day as I thoroughly cleaned the sitting room & kitchen;
Cecil drove in to fetch Leonard, & Harold went to the Agassiz’s; I had just finished my work & changed my dress (which I seldom do in the afternoon) when Mr. Arthur Agassiz, Nellie, & Captain Moore, came to call. They stopped about an hour & had afternoon tea; Mr. Agassiz told Harold afterwards that my plum cake was the best he had ever tasted.
This morning as soon as I had finished my work I walked in to the station with Mr. George; I went to the Jemmetts to lunch & stopped until three o’clock, met Mr. George at the station & walked back along the track. He had been having lunch at the Bella Vista with Mr. Lane who is starting for England on Wednesday next. I am very glad of it too, as his influence in the valley is very bad. Cecil & Leonard are got to take a load of wheat to the springs to-morrow, I believe Shirley is going with them; I am always glad to get rid of the boys on washing day.
Mrs. Fred Brown just astonished the whole valley by having another daughter, she went a way just a month before it was born & no one suspected anything. The Agassiz family are coming to spend an evening with us this week, & are probably going to the springs one evening.
With love to everybody,
Your affectionate daughter,
May Wright.
I received a photography of Dorothy that I want not one done by her though they are very acceptable.
Harold’s Letter to Father – December 28, 1896
Harold writes far less frequently than his sisters and offers a lighter perspective on Christmas in Agassiz. His recounting of the locked church, ineffective heating, and chaotic attempt to transport the Christmas turkey highlight the challenges of rural life while also sharing a comical reflection on daily life in a small farming town.
Rec’d Jan 14, 1897
Agassiz
B.C.
December 28, 1896Dear Father,
I am writing to wish you many happy returns of the day. I think this letter ought to reach you about the right day. We had rather a nice Christmas day, only it was quite warm and muddy. We all went to Church in the morning, and when we got there we found the Church locked up and everybody waiting outside because the churchwarden who opens the church and lights the fire, was away for Christmas, so Cecil went and got the key and lit the fire which gave out no heat till the service was over, when it began to roast everybody out.
We had a turkey dinner which had give a great deal of bother. When I went in on Tuesday to get it I rode George’s pony and it was feeling very good, when I went to the Hotel, Ms. Probert had not got me one so I start all round the place to get one and I did not succeed, so I started home, on my way I met the butcher and he told me he had got me one, so I went to the shop to get it, but the very sight of the turkey made the pony try to run away. After a lot of trouble, I got hold of the turkey by one leg, but I could not get hold of any more for the pony ran away at once. I had great trouble all the way home for whenever the pony caught sight of the turkey she tried to bolt.
We are going to have a small dinner party here next Thursday, 5 or 6 of the Agassiz people and Miss. Woodward from Yale. I must stop now as it is getting late so good by from your affectionate son,
Harold P. Wright.
Cecil’s Letter to Father – December 28, 1896
Cecil’s Christmas letter moves away from domestic life and shows the economic concerns of the Fraser Valley in the 1890s. His letter focuses on mining speculation, land arrangements, and the rumours circulating in the valley. His letter shares how he hopes for economic growth while uncertain about his family’s future in Canada.
Rec’d Jan 14, 1897
Agassiz, B.C.
December 28thDear Father,
I am writing to wish you many happy returns of your birth day. Thank you very much for the books you sent me at Christmas. I very much doubt that we should be any better off if we went to Vernon of course moving up there the expense would be very great. I think we should have to have a sale of our things here which would most likely mean selling at a great lose. The opinion of most people here is that there will be a boom in Agassiz in a short time.
Jack Brown and Captain Moore have discovered a mine on the Harrison Lake. Which is supposed to be something very good only it is very difficult to get at the bottom of the thing. The mine is on the top of the mountain as high as Cheam. It is impossible to work there until July, the snow is too deep. But as soon as they can start working I believe they will be able to work all the year round. What makes me think it must be a good thing is that they have formed a company and seem to have had no difficulty in getting men in Victoria to forward capital with Moore as Secretary for which he gets $159 a month besides which he retains 2500 shares of course if this turns out well it will make a very good market for the valley in any case it will increase the population next summer which will be a good thing.
There is a rumor in the valley that Hamersley has assigned his property to Hamilton his partner. I do not know if there is any truth in this. But the idea that the people have here is that the mortgage fell due this year & that Hamersley went to England to try & raise funds and he failed to do that so he had to assign. People here seem to think that if the property goes into the mortgage company’s hands we would find them ready to make a very much better arrangement with us.
Your aff.
Son
Cecil.
People Mentioned in the Wright Family Letters
Below are photographs of individuals referenced in the Wright family’s Christmas letters from December 1896. These images, preserved in the archives of the Agassiz-Harrison Museum help connect names on the page to real people who lived, worked, and socialized in early Agassiz. Together, they represent the close-knit community that shaped everyday settler life in the Fraser Valley at the end of the nineteenth century.
Standing in the back Left to Right
Miss. Nellie – Eleanor Maud Agassiz
Lewis Arthur Agassiz
Miss Minnie – Mary Louisa Agassiz
Wing
John Ruyter Brown (Luella’s husband)
Seated Left to Right
Luella Beatrice Agassiz Brown
Baby Jackie
Mrs. Agassiz – Mary Caroline Sham Agassiz
Miss. Connie – Constance Theresa Agassiz
Left to Right
Miss. Connie – Constance Theresa Agassiz
Miss. Edith -Edith Harrison Agassiz
Miss Minnie – Mary Louisa Agassiz
Why Christmas Letters Like These Matter to British Columbia History
The Hazeley Letters offer a rare and unusually detailed record of everyday settler life in Agassiz during the late nineteenth century. Unlike official records, newspapers, or promotional literature, these private family letters capture how ordinary people experienced migration, work, weather, community, and celebration in real time.
The Wright family’s first Christmas in Canada reveals how British traditions were preserved, adapted, and reshaped under frontier conditions. Church services were improvised, food required significant effort to obtain and prepare, and holidays increased domestic labour, particularly for women. These letters remind us that settler life was not defined solely by hardship or optimism, but by constant negotiation between familiarity and adaptation.
Importantly, the Wrights were not prominent figures. They were neither politicians nor major landowners. Their significance lies precisely in their ordinariness. Through descriptions of walking miles along muddy railway tracks, sewing worn clothing, hosting neighbours for tea, and speculating about mining ventures, the letters illuminate how communities functioned at a human scale in the Fraser Valley.
Preserved today at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum & Archives, the Hazeley Letters survived only narrowly. Their survival allows historians like myself to reconstruct aspects of local history that would otherwise remain invisible. By transcribing and contextualizing these letters, we gain insight not only into the Wright family’s experiences, but into the broader rhythms of settler life in British Columbia in 1896.
Related Hazeley Letter Posts
Editorial Note: How These Letters Are Used
The letters reproduced in this post are transcribed verbatim from original manuscripts held at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum & Archives. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation have been preserved to maintain the integrity of the original documents. Editorial introductions and historical context have been added to assist modern readers and to situate the letters within the broader social and historical landscape of nineteenth-century British Columbia.
This post forms part of an ongoing research and transcription project examining the Hazeley Letters and the Wright family’s settlement in the Fraser Valley.
Jodie Foerster is a history student at the University of the Fraser Valley and a Museum Assistant and Researcher at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum and Archives. She specializes in British Columbia's settler history and archival storytelling. Learn more on the About page
