Family Explorations

This is a photo of my great-grandmother and great-grandfather, taken on their wedding day in 1929. William Crabb married Marian "Grace" Phipps at Central Baptist Church - the first couple married in the new building - in Victoria, BC. Bill Crabb died in 1991, the year I was born. Grace died in 2005, aged 99.

This photo shows Grace Crabb (middle) on a boat with her eldest son Donald and her friend Dorris. Grace was not fond of boats, so the picture is unique in that she is on one. It is also ironic that her second son, Wally (my grandfather) lived for over two decades on a boat named after his mother Grace.

Grace Phipps (right) stands with her mother and brother, Bill. Later in her life, Grace used blue ball point pen to caption many of the her and the family’s old photographs. They appear to be at a cemetery, though it is unknown why. One of Grace's siblings died as a child, perhaps it is this grave they are visiting?

May 26, 1896 a streetcar crowded with 143 people crashed through the Point Ellice Bridge in Victoria, BC. 55 people died.

This article was originally published in the Curious Ancestry edition (Fall 2015). It is a personal reflection on the messiness and strange dynamics inherent in some family relationships. It was also an epilogue, reflecting on the process of being guest editor for the Royal BC Museum publication.

A short video of kayaking into Tod Inlet (near Victoria, BC) with my cousin and friend.