🌿 Mary Ann Poirier Enos (1870–1940): A Life Between Sooke and Victoria 🌿
By Tina Winterlik (Zipolita)
Tags: Poirier, Enos, Sooke, Victoria, Indigenous veterans, family history, Emily Carr era
When I set out to honour my great-uncle James “Jimmy” Charles Enos, I kept circling back to the woman who raised him: Mary Ann Poirier (later Mary Ann Enos). What I found was a life that threaded between the rural settlements of Sooke and the growing city of Victoria, marked by family, loss, and the rhythms of early 20th-century Vancouver Island life.
Her records are fragmentary — births, marriages, deaths — but together they sketch a life worth remembering. 🕊️
🌱 Early Life and Family Roots
Mary Ann was born in October 1870 in Sooke, southern Vancouver Island. She grew up in a large Poirier family, which included siblings like Adolphus, Louise, Ellen, James, Victoria, and others.
The Poiriers were part of the early Sooke community, helping shape the local culture and economy. Large, interconnected families like theirs formed the backbone of Vancouver Island’s rural settlements. 🌾
💍 Marriage and Children
Mary Ann married Joseph Enos in Nanaimo on 21 September 1891. Together, they had a number of children:
- John Joseph Enos – b. 1893
- James Charles “Jimmy” Enos – b. 2 May 1895
- Mary Catherine Enos – b. 1898
- Agnes Margaret Enos – b. ~1901
- Ann “Annie” Enos – b. ~1906
💡 Fun fact: Names repeated across the family and generations — a common practice that highlighted heritage and connection within island communities.
💔 Hard Years and Loss
Mary Ann’s life was marked by multiple losses:
- Her husband Joseph Enos died on 27 October 1918, in the midst of the global influenza pandemic and the final months of WWI.
- Several siblings and children also passed away in the decades that followed.
By 1921, Mary Ann appears in Victoria records as widowed and head of household, continuing to care for her family amidst hardship. 🌹
🎖️ Jimmy’s Service and Legacy
One of Mary Ann’s sons, James Charles “Jimmy” Enos, served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WWI. His military file confirms his birth date, service record, and the role he played during a defining chapter for families on Vancouver Island. 🇨🇦
🏞️ Place and Memory — Sooke to Victoria
Mary Ann’s life was lived between:
- The rural landscapes of Sooke 🌲
- The urban life of Victoria 🏙️
These places were changing quickly during her lifetime: ferries, railways, expanding settlements, and civic institutions transformed the island. Her family’s resting place in Ross Bay Cemetery offers a quiet anchor for remembering the lives that shaped the city. ⚱️
🌸 Why Public Memory Matters
When names, dates, and scattered records are all we have, writing these lives back into public view is a small act of honor.
Women like Mary Ann rarely left diaries or published texts; their stories survive in births, marriages, deaths, children, and family memory. Bringing those fragments together — and connecting them to Victoria and Sooke history — helps us see how everyday lives shaped the places we know today. 💛
Mary Ann Poirier Enos, born Sooke 1870 — a mother, a widow, a woman whose children served and whose family still lives on in the places they walked.
🧠 Reflective Questions
- What daily life details would you most want to know about Mary Ann’s life that records don’t tell us?
- How might the experiences of rural Sooke and urban Victoria have differed for a woman like Mary Ann?
- Why is it important to recover the stories of family members who left few documents?
❓ Mini Quiz
-
Where was Mary Ann Poirier likely born?
A) Nanaimo
B) Sooke ✔
C) Victoria
D) Sidney -
What is James Charles Enos best known for in public records?
A) Being a schoolteacher
B) Serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force ✔
C) Running a farm in Sooke
D) Being a ship captain -
Mary Ann’s husband Joseph Enos died in which year?
A) 1918 ✔
B) 1921
C) 1940
D) 1898
No comments:
Post a Comment