Harris (née Douglas), Martha

Person

Harris (née Douglas), Martha

1854-1933

Martha Harris (née Douglas) was born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1854 and was the youngest member of her family. Her father was James Douglas, the Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island and her mother was Amelia Douglas.

Based on letters sent between Martha Douglas and her father, the two had a closer relationship than James Douglas had with any of his other children. It is speculated that the reason for this was that she was only ten years old when James Douglas retired and therefore spent more time with him than any of her other siblings did. When Martha was 18, her father sent her to England for her education as colonial education was considered insufficient at the time. This separation had the two sending letters back and forth for the next two years.

In 1874, James Douglas went on a trip to England and brought Martha back to Victoria with him. Her father passed away in 1877, and Martha married Dennis Harris in 1878. Dennis Harris was a land surveyor with the Canadian Pacific Railway who later became an engineer and businessman in Victoria.

Both of Martha’s parents were mixed race – her father had been born in British Guyana to a mixed race mother and a Scottish father, and her mother was part Cree. Although her parents faced prejudice, her mother still taught Martha Cree legends and stories, as well as other First Nations stories from the west coast. After both of her parents had passed away, Martha Harris wrote and published adapted versions of the stories her mother had passed down.

Martha Harris was a member of societies such as the Island Arts and Crafts Society, the Lace Club of Victoria, and the Women’s Institute Weavers Guild. She had seven children and passed away in 1933.

Revised EFeduk 2017-05-31

BC BookLook. Pacific BookWorld News Society, 21 Feb. 2014, http://bcbooklook.com/2014/02/21/5-dour-scot-james-douglas-doted-on-martha/. May 2017.