Was Won Alexander Cumyow framed? Researching a 140 yr old mystery, part one

[updated 27 Feb 2025] It’s hard to encapsulate all that Won Alexander Cumyow (1861-1955) accomplished in his ninety-four years. The man was a legend. An icon. He’s the first-known Chinese Canadian. He outlived disenfranchisement. He was by turns a pillar of the community, activist, and an interpreter. He was a founding member of the Chinese Benevolent Association and the Chinese Empire Reform Association. In his free time, he fought for civil rights and was the community’s de facto legal adviser. In this post I examine the events of 1885 – when Canada brought in the Chinese Immigration Act and Cumyow was convicted of embezzlement and intent to defraud – and speculate on a 140-year old mystery: Was he framed?

Before we go on, I will warn you there is strongly racist language in this story. Brace yourself.

On Wednesday, Sep 23, 1885, the news shook the community. Alexander Won Cumyow, a “bright young man,” with “thorough business qualifications,” was arrested on charges of fraud. Until that day, the day he was arrested, he seemed unstoppable. What happened?

Who was Alexander Cumyow?

Won Alexander Cumyow was born in Port Douglas in what was then the Colony of British Columbia. His date of birth is indeterminate but could be Feb 14 or Mar 17, in 1860 or 1861.¹ As the eldest son of successful B.C. merchant WON (溫) Ling Sing (1823-1904) and his wife, WONG Shee (1843-1900), it is likely Cumyow learned business beside his father, and languages in the daily interactions of Won Sing’s many interests.² Cumyow spoke English, “Chinook,” and probably Cantonese and Hakka.³ Cumyow was about nineteen when he began working for Kwong Lee & Co., Yale, and twenty-three in May, 1884, when he took a position with King Tye and Co., Victoria.⁴ The Victoria Daily Times said,

W. Cum Yow, the manager of this firm [King Tye Co.], is a bright young man, gentlemanly in appearance and most affable in his address. Keen in his perception and means business from the moment he puts his eye on a customer.

The following month, Cumyow escorted the Chinese consul to a high level meeting with the Chief Justices Begbie and Crease.⁵ It was clear this twenty-three year old was respected, not only in British Columbia, but outside Canada as well.

The fight over who would be appointed Chinese Interpreter – Jul 1885

In Jul 1885, Cumyow began petitioning to be appointed as Chinese Interpreter under what people called “The Restriction Act,” aka the Chinese Immigration Act, 1885.⁶ His supporters placed an ad in the Victoria Daily Times, asking to have their petition heard by the Dominion’s Governor-General in Council and Secretary of State.

Cumyow’s petition was hotly debated in the newspapers and by groups such as the Anti-Chinese Union and the Knights of Labor. In 1885, it was the convention to write letters to the editor under pseudonyms, and so arguing against Cumyow were “Justice,” “Scrutator,” and the editors of the Victoria Daily Colonist and the Daily Standard. Arguing for Cumyow were “Fair Play,” “Fair Play No. 2,” and “Pro Bono Publico.”

Before sharing the arguments, let’s first talk about the job and the competition. Cumyow, 24, was applying to be the Chinese Interpreter with the Department of Customs, Victoria, with a salary of $3000/yr [101K in 2025].⁷ He would be the first Chinese man in this position. His competitor was John Endicott Vrooman (later Gardner), 22, born in China to missionaries, who had experience interpreting at the U.S. Customs House, San Francisco, CA.⁸

There were many detractors. Here is a sampling:

• Appointing a Chinese person doesn’t support the Dominion’s desire to be “relieved” of Chinese but rather makes it look like the Dominion wants Chinese as future citizens and permanent residents; white men are without prejudice, a Chinese can’t be trusted to get the truth (“Scrutator,” Victoria Daily Times, 3 Aug 1885)⁹
• John Duval, president of the Anti-Chinese Union, said Cumyow was a Chinaman whose sympathies and interests lie with the Chinese; and moved to pass a resolution which said in part, “We urge upon the government the appointment of a white man as interpreter.” (Victoria Daily Times, 4 Aug 1885)¹⁰
• Judges find it difficult to get “the truth out of Chinese,” Chinese must necessarily desire to work against “the restriction act,” appointing a Chinese person to be interpreter would tell the eastern provinces BC was not serious in its opposition to Chinese; putting a Chinese person in charge would be like appointing criminals to enforce the law; Cumyow’s “accident of birth” in BC doesn’t make him British (“Justice,” Daily Colonist, 7 Aug 1885)¹¹
• An American, Mr. Vrooman, who worked at the Customs House, San Francisco, was a suitable candidate; and “a position of such trust should be given to a white man” (Daily Standard, 10 Aug 1885)¹²
• Cumyow is not impartial because the coolie trade is highly profitable [and therefore Cumyow must be part of it?]; Cumyow could not act against the best interests of Chinese companies; Chinese could not act impartially against their own; Cumyow’s petition was signed by pro-Chinese business interests (“Justice,” Daily Colonist, 9 Aug 1885)¹³
• The editor of the Daily Standard refused to sign Cumyow’s petition “on principle of course” (Daily Colonist, 13 Aug 1885)¹⁴

