Fonds consists of records created by Muriel and William Whiting and includes correspondence, official documents, business records, recipes, notes and ephemera. It is arranged in three series: Correspondence; Documents; and Subject files.
Muriel Horner Whiting (1882-1977) and William Henry Evans Whiting (1853-1927) settled on Cortes in about 1918, having purchased 58 acres of land in Whaletown (present-day 1474 and 1416 Robertson Rd.) from Charles Allen. Their son Basil Evans Whiting was born in 1923.
William Whiting was considerably older than Muriel; he died in 1927 and is buried in the old Whaletown cemetery. After his death, Muriel supported herself by raising poultry and eggs for sale and by taking in boarders. Her only son, Basil, joined the Royal Canadian Navy just before the outbreak of World War II. He lost his life at the age of 19, when the destroyer HMCS "Ottawa" was torpedoed and sunk on Sept. 13,1942. His war medals are in the Cortes Island Museum Artifacts Collection.
Muriel remained on Cortes until the late 1960s; she died in Whiterock in 1977. Although the Whiting house burned down in 1982, remnants of the homestead remain: a tumble-down barn built of hand-split cedar boards, a few old apple trees and some hardy garden survivors such as japonica, mock orange, and St. Johnswort. The yellow primroses in the Museum garden are descendents of her flowers.
Custodial History
This material was found stored in the barn on the former Whiting property in 1971. It was passed down through several owners of the property before being donated to the museum by Sabina Leader-Mense in 2018.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records created by Muriel and William Whiting and includes correspondence, official documents, business records, recipes, notes and ephemera. It is arranged in three series: Correspondence; Documents; and Subject files.
Photograph of a group of people on a porch. This is possibly a portrait of the Froud family, as the photo was found in the house they built (current address: 757 Sutil Point Rd., Mansons Landing).
Photograph of a group of people on a porch. This is possibly a portrait of the Froud family, as the photo was found in the house they built (current address: 757 Sutil Point Rd., Mansons Landing).
File consists of correspondence on local matters, personal matters, and regarding William Whiting's Alberta property and settling the estate after his death. It includes a letter advising Muriel Whiting she must use her legal name Muriel Alice Horner in all legal matters.
File consists of correspondence on local matters, personal matters, and regarding William Whiting's Alberta property and settling the estate after his death. It includes a letter advising Muriel Whiting she must use her legal name Muriel Alice Horner in all legal matters.
Photograph of a group of women, possibly a Women's Institute group, in front of the house at Channel Rock.
Front, L to R: Louisa Tooker, Meg Shaw, Mrs. Ella (John) McLean
Back, L to R: (Needs ID), Nesta (Ackerman) Slater, Edith Huck, (Needs ID)
Photograph of a group of women, possibly a Women's Institute group, in front of the house at Channel Rock.
Front, L to R: Louisa Tooker, Meg Shaw, Mrs. Ella (John) McLean
Back, L to R: (Needs ID), Nesta (Ackerman) Slater, Edith Huck, (Needs ID)
Photograph of two men, one holding a child, and a woman on the deck of a float house. See also #1999.001.1084, where the people are identified as the Vandell family, Seymour Inlet.
Photograph of two men, one holding a child, and a woman on the deck of a float house. See also #1999.001.1084, where the people are identified as the Vandell family, Seymour Inlet.
