John Freemont Smith was born in the Danish West Indies (now the Virgin Islands). He initially prospected in the Interior then spent some time in Victoria where he married and started a family. The family moved back to Kamloops where John owned and operated a retail business. In 1902 he became secretary of the Board of Trade. A year later he was elected alderman and served for four years. Various sources report that Smith served as the Indian Agent for the Kamloops Area from 1912 to 1923 and was instrumental in community organizations, including the Kamloops Agricultural Association, Rifle Association, Children’s Aid and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals.
You may also like
Some Black pioneers did return to the U.S. to fight in the Civil War and after the Civil War. The abolition of […]
Edsworth Searles was the first Black lawyer called to the bar in BC. Canadian born, of British West Indian parents, Edsworth graduated […]
This concert at the Metro Theatre featured singer Gergana Velinova, accompanied by Pablo Cardenas performing “A Tribute to Mahalia Jackson”, followed by […]
Around 1910 Black people began moving to Vancouver’s East Side neighbourhood of Strathcona, a mixed community of mainly Italian, Chinese and Black […]