Josephine Julie Smith (1902-1963)

The Tohm Genealogy

The Foster Genealogy

Josephine Julie Smith, b. 26 August 1902 at Emerson, Manitoba, d. 28 January 1963 at Victoria, British Columbia

          Father: Thomas William Smith, b. 15 December 1867 at Barry, Ontario, d. 6 September 1946 at Duncan, British Columbia
          Mother: (Minnie) Wilhemena Ellen Tohm, b. 5 October 1880 at Poland, d. 28 September 1957 at Duncan, British Columbia

        Married: John Bart Creighton, newspaperman at 18. He was ten years older. Redhead.

       Spouse: Barton John Creighton, b. 16 October 1893 at Cardiff, Glam Wales, d. 1977, d. 21 June 1978 at Boonah, Australia Married 1921.

circa 1942

Josie in her wedding dress 1921

Josie was the second child and eldest daughter of Thomas and Minnie. She was born in Emerson, Manitoba near the Smith farm. Her childhood years were spent in and around the Ridgeville property where Thomas worked the farm with his brothers and father, James. Sometime in 1919, the family moved to Clark's Crossing, Saskatchewan where they operated a district farm. It was here that Josie met Bart Creighton, a reporter for the Prince Albert Herald.


The courtship endured by mail for about a year following the family's move to Sahtlam. In June of 1921, Bart arrived in Duncan, and married the 18 year old redhead who was ten years his junior. The newlyweds returned to Prince Albert for a few monthes, but Josie was constantlly tearful and homesick. Bart eventually gave up his job and the young couple rejoined the family in Duncan.

Bart was a whistle punk for a few months before he landed a job with the Cowichan Leader, a newspaper he stayed with for 25 years as reporter and editor. Murray was born in 1923 while the family lived on the Creighton property next to the Smiths. Bart's father, who had been a major contributor to the construction of the houses, lived in his own carefully crafted cottage at the bottom of the property. By 1931, the family had moved into town, leaving Creighton Road as the lasting testimony of their pioneer days.


As the oldest sister, Josie claimed she was always "nursemaid to a lot of drippy-nosed sprouts". Although her formal education ended about grade eight, she filled in as a teacher at the little one room, Sahtlam school. Eary on she belonged to a theatrical group that staged plays at the old Vimy Hall. After the move into Duncan, she played badminton and golf. Among family members, she will always be remembered as a fanatical fisherwoman.

Children and grandchildren:

Murray Thomas Creighton, b. 6 January 1923 at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, m. Frances Elizabeth Morrison, 6 September 1947 at Vancouver,  BC; d. 7 August 2010; 3 grandchildren

The Tohm Genealogy

The Foster Genealogy