As I continue to research Emily Carr and dive into her books, The Book of Small and Klee Wyck, I can’t help but feel a deeper connection to her work. I haven’t read these books yet, but I’m very curious about them—especially as I learn more about my own family’s history and their connection to the land and people Carr described.
My great-great-grandfather, John Enos (João Ignacio d’Almada), arrived from the Azores in 1862 and settled in Nanoose Bay with his Songhees wife, Eliza Theresa. They had a son, Joseph, who grew up there. Tragically, Eliza passed away when Joseph was only 14. He kept a diary, which I’ve been exploring, and it’s making me wonder if there could be a connection between my family and Emily Carr’s work. Joseph later married Mary Ann Poirier, and they had six children, one of whom, my grandfather, moved to Vancouver. My grandmother, who came from Sweden when she was two, would marry him.
Emily Carr was born in 1871, and she would have been around 60 years old when my mother was born in 1930. It's incredible to think about how her experiences, and the events she lived through, may have overlapped with those of my family.
Another interesting part of this connection is that Emily Carr is buried in the same cemetery as my great-grandparents, Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria. As I read The Book of Small and Klee Wyck, I can’t help but wonder whether Emily Carr and my family members ever crossed paths or knew each other, given their shared location and time period.
In The Book of Small, Emily reflects on her childhood in Victoria, BC, and on the connections she had with the world around her. I’m intrigued by the idea that my ancestors could have been part of that same community, experiencing life in the same town. Meanwhile, in Klee Wyck, her observations of the Indigenous peoples along the West Coast make me wonder whether she might have crossed paths with the Songhees people, with whom my great-great-grandfather’s family had ties.
I’m eager to dive into these books and see if any of Emily Carr’s experiences overlap with my family’s history, and I can’t help but wonder how these two worlds—Carr’s art and my ancestors’ stories—intertwined.
Have you read The Book of Small or Klee Wyck? I’d love to hear your thoughts and any personal connections you might have with Emily Carr’s work!
