John S. Keenlyside was born and raised in Vancouver and attended UBC and graduated with a degree in economics and political science. In 1973 he founded the investment-counseling firm John S. Keenlyside & Co. which he manages with his two sons.
Keenlyside has been collecting 19th century historical papers and stamps for over thirty-five years with his primary collecting interest being the history of British Columbia with an emphasis on the colonial period (pre-1871). He has also collected documents relating to the fur trade and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Keenlyside collects manuscripts, documents, maps, books and ephemera relating to B.C.
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Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia / Nemetz Jewish Community Archives
Title based on the contents of the fonds
Fonds consists of material documenting early BC Jewish history. Fonds is arranged into two series: Congregation Emanu-El manuscripts; and Letters from Abraham Blackman to his brother Morris, Jewish merchants in colonial British Columbia.
John Keenlyside acquired this collection from rare books dealer, Stephen Lunsford, in late 1999. Lunsford acquired this collection in either 1998 or 1999 from a dealer in Montreal. Custodial history and provenance prior to that is unknown.
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The series consists of early material relating to the establishment of Congregation Emanu-El. These five manuscripts are some of the earliest records extant of any activities of the first Jewish congregation on the West Coast of Canada.
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File contains the first report by the Secretary, A. Hoffman, to the congregation. Manuscript of five pages, dated and docketed 22 November 1862, Victoria, Vancouver Island, folded, docketed on outside as “Secretary’s Report Nov. 22/62”. Reports on meetings, efforts to raise funds, etc.
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Four-page letter from A. Hoffman to R.W. Adler, Chief Rabbi of England, dated 5 May 1863, reporting on progress of the congregation and seeking recommendations for a rabbi.
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Two-page letter from M.R. Cohen, Rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El to the “President of the Synagogue Emanu-El,” 9 November 1863, outlining difficulties and concerns.
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Summary Suit in Supreme Court of Civil Justice, Victoria, 7 July 1864, two pages part printed and part manuscript, recording claim for loss on non-fulfillment of contract for supplying lumber for the new synagogue. Summary Suit #1459, J.G. Jackson, Plaintiff vs. Hoffman, Sr.
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Single page manuscript, written on both sides, apparently recording names and amounts of contributors for a fundraiser for the synagogue; “Tickets sold by I. Grundbaum & Jacobs, manuscript, c. 1862, Victoria.”
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File contains the "Act to Incorporate the Israelite Congregation named 'The Emanuel of Victoria, Vancouver Island'". Passed the Legislative Assembly 2d June, 1864, R. W. Torrens, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly. Passed the Legislative Council 16th June, 1864, E. J. Nesbitt, Clerk of the Legislative Council. Received my Assent this 7th day of July, 1864, A. E. Kennedy, Governor. Victoria, Vancouver Island: printed by authority of the government by Harries and Company, 1864.
Folio, 29.3 cm, pp. [3] on single folded sheet of cream paper. Near fine. Original folio printings, never bound, of the draft and final act legally establishing the first Jewish Congregation in western Canada, the oldest surviving synagogue in Canada, housed in what is now the oldest surviving synagogue building on the West Coast of North America. The synagogue was founded in 1859 and the present synagogue building was built in 1863. Unrecorded original printed acts, the Harries imprint very rare indeed.
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The eighteen letters from Abraham Blackman in Victoria to his brother Morris document the development and changes of their mercantile business in Victoria, New Westminster, and the Cariboo during the heyday of the Cariboo Gold Rush.
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File contains eighteen letters from Abraham Blackman in Victoria to his brother Morris document the development and changes of their mercantile business in Victoria, New Westminster, and the Cariboo during the heyday of the Cariboo Gold Rush.