Some supporters said,

• There is no one from BC qualified, the American [Vrooman] should first be naturalized as a British subject; labour unions don’t support Vrooman because he started a Chinese school to teach Chinese persons to speak English and thus compete with white workers (“Fair Play,” Daily Colonist, 5 Aug 1885)¹⁵
• If there was a white man from BC qualified to do the job, the position should go to him, but in the absence, Cumyow was the right candidate (“Pro Bono Publico,” Daily Colonist, 5 Aug 1885)¹⁶
• No white man posing as a professional interpreter is trusted by the non-white community he serves; Cumyow is trusted by his community; a man who naturally speaks Chinese can be an effective teacher (“Fair Play No. 2,” Daily Colonist, 8 Aug 1885)¹⁷

“Pro Bono Publico” wrote of a personal relationship going back years, and said Cumyow was:

“…a young man of thorough business qualifications, speaking the best English, keeping a splendid set of books, writing a hand that many of us could envy, undertaking and carrying through successfully all business transactions that might be entrusted to him; courteous and of gentlemanly bearing, which everyone that knows him must admit, and which have given him the entree to many of our government and public receptions.”

Pro Bono Publico, The Daily Colonist, 6 Aug 1885

Cumyow was not selected. In his absence, the Dominion was free to choose Vrooman, in Mar 1886. He joined the Customs Service on 1 Apr 1886. Vrooman’s salary was reported to be half that previously reported: $1500/yr.¹⁸ Vrooman did not stay long as Chinese interpreter. He married Bertha Burgess in 1887 and changed his surname to Gardner.¹⁹ He was laid off after two years, worked in ministry a decade, and moved back to the U.S.²⁰ The Minister of Customs abolished the position of Chinese interpreter at Victoria in Sep 1888.²¹

For Cumyow, 1885 did not turn out as he hoped. Five weeks after meeting with the editor of the Victoria Daily Standard to ask them to support his petition, he was arrested for fraud, convicted, and sent to prison.

This is what happened.

Cumyow’s forgery case: Sep 23-26, 1885

Edwin Johnson, barrister and acting magistrate, issued a warrant for Cumyow’s arrest on a charge of forgery. Cumyow was arrested at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 23rd. and charged with fraudulently signing a [promissory] note.²² It was reported that he “…is confident that he will be able to establish his innocence…” Cumyow posted $200 bail and was home by 8:00 p.m., presumably to prepare for trial the next day.

The trial ran on Sep 24 and 26. There are several names to watch in this case: Alexander Cumyow, the accused; Crown counsel for the defence Theo Davie; E.M. Johnson, conveyancer and plaintiff, representing himself, and Edwin Johnson, magistrate.²³ Representing King Tye Co. were partners Tai Soong, Leung Nam, Tso Kan, and Wang Sui Chiu.²⁴

The case centred on one question: Did Cumyow commit forgery by signing the name of his company to a promissory note?

Cumyow bought horses by promissory note on his private account at King Tye Co. from Wah Chung. Later, he endorsed the $100 note [$3408 in 2025] with the name of his firm. As a partner, Cumyow had endorsed many such notes on the firm’s behalf. He said that Chiu²⁵ had offered him one share (of ten total) in King Tye Co., plus salary, which made him a shareholder.

The plaintiff, Johnson, attested he took over the note from Wah Chung and visited King Tye several times to collect. When Cumyow failed to pay and King Tye Co. refused, Johnson sued Cumyow for unlawfully signing King Tye’s name on the note as guarantor.

King Tye and others provided mixed evidence. Chiu denied Cumyow was a partner, yet the accounts showed forty examples of Cumyow signing on behalf of the company as though he were a partner. Five other business associates were called to testify, and they all attested Cumyow had signed notes with his company’s name. Even Johnson was forced to admit being involved in drawing up a lease that included Cumyow as though he were a partner.

There are no further news articles on this case. As Davie said, for forgery to be proved, there must be evidence of intent to defraud, and there must be false writing. Since there was neither in this case, Cumyow has done nothing illegal.

He was free for the time being.

