my great-grandfather was called benjamin (?) jarvis and he was a miner in clowne, derbyshire, england at the turn of the 20th century when he emigrated to fernie to work as a miner. he built 2 log cabins in the middle of town and sent for his wife and 4 children (one of whom was my paternal grandmother) about a year after his arrival. my grandmother told me about the fire: she said that both houses were burned to the ground, and all that remained of their possessions was her parents’ iron bedstead. she said they had to exist on potatoes that they dug up, which had been roasted in the ground, due to the heat of the fire….they were given the option of re-starting in fernie, or a gorvernment-assisted passage back to england: her father chose to return to england as he had kept his house in clowne. my father (her son) has some old photographs of the town, and, I think, an old newspaper account of the fire, but we would welcome any more information on the history of the town and the fire, as it would have pertained to my grandmother’s time there. any information as to where their houses would have been would be especially welcome: my father has often said he would like to visit fernie, and this would make his visit more special if we could locate where his mother had lived.
before she died, my grandmotherwrote her lofe story for me, which contains several paragraphs about her time in fernie and the fire: if anyone is interested, please get in touch.
hope someone can help me in this quest for more information!
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