A century-old chair tells a story long buried

For years, it was tucked successful the country of a chamber successful an flat successful British Columbia — its acheronian wood worn, its beingness mostly overlooked.

But its aboveground tells different story. Delicately carved grapevines twist crossed the backrest and oak leaves and acorns way on the curved arms. On the back, a stippled inheritance frames an inscription successful French: a connection near by the antheral who made it.

Dated 1915, the engraving reveals the chair’s improbable origin. It was crafted by a detainee astatine the Spirit Lake internment campy successful Quebec’s Abitibi region, wherever immigrants from eastbound Europe were held during the First World War.

All signs suggest the man’s beingness was not an casual one, arsenic helium struggled to find enactment and stableness for his household aft helium was released from the camp. 

How Margalo Whyte’s household came to ain the seat is simply a mystery, but she’s ever suspected it had a story.

Whyte lives 4,000 kilometres distant successful Tsawwassen,  a seaside assemblage wrong the Metro Vancouver suburb of Delta, B.C.

Her household had nary transportation to the camp, which was established by the Canadian authorities during the First World War to detain alleged force aliens.

Whyte’s grandfather, Albert Horton, owned the chair. He was a newsman and aboriginal main exertion for Hansard, the authoritative grounds of the House of Commons. He lived successful Ottawa.

Whyte’s parent inherited it aft his death.

As a child, she remembers it being kept connected a screened-in structure astatine their summertime cottage successful Ontario’s Thousand Islands.

“We utilized to heap towels connected it,” said Whyte. “But cipher paid overmuch attraction to it due to the fact that nary of america were of that property wherever we cared astir antiques.”

When her parent died successful 1993, the seat came location with her to B.C.

But who made the chair? Whyte wanted to find out.

A fewer months ago, the 86-year-old came crossed a CBC News nonfiction astir a combat to prevention a forgotten cemetery connected to Spirit Lake. On a whim, she reached retired to CBC for help.

“I’ve ever been curious,” said Whyte. “I conscionable had a consciousness that I wanted to honour and admit who carved the seat alternatively than seeing it spell to a landfill oregon something.”

“I’d truly emotion to find this guy."

At the opening of the First World War, the Canadian authorities passed the War Measures Act. It gave authorities wide powers to suspend civilian liberties and apprehension and detain radical it considered imaginable information risks.

Spirit Lake was 1 of 24 internment camps acceptable up to detain Ukrainians and different eastbound European immigrants.

Their spot and wealth was confiscated and they were forced to permission their homes.

Located adjacent the municipality of Amos, astir 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal, Spirit Lake was 1 of the largest camps and operated betwixt January 1915 and January 1917.

Nearly 1,200 men, women and children were rounded up and transported to Abitibi by train. 

The men were forced to bash hard labour, clearing the onshore of trees and brushwood to marque mode for an experimental farm. But however — and erstwhile — would a detainee person clip to marque specified a chair?

Detainees were fixed clip to marque and merchantability crafts specified arsenic walking sticks, representation frames and ships successful a bottle, according to a major-general’s study connected internment operations. 

The items were sold to guards, officers and adjacent townfolk, said Lubomyr Luciuk, a retired prof of governmental geography astatine the Royal Military College of Canada successful Kingston, Ont.

“Then the defender gives you immoderate wealth and you tin spell to the canteen and bargain cigarettes, tobacco, chocolate, whatever,” said Luciuk, who has researched and written about internment camps.

Although Luciuk has seen Canadian artifacts from different internment camps, helium was astonished by the chair’s prime and uniqueness.

“It’s the finest I’ve ever seen,” said Luciuk. 

In his opinion, the lone point comparable to the seat is simply a sideboard that was made for the commandant of the Morrissey internment campy extracurricular of Fernie, B.C. That portion is successful a depository successful British Columbia and determination is an inscription wrong the drawer.

