​In 1902, the Eagans leased their hotel out to Archie Philmore and a J. Gordon and made an extended visit to Walhalla, North Dakota. [19] We have only fleeting signs of them afterward. Between 1903 and 1907, Amy was listed — as Mamie L. Eagan — as a stenographer in Spokane, residing at 817 5th Ave. and then 707 5th Ave. Her mother lived with her during at least part of that period and rented rooms in their home. [20] By 1910, they were in Seattle, where Amy was a telephone operator. [21]

 

On the 1911 census, Johnny was listed as single, so presumably there had been no wedding bells. [22] He acted as agent and attorney for Mrs. Eagan when she appealed her Sandon tax assessment the following year. [23]

 

In the summer of 1913, the Eagans visited Sandon. Mrs. Eagan still owned the Palace Hotel, now leased to Angus McGillivray. [24] In 1915, for reasons unknown, Johnny wrote a cheque for $90 to Amy, cashed at the British American Trust Co. in Vancouver. [25]

 

In 1922, “Mayme E. Eagan” was reported as visiting Sandon for a few days on business. [26] The nature of that business, and whether it involved Johnny, was not disclosed. The following year the Palace Hotel was advertised for rent: “Apply Mrs. Egan [sic], care of E.G. Matthew, Nelson.” [27]

 

Mrs. Eagan was still in Seattle as of 1924 but Amy had moved elsewhere. [28] Mrs. Eagan died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage on Sept. 19, 1925, in Fort Worth, Texas, while she and Amy were visiting. [29] Her death certificate said she was 64, but she was really 75. She was buried in Seattle. The death certificate carried few other details due to the fact it wasn’t filled out by her daughter but rather by one W.J. Finley. [30] While it’s not clear who he was, his surname is significant because in 1927 Amy married George Kribbs Finley in Texas. [31]

 

The timing suggests Amy was unwilling to marry while her mother was alive and perhaps ailing. Amy was about 50 and George about 55. It was his second marriage. He served with an engineer corps in France during World War I and at the time of the wedding was an oil operator in the boomtown of Ranger, Texas. [29] Their marriage notice appeared in the Nelson Daily News. [32] Johnny’s reaction is not recorded.

 

Amy moved to Artesia, New Mexico with her husband and worked as a bookkeeper in the oil industry. [33] She inherited her mother’s Sandon properties, including the old Palace Hotel, and Johnny acted as her agent as needed. [34]

 

Gene Petersen recalled walking into the lobby of the Reco Hotel one evening many years later, when Johnny announced: “Amy died.” [35]

 

Gene looked blankly at him as he repeated: “Amy died today.”

 

He meant Amy Eagan. It didn’t matter that Gene had never known her. Johnny told him about the time they went on holiday together to Pasadena and he surprised her by filling her room with baskets of roses.

 

“By then I was wondering if his wife, who was sitting there, had heard it all before,” Gene recalled. The answer came when Alma rose to leave the room and said: “You have never bought me even one basket of roses!”

 

Johnny was oblivious: “I wonder what’s the matter with her.”

 

Amy’s husband must have phoned with news of her death, which had occurred in Artesia, New Mexico, on 18 Dec 1945, of an artery blockage hastened by the flu. Her death certificate listed her as “Mary Egan Finley” and gave her year of birth as 1885, although 1877 is more likely, making her 68. George Finley died in 1951. Both he and Amy are buried in Artesia; while his grave is marked (presumably because of his military service), hers isn’t.

 

NOTES

[1] Or Amie. Or Mary. Or Mabel. Or Minnie. Or Nona. The variations seemed endless. Although the spelling of her surname was also inconsistent, Eagan was how it appeared on receipts made out to her.

 

[2] Window in the Rock, Gene Peterson, 1993, p. 307

 

[3] We only know of the first marriage because of Mrs. Eagan’s obituary in the Seattle Star, 28 Sept 1925 that listed a son, “William D. Thompson of Alaska” as a survivor. Her other obituaries in The Daily News (Nelson), Victoria Daily Times, and The Vancouver Sun didn’t mention him. William’s year and place of birth are taken from the 1920 U.S. census, which listed him as a copper miner in Valdez, Alaska. It said his father was born in Virginia.

 

[4] 1901 Canada census, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/3er38b8u, says Mrs. Eagan was born in Ireland in 1850. The 1897 Henderson’s directory listings for Sandon indicated the late Mr. Eagan’s name was John. John’s first name and middle initial also appear in the U.S. Social Security applications index entry for Mary Egan Finley, viewed at ancestry.com, which includes Amy’s exact place of birth. The latter gives the year of her birth as 1888 but the 1901 Canada census for Sandon, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/3er38b8u says 1877, which is much more likely.

