My grandfather, John SLATER was born in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire and spent many years gold mining on the Fraser River. He is believed to have owned the Colonial Hotel, Soda Creek. He returned to England and married there in 1877 at the age of 38 years.. His new wife, aged 20 did not want to go to Canada, so they lived in a small village in Huntindonshire where his children were born. About 1901 he went to Canada to investigate his monetary affairs and died there "in his hotel room". John SLATER's name appears on the 1871 Barkerville Census. He acted as Company Secretary for a number of Associations for Free Miners and wrote articles for the "Sentinel" under the pseudonym "Prospector". I would love to hear more about John SLATER's life in Canada. Mary McLeod, New Zealand