Date Range

1876-1967

Description Level

Item

Fonds No.

20091076

Physical Description

47 photocopied pages

History Biographical

William (Bill) Niven and Laura Davies were married in 1902 at St. Augustine's Church. The Nivens were early pioneers in Southern Alberta, coming to Lethbridge in 1886 from Nova Scotia. They emigrated from Scotland to Pictou County, Nova Scotia in 1866, living in Stellarton and Westville. Bill Niven was born in Nova Scotia in 1876. His father, Robert Niven, was recruited from the Acadia Coal Company by William Stafford to install the machinery in Lethbridge's first coal mine and the machinery to handle the coal cars on the incline, which brought the coal up from the mine to the railroad, where it was hauled east to Dunmore. Bill and Laura relocated to Calgary after their wedding on account of Bill's employment with the C.P.R. In Lethbridge, Bill worked on the "Turkey Track" -- the narrow gauge railway (operated by the Alberta Railway & Irrigation Company) between Lethbridge and Great Falls. Bill Niven died at age 91 in 1967. Laura Davies was born in Bobcaygeon, Ontario. She and her family migrated west, settling in Lethbridge. She passed away in Calgary in 1965. She was one of Lethbridge's earliest school teachers. The donor's parents were Viva (nee Niven) and Cam Niles. Cam operated "Cam's Tuck Shop" at 6th Avenue and 10 Street South, across from the Lethbridge Curling Rink. The building is still there.

Scope and Content

Pages photocopied from a binder of clippings, letters, photographs and other memorabilia relating to William Niven and Laura Davies: - Photograph of Robert Niven; photograph of Ann Hopkin Niven holding two infant children; a newspaper clipping about the Niven family written at the time of the death of Ann Niven (1931). - Birth certificate of William Niven. - Will of Grisella Davies (nee Ireton). - Letter from the Superintendent, Canadian Pacific Railway, to William Niven, confirming the latter's retirement (1941). - Personal note regarding Thomas Lockhart Davies. - Birth certificate of Hannah Laura Davies. - Birth certificate of Viva Grisella Niven; newspaper clipping regarding Viva Niven winning a school prize. - Newspaper clipping (Great Falls Tribune, May 26, 1963) describing the "Turkey Trail" -- a narrow gauge railway between Lethbridge and Great Falls, Montana. - Photograph of the first Canadian Pacific "through" train, June 30, 1886; photograph of William Niven, fireman, in front of an Alberta Railway & Coal Company narrow gauge steam locomotive at Great Falls, Montana, 1895. - Newspaper clippings from the Calgary Herald, December 9, 1958, about William Niven. - Newspaper clippings regarding the involvement of William (Bill) Niven and Laura Davies Niven in the Calgary Stampede. - Handwritten poems and a "joke" letter. - Newspaper clippings about the lives of Bill and Laura Niven. - Newspaper clipping and a handwritten story. - Newspaper clippings and a photograph of William and Laura Niven with their daughter Bunty (Zeta Roberta Niven). - Notes for an acceptance speech given by Bunty Niven on being named a Pioneer Daughter. - Letter to William Niven outlining contributions made to a wedding gift for the couple. - Newspaper clipping regarding the last run of William Niven. - Page from a guestbook marking the retirement of William Niven from the C.P.R., 1941. - Letters pertaining to William Niven's retirement, 1941. - Invitation, newspaper clipping and photograph pertaining to the sixtieth wedding anniversary of William and Laura Niven, 1962. - Death certificate of Laura Niven, 1965. - Newspaper clippings and memorial record of death of Laura Niven, 1965. - Newspaper clipping and memorial record of death of William Niven, 1967.

Accession No.

20091076001

Collection

Archive

Less detail