[Update: after reviewing the records again, I see I made an error. Cumyow’s trial was adjourned – or held over – which means he had one police court case, not two. It’s unclear why he was free for four days between his appearances.]

Cumyow resumes trial: Sep 30-Nov 26 1885

Four days later, Cumyow was taken back into custody.²⁶ Edwin Johnson appeared again as magistrate, while E.M. Johnson repeated his role as self represented plaintiff.²⁷ Cumyow went to court on Oct 16th.

The question of forgery had shifted. Instead of asking if Cumyow had illegally made a signature, it asked: Was Cumyow a partner of King Tye or not?

None of the partners or staff at King Tye supported Cumyow. Wong Soy Chu²⁸ said that Cumyow was not a partner and therefore had no authority to sign King Tye’s name to the note. The bookkeeper gave the names of the partners – Cumyow’s name was absent. Johnson called a witness who swore he witnessed Cumyow commit forgery.

The defence’s arguments were weak. The witnesses providing evidence on Cumyow’s behalf were outside King Tye: the bank manager, business acquaintances, and even the plaintiff. Their arguments appeared to be that they treated Cumyow as a partner, and never witnessed anything to the contrary.

When asked if he wished to add anything further, Cumyow said he had “…nothing but what he had said at the last examination.”²⁹ This time, he was not acquitted, but was required to post $500 in a personal bond.³⁰ Three others – M.A. Cowan, W.F. Wood, and Lee Yung posted $250 for a second bond committing Cumyow to appear at his next court date. The magistrate sent the case to the Autumn Assizes for trial.³¹ An assize is a hearing by a grand jury to determine if a case is serious enough to be considered criminal.

There, on Nov 23rd, Justice Gray, with Justice Crease, and a grand jury of sixteen white men, dismissed the two counts of forgery but found enough evidence to indict Cumyow on charges of criminal embezzlement and intent to defraud.³² Embezzlement is the crime of stealing funds from an employer. Defrauding is the crime of using deceit, falsehood, or trickery to obtain money.

The case of Regina vs. Cumyow was held on Dec 17th before Supreme Court Chief Justice Begbie, 66.³³ If Begbie recognized the young man he’d met the year prior, there is no sign. The jury deliberated twenty minutes before delivering a guilty verdict.³⁴ Cumyow was asked to make a statement and said, “…the books had been manipulated so as to appear against him, and that he did not know his trial was coming off so soon or he would have been prepared with a defence.” There was a sad scene at the courtroom.³⁵ Cumyow asked to have his handcuffs removed, and said, “I want to give my poor little brother my overcoat. I’ll never want it anymore.” He was sentenced to three years in prison.

At the same time as Cumyow’s second police court trial, William Teague, a miner, ran an ad which said he had engaged Cumyow to collect an outstanding promissory note dated 15 Jun 1884.³⁶ According to the ad, Kwong Lee and Co. owed Teague $1470 [$49K in 2025], and Teague engaged Cumyow to collect. It is not known why Teague entrusted Cumyow for this note, as the latter was employed by King Tye and Co. by May 1884.

Cumyow, 27, was released from the penitentiary in New Westminster at least five months early and did not return to Victoria. By 15 Jul 1888, he was opening a new office in Vancouver.³⁷

In an ironic twist, his first job was as Chinese interpreter for the Police Court.³⁸

Next week: Was Cumyow framed? Analysis and conclusion.

Afterword

I have collected newspaper articles about Alexander Cumyow’s 1885 trials for years, when I was researching the Won (溫) family for my accreditation thesis. It was such a distraction to see them and I’ve been wanting to do a deep dive ever since. Cumyow’s trials and the opinion of his detractors were extensively covered in the Victoria daily newspapers, many of which are online. There’s no doubt he was big news and helped sell papers. All three of the Daily Colonist, Daily Standard, and Daily Times published the first arrest, but it was the Times that covered the first trial with almost two full broadsheet columns over two days. For the second trial, the Standard ran the longest stories, while the Colonist ran the most detailed account of the conviction. To research this story, I used the dates I knew – such as 26 Sep 1885 – and then looked at all three papers, reading them page by page. I tried a few keyword searches, but found they missed much. It was time-consuming to read three papers but worthwhile to get a detailed picture.

Regardless of the thoroughness of my newspaper research, it is important to understand all of it was authored, or secondary, source material. None of the records I’ve seen so far are original. To refine my research, there are a few repositories I plan to visit next: the BC Archives, for Supreme Court records; UBC, for the AW Cumyow fonds; and I may request the 1885 community petition from LAC.

