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					Colonial Settlers : James Curtis Bertrand
			The Land Colonial Settlers Community of Villages Pre-emptions Agriculture Timelines Image Gallery		James Bertrand (1829-1933) left his hometown of Exeter, Illinois and came to live in Blaine, Washington in 1853 by way of California. He married Mary Ann John (1842-1918), the sister of local Sto:lo chief Captain John, in 1859. They had nine children. In 1859, Betrand worked on the boundary survey, sitting small iron monuments along the Washington/British Columbia border. In that same year, he came to Chilliwack where he operated a mercantile business. The Fraser River gold rush was in full swing during this time. He pre-empted land with Reuben Nowell in 1863, a section of land that now forms the eastern part of downtown Chilliwack. In 1871, he left Chilliwack and settled near Lynden, Washington, on land known as Bertrand Prairie. He returned to Blaine in 1886 and operated a general store and worked in real estate for several years. In 1890, he went to Alaska and in later years explored much of northern British Columbia. He died in Blaine at the age of 103. Bertrand is credited as the man who put the 'whack' in Chilliwhack. The original spelling was Chilukweyuk. Until 1980, when amalgamation took place, the spelling for the Township of Chilliwhack differed from the City of Chilliwack.
							P334- Formal portrait of James Bertrand

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