 

[5] Courier Democrat (Langdon, North Dakota), 2 Mar 1905: “Mrs. Annie Egan [sic] … left Tuesday returning to her home in Vancouver … Years ago when this county was first settled Mrs. Egan and her family were residents here and will be remembered by many of the early pioneers.” Cavalier County was formed in 1873. An item in the Courier Democrat, 17 Nov 1892 showed Mrs. Eagan also owned property in Wells County at Harvey.

 

[6] 1888 and 1891 Vancouver civic directories. Amy is called “Mabel” in the 1891 Henderson directory and “Mary” on the 1891 census. The census listed Mrs. Eagan as a widow.

 

[7] “Former pioneer resident dies,” The Vancouver Sun, 28 Sept 1925. The same story said Mrs. Eagan came to Vancouver from Ireland in 1886 and lived at Cranbrook and Nelson, none of which seems likely.

​

[8] 1892 West Kootenay tax assessment, held by the Kootenay Lake Archives at Kaslo, which lists Mrs. Eagan as owner of a home in New Denver at Lot 10, Block 13.

 

[9] Slocan Times (New Denver), 25 Aug 1894

 

[10] The Ledge (New Denver), 27 Dec 1894

 

[11] Agreement between J.M. Harris and Mrs. Anna Egan [sic], 4 Aug 1896, Bill Barlee mining research collection, John Morgan Harris sous fonds, University of B.C. Rare Books and Special Collections, Box 1, File 9, which indicates she had Lot 6, Block 2.

 

[12] The Mining Review (Sandon), 21 Aug 1897

 

[13] The Paystreak (Sandon), 17 Jul 1897 and The Mining Review (Sandon), 2 Oct 1897

 

[14] Two billheads in my collection show “M. Eagan” paid $30 by Harris and Kelly for typewriting work in April of an unknown year and the same amount in December 1901.

 

[15] The Paystreak (Sandon), 23 Jun, 14 Jul, 11 Aug, and 1 Dec 1900

 

[16] Bill Barlee mining research collection, John Morgan Harris sous fonds, University of B.C. Rare Books and Special Collections, Box 3, File 3. Sproat was separated from his wife, who lived in England. By 1900 he had moved to Victoria.

 

[17] Gilbert Malcolm Sproat to J.M. Harris, 14 Jun 1900, Bill Barlee mining research collection, John Morgan Harris sous fonds, University of B.C. Rare Books and Special Collections, Box 1, File 3. Sproat was separated from his wife, who lived in England. By 1900 he had moved to Victoria.

 

[18] The Paystreak, 9 Sept 1899; The Mining Review, 9 Sept and 11 Nov 1899; 24 Mar 1900

 

[19] The Mining Review, 7 Jun 1902

 

[20] 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907 Spokane city directories, viewed at ancestry.com

 

[21] 1910 U.S. census, viewed at digitalarchives.wa.gov. The Eagans appear at 706 9th Ave. “Anna B.” is listed as a widower, 61, while her daughter “Nona L.” is listed as 27, though she was really 34. Parker Williams III had an envelope sent to John Morgan Harris postmarked 1913 with the return address “M.L. Egan, Hotel Kennedy, Seattle.” Another envelope with the same handwriting is postmarked 1914 from Seattle, with the return address 404-901 6th Ave. Mrs. Eagan is listed at this address in the 1914 Polk Seattle city directory, while “Mayme” Eagan is listed as a telephone operator at 711 9th Ave.

 

[22] 1911 Canada census, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/mr4cta89

 

[23] J.M. Harris to City of Sandon, 4 Jul 1912, Sandon city records, B.C. Archives GR-0304

 

[24] The Daily News (Nelson), 15 Jul 1913

 

[25] Bill Barlee mining research collection, John Morgan Harris sous fonds, University of B.C. Rare Books and Special Collections, Box 1, File 5

 

[26] The Daily News (Nelson), 4 Jul 1922

 

[27] The Daily News (Nelson), 15 Oct 1923

 

[28] The 1924 Seattle city directory, p. 556 viewed at ancestry.com lists Annie Egan [sic] at 706 9th Ave. — the same address as in 1910 — but does not mention Amy.

 

[29] Death certificate for Anna Egan, viewed at ancestry.com and The Daily News (Nelson), 21 Nov 1925

 

[30] According to a Texas marriage record viewed at ancestry.com, the wedding happened on 8 Mar 1927 somewhere in Stephens County but The Daily News (Nelson), 18 Nov 1927, said it occurred on 23 Oct 1927 in Dallas.

 

[31] The Daily News (Nelson), 18 Nov 1927, family tree for George K. Finley viewed at http://tinyurl.com/5n6fbbvc, and https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21798431/george-kribbs-finley

 

[32] Ibid.

 

[33] Death registration for Mary Egan Finley, viewed at ancestry.com

 

[34] B.C. Security Commission to J.M. Harris, authorized agent for Mrs. Mamie Finley, 24 Jun 1944, in “Sandon, British Columbia – Leases,” Library and Archives Canada, RG36-27, Vol. 23

 

[35] Window in the Rock, op. cit., p. 307