Thank yous

Thank you to Jim Wolf, whose fascination and knowledge of the history of Chinese families in New Westminster is such a resource. And thank you to Mairi MacDonald, expert in Canadian legal history, for her thoughts on the case. Also to Jim Waechtler, for our conversations about Cumyow’s trials.

References

1. Many records exist showing Alexander’s date of birth; however, none were created in the 1860s, and none by reliable witnesses. His mother Wong Shee probably gave birth at home, without benefit of church or state to record the event. The oldest record – an 1886 baptism – is still twenty-five years after the event. Census, death, and marriage records provide conflicting information on both the year – 1860 or 1861 – and the date –14 Feb or 17 Mar. If you would like to see the full genealogical argument, please contact me. ↩︎
2. “Chinese Knew City in the Seventies,” The Vancouver Sun, 25 Apr 1936, sec. special anniversary, pg. 20, cols. 5-6, Vancouver, BC, digital images, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com: accessed 28 Nov 2020); biography of Won Alexander Cumyow. ↩︎
3. U.S., Survey of Race Relations, “Survey of Race Relations records, 1924-1927,” digital images, 27. 34. Interview with Cecil Lee, a native son who is married to a Hakkla [1924], Stanford Libraries (https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4088089 : accessed 14 Feb 2021); Cecil Lee said his wife, Grace, daughter of Won Alexander Cumyow, was Hakkla. ↩︎
4. “The King Tye Co.,’” Victoria Daily Times, 10 Jun 1884, Victoria, BC, p1, Newspapers.com (Newspapers.com : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
5. “Presented to the Justice,’” Victoria Daily Times, 26 Jul 1884, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Newspapers.com (Newspapers.com : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
6. “The Chinese interpreter,’” Victoria Daily Times, 11 Jul 1885, Victoria, BC, p4, Newspapers.com (Newspapers.com : accessed 17 Feb 2025); petition to appoint Cumyow as Chinese interpreter. ↩︎
7. “Another $3000 throw away,’” [Victoria] Times Colonist, 10 Jun 1885, Victoria, BC, p4, Newspapers.com (Newspapers.com : accessed 17 Feb 2025); new position of Chinese interpreter to be paid $3K/yr; “Anti-Chinese bill and interpreter,’” Victoria Daily Standard, 26 Jun 1885, Victoria, BC, p2, Newspapers.com (Newspapers.com : accessed 17 Feb 2025); salary of Chinese interpreter “not to exceed three thousand dollars a year..”; “The Chinese interpreter,” Victoria Daily Standard, 10 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 1, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
8. S.S. Osterhout. Orientals in Canada. Toronto: Board of Home Missions, United Church of Canada, 1929, p. 74-78 re: John Endicott Gardiner. ↩︎
9. “Scrutator,” Chinese interpreter,” Victoria Daily Times, 3 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 4, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
10. “Political pointers – Messrs. Baker and Shakespeare, M.P.’s, talk to the people – and tell them what they have done, and much besides – anti-Chinese legislation specially considered – The Chinese interpreter,” Victoria Daily Times, 4 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 4, cols. 3-5, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 19 Feb 2025). ↩︎
11. “Justice,” “The Chinese interpreter,” Daily Colonist, 7 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 4, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
12. “The Chinese interpreter,” Victoria Daily Standard, 10 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 1, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
13. “Justice,” “The Cumyow petition,” Daily Colonist, 9 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 2, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
14. “On principle, of course,” Daily Colonist, 13 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 1, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
15. “Fair Play,” “A card–Chinese interpreter,” Daily Colonist, 5 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 4, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
16. “Pro Bono Publico,” “Cumyow vs. foreigner,” Daily Colonist, 6 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 1, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
17. “Fair Play No. 2,” “Chinese interpreter,” Daily Colonist, 8 Aug 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 2, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
18. “Chinese interpreter,” Victoria Daily Times, 26 Mar 1886; “salary is something like $1,500 per annum.” ↩︎
19. “An interesting ceremony,” Victoria Daily Times, 15 Apr 1887, Victoria, BC, p. 1, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 17 Feb 2025); Canada, British Columbia, Division of Vital Statistics, Victoria, British Columbia, “British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1871-1948,” digital images, reg no. 1887-09-003994, marriage record of John Endicott Gardner and Bertha Elizabeth Burgess on 12 Apr 1887, Victoria, Royal BC Museum BC Archives Genealogy Search (https://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy: accessed 19 Feb 2025). ↩︎
20. S.S. Osterhout. Orientals in Canada. ↩︎
