Rout Harvey

by Kevin Tkachuk

Member of the Grand Jury that Heard the Trial of Tshuanahusset

Rout Harvey was born in Bury St. Edmunds, England on September 29, 1827 to James Harvey and Mary Wilton, the third sibling of nine. Harvey emigrated to Victoria from Bury St. Edmunds in 1861 with his wife Susan Jane Oliver (maiden name), whom he had married on the March 31, 1852. Their voyage started on the 17th of June and concluded on arrival to Victoria , British Columbia on the 17th day of December. Accompanying Harvey and his wife were their five sons: Rout, James, Oliver, Henry, and George, and Harvey's younger brother, William. Harvey kept a journal describing their voyage on the Pruth to the colony, including the birth of their sixth child, Anna Maria, their first and only girl.

The Harvey's lived in James Bay at 78 South Park Road. There three more children were born: Arthur, Edward, and Richard. Unfortunately, Arthur died in infancy from undetermined causes. Harvey worked as a salesman for J.H. Turner & Co. in the wholesale department before switching to the dry goods department at Turner, Beeton & Co. In his notes, he describes his economic situation as not making a fortune, but managing to live a life in comfort. Harvey's religious affiliation was Church of England, and in his leisure time he enjoyed searching for natural history items in the backwoods with his sons. He died at Stony Hurst in Victoria on the 4th of August 1905 at the age of 78. The cause of his death was a malignant disease of the intestine that had been ailing him for twelve months prior to his death. He was loved and highly respected by his children, according to his youngest son Richard, who continued to write the family notes after his father had passed away.