Title

Aitken family fonds

Text

Aitken family fonds [graphic material, textual record, object]. -- 1888, 1900-1954 (intermittent).
4 cm of textual records
4 objects
6 photographs

The Aitken family has lived in Nanaimo since the late 1800s. As a young man, Thomas Morrison Aitken was a baker's assistant but later became a coal miner.
Thomas married Mary Margaret Greenwell on October 1, 1902. They had four children: John, Thomas, Archibald and Isaac. Thomas died in Nanaimo on November 19, 1952 at the age of 73. Mary died on January 21, 1966 at the age of 8.

Materials were donated by Lois Perkins, the daughter of Isaac Aitken. Perkins found the items in a cookie tin in her father's basement after he died. Later materials were donated by Norman Aitken, a grandson of Thomas Sr.

Fonds consists of personal records of the Aitken family and material related to the employment of Thomas Sr., Thomas Jr. and Isaac Aitken. Includes correspondence to Thomas Sr. related to compensation and pension payments; invoices and receipts for the funeral and burial of Mary A. Greenwell and John B.Greenwell; information circulars from the Workmen's Compensation Board, the Unemployment Insurance Commission and the New Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company; Thomas Aitken's Sick and Accident fund passbook from the Western Fuel Corporation; Certificates of Competency for Thomas and Isaac Aitken; copies of the Constitution of the International Union of the United Mine Worker's of America, the Wage Agreement between Canadian Collieries and UMWA, District No. 18 and a copy of the I.C.S. Coal Miner's Handbook; a handbill for a union meeting, a medical certificate for Isaac; and a small notebook that records cheques sent and received and various other items. Also included are the eye glasses and cases of Thomas and Mary Aitken. Photographs include views of Thomas Jr.at Spencer's Department Store, a baseball team and a view of the Pioneer Society's cairn.

Title based on the contents of the fonds.

Photo 1

Photo 2