21. “Ottawa news,” [Vancouver] Weekly News Advertiser, 19 Sep 1888, Vancouver, BC, p. 8, col. 2, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 19 Feb 2025). ↩︎
22. “W Cumyow arrested charged with forgery,” Victoria Daily Standard, 24 Sep 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Col. 7, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025); “Charged with forgery,” Daily Colonist, 24 Sep 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Col. 1, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 18 Feb 2025). ↩︎
23. Canada, British Columbia City Directories, 1860-1955, British Columbia Directory, 1884-1885, Victoria, British Columbia, pg. 48, listings for Edwin Johnson, barrister-at-law, Government and Bastion; and for E.M. Johnson, conveyancer, Bastion, Vancouver Public Library (bccd.vpl.ca : accessed 19 Feb 2025); although the names of E.M. Johnson and Edwin Johnson are similar, they were both legal professionals, and they appeared to share office space at Government and Bastion Streets, there is no apparent family connection between the two. ↩︎
24. “Police Court – alleged forgery,” Victoria Daily Times, 24 Sep 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 4, Cols. 2-3, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025); “The Cumyow forgery case,” Victoria Daily Times, 26 Sep 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 2, Col. 2, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 29 Nov 2020). ↩︎
25. It is possible the surname is Wang/Wong and not Chu/Chue/Chui. ↩︎
26. “Cumyow re-arrested,” Daily Colonist, 30 Sep 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Col. 3, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca/dateList.php?year=1885) : accessed 5 Jan 2021). ↩︎
27. “Police court,” Victoria Daily Times, 17 Oct 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 4 col. 2, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025); “The Cumyow case – preliminary hearing on the second charge of forgery,” Victoria Daily Standard, 17 Oct 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3 cols. 4-5, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025). ↩︎
28. Wong Soy Chu is probably the same as Wang Sui Chiu from Cumyow’s first trial. Notable in these articles is the inconsistent spelling of Chinese names even within the same story. ↩︎
29. “Municipal police court,” Daily Colonist, 17 Oct 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Col. 1, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (https://britishcolonist.ca : accessed 17 Feb 2025). ↩︎
30. “The Cumyow case – preliminary hearing on the second charge of forgery,” Victoria Daily Standard, 17 Oct 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3 cols. 4-5, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025). ↩︎
31. “The autumn assizes,” Victoria Daily Times, 23 Nov 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 4 col. 2, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025); the Assizes returned a true bill and moved to indict. From Law.com: A true bill is “a written decision of a Grand Jury (signed by the Grand Jury foreperson) that it has heard sufficient evidence from the prosecution to believe that an accused person probably committed a crime and should be indicted. Thus, the indictment is sent to the court.” An indictment is ” a charge of a felony (serious crime) voted by a Grand Jury based upon a proposed charge, witnesses’ testimony and other evidence presented by the public prosecutor (District Attorney). To bring an indictment the Grand Jury will not find guilt, but only the probability that a crime was committed from.” ↩︎
32. “True bills,” Victoria Daily Times, 26 Nov 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 29 Nov 2020); Cumyow indicted for embezzlement and fraud, no bills returned on the two charges of forgery. ↩︎
33. “Queen vs. Cumyow – embezzlement,” Victoria Daily Standard, 17 Dec 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, col. 4, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025); “Autumn assizes evening session before Sir M.B. Begbie, C.J.,” Daily Colonist, 17 Dec 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Col. 2, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 18 Feb 2025); Matthew Baillie Begbie, last updated 2 May 2024, at 20:37 (UTC), wikipedia article, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Baillie_Begbie : accessed 22 Feb 2025). ↩︎
34. “Cumyow,” Daily Colonist, 18 Dec 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Col. 2, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 18 Feb 2025). ↩︎
35. “Cumyow,” Daily Colonist, 18 Dec 1885, Victoria, BC, p. 3, Col. 2, University of Victoria Libraries, The British Colonist Online Edition 1858-1980 (britishcolonist.ca : accessed 18 Feb 2025). ↩︎
36. “Notice [ad for William Teague],” Victoria Daily Times, 17 Oct 1885 to 7 Nov 1885, Victoria, BC, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 19 Feb 2025). ↩︎
37. [Vancouver] Daily News Advertiser, 15 Jul 1888, Vancouver, BC, p. 8, paragraph re: WA Cumyow opening an office at the corner of Cordova and Homer Street, Vancouver, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025). ↩︎
38. [Vancouver] Daily News Advertiser, 28 Jul 1888, Vancouver, BC, p. 8, paragraph re: WA Cumyow appointed Chinese interpreter, Police Court, Vancouver, Newspapers.com (newspapers.com accessed 18 Feb 2025). ↩︎