Introduction

Growing Up

Striking Out

Taking Charge

Striking Out

In about 1899, John Caufield decided to move to North America. Of all the Caufield brothers, he was the most adventurous. He soon found work driving horse-drawn streetcars in New York City. After about ten years, he traveled to Billings, Montana to see Jack Dempsey, a famous boxer in a championship match. 

John heard about the opening of coal mines in Elk Valley, British Columbia. The Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Company was looking to hire men with coal mining experience. As a single person with few belongings, John could easily move to Coal Creek.

When John realised that the Coal Creek mines were growing as quickly as the news reported, he sent for his brothers. While each of them was very independent, the brothers who had worked in the Whitehaven coal mines decided to move to Coal Creek. They could save money by sharing rooms in the boarding house. When Edward married his Irish girlfriend from Liverpool, England and bought a house in Coal Creek, his brothers moved in with him.

Peter, Kate, Bridget and their parents did not follow the other brothers to Coal Creek. Peter decided to finish grade school and become a priest. Kate and Bridget took over the old family acreage in Rostrevor. Patrick and Mary stayed in Whitehaven.

We can see that the five Caufield brothers who moved to Coal Creek did so for many reasons. The excitement of traveling to a new frontier drew John to the growing town. The desire to be together with family brought Edward, Bernard, William and Thomas to Coal Creek. Their previous experience as coal miners made the Caufield brothers well-suited to working at Coal Creek.

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