Camera Workers, 1858-1950

The British Columbia, Alaska and Yukon Photographic Directory, 1858-1950

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Sampson, John Wallace[1, 2]

Male 1852 -


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  • Name Sampson, John Wallace 
    • VARIANT NAME: Samson, John.
    Born 12 Mar 1852  Cornwall, Eng., UK Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Business Address/Year 1887-1891  Nanaimo, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Victoria Cres.
    Nanaimo, BC
    Canada 
    Business Address/Year 1892-1893  Nanaimo, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Commercial St.
    west side
    Nanaimo, BC
    Canada 
    Home Address/Year 1892-1894  Nanaimo, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Wallace St.
    Nanaimo, BC
    Canada 
    Business Address/Year 1894-1895  Nanaimo, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    64 Commercial
    Nanaimo, BC
    Canada 
    Home Address/Year 1895  Nanaimo, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    65 Wallace St.
    Nanaimo, BC
    Canada 
    Association Boyden, E.L. (Relationship: Predecessor) 
    Association Diamond City Photo Gallery (Relationship: Owner) 
    Person ID I424  Camera Workers | S, vol. 1, 1858-1900
    Last Modified 15 Jan 2017 

  • Documents
    J.W. Sampson ad, <i>Nanaimo Courier</i>, 20 Aug 1889, p. 4.    		J.W. Sampson ad, Nanaimo Courier, 20 Aug 1889, p. 4.

  • Notes 
    • STATUS: Commercial.
    • BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: The son of a mine worker, James (d. 1893) and Mary Sampson (d. 1911), John spent some time working in the mills and mines himself before emigrating to United States. He decided to settle in British Columbia and reached Nanaimo in 1875 where he went to work for the Vancouver Coal Company. He remained with the V.C.C. until 1884, then went north to Douglas Island, Alaska, and worked at diamond drilling. He returned to Nanaimo in 1886 and purchased the photographic business of E.L. Boyden which he ran for six years. By 1892 he was calling his business the Diamond City Photo Gallery. He was selling stationery and fancy goods out of the same store he had used as his studio in 1897.

      The John Sampson who died at age 67 (b. 1854?) in Nanaimo on December 13, 1921 (BVIPA death registration no. 1921-09-283061; microfilm reel no. B13119), and whose estate was probated in 1922 in the Nanaimo Supreme Court (BVIPA GR-2213, probate no. 639/1922, microfilm reel B09659) is likely the photographer.
    • IDENTIFYING MARKS: "Sampson, Nanaimo, B.C. [monogram J/S] Diamond City Studio" on front of print mount. "Sampson, Nanaimo, B.C." on front of print mount.
    • REFERENCES: MAL87; WIL89; HEN90; HEN91; WIL92; WIL93; WIL94; WIL95; HEN97 (Samson, John, stationery and fancy goods, Commercial, res. Wallace); WIL97 (Sampson, J, stationery and fancy goods, Commercial St, Wallace St); HEN98; HEN99; WIL99; Voters List, 1894.

  • Sources 
    1. [S64] COLLECTION: BNCM.

    2. [S428] Howay & Scholefield (1914), E. O. S. Scholefield (v. 1) and F. W. Howay (v. 2), (Vancouver: S.J. Clarke, 1914), v.3, 898-901.
      Entry includes a portrait of Sampson