“To person a portion similar that that really says from the Spirit Lake internment campy and his sanction and the twelvemonth is truly unsocial and it belongs successful the Canadian Museum of History,” said Luciuk. “Alternatively, the Canadian War Museum.”

The beforehand of the seat is delicately carved with grapevines, a fashionable motif astatine the time. The chair’s premix of styles is besides emblematic of the precocious 1800s oregon aboriginal 1900s, said John Sewell, who has appraised antiques and good creation for much than 40 years. 

He looked astatine photos of the seat and agreed, it’s a peculiar portion made by idiosyncratic with experience.

“What the marketplace truly craves are things that are one-offs oregon precise rare,” said Sewell, who is based successful Stratford, Ont. “And this evidently is simply a one-off, I would say. I uncertainty precise overmuch that the idiosyncratic did 2 of these.”

Sewell suspects it’s made of yellowish birch, which is communal successful Abitibi, but determination are besides sections that look similar oak, including the caput portion and arms, which are carved with oak leaves and acorns.

“What’s not emblematic is the curve successful the spot and the slats crossed is simply a bully interaction and the curved arms that lucifer the seat,” said Sewell.

Sofian’s determination to see his ain name, arsenic good arsenic the day and determination of wherever it was made, could person been a mode for Sofian, portion imprisoned, to permission down a “personal touch,” helium said.

To uncover the antheral down the chair, each CBC had to spell connected was the sanction carved into the backmost — Sofian.

To corroborate a antheral by that sanction was so a captive astatine Spirit Lake, CBC consulted a registry that lists the names of detainees interned successful Canada during the First World War. A Sergye Sofian was listed.

With Luciuk’s help, CBC besides looked astatine Spirit Lake’s handwritten log book, which lists a antheral by the sanction of Sergiew Sofian arsenic good arsenic his woman and 3 children, who ranged successful property from six months to 13 years old. Luciuk believes Sergye and Sergiew are the aforesaid person.

A certificate of merchandise shows a antheral named Sergye Sofian was discharged from Spirit Lake successful August 1916.

Using genealogical records, CBC recovered a Sofian who was calved successful Romania astir 1877.

Described arsenic 5 ft 4 inches gangly with a ruddy complexion, helium came to Quebec with his household astir 1912 with $30 successful his pocket, documents show.

Many Romanians immigrated to Canada earlier the First World War to acquisition farmland. Most settled successful the Prairies.

Gary Schroder, a genealogist and the president of the Quebec Family History Society, a foundation with entree to millions of records successful Canada and the United States, reviewed the records with CBC.

Documents bespeak Sofian had 3 daughters successful 1912, but soon aft the household arrived successful Quebec, a burial certificate shows their youngest kid astatine the time, Marguerita, died erstwhile she was 18 months old. The ages of Sofian’s surviving daughters correspond to those astatine Spirit Lake.

Although Sofian’s archetypal sanction was sometimes spelled differently, Schroder said that’s not unusual, peculiarly for names from eastbound Europe.

“They did alteration their names a batch due to the fact that erstwhile they went done customs they didn’t recognize it decently oregon it sounded different,” said Schroder. “And don’t forget, this was their 2nd language. So if this man was from Romania, his archetypal connection mightiness person been Romanian. He mightiness person been speaking Russian.”

Sofian’s property varies, positive oregon minus a fewer years, which Schroder said again, is not unusual.

“Many families, they person nary thought however aged radical are,” said Schroder. “People lied astir their ages too.”

There are besides flimsy spelling variations connected the archetypal names of Sofian’s woman and children, but the ages and fig of children are accordant with those recovered connected the Spirit Lake rotation telephone arsenic good arsenic obituaries.

Publicly accessible household trees database a Sirghe Sofian arsenic Marguerita’s father. A son, Artemy, was calved successful Nova Scotia successful 1915. His property and sanction lucifer with some the Spirit Lake rotation telephone and log book.

Another son, Alexander, was calved successful Montreal successful 1917, aft the Sofian household was released from Spirit lake.

Census records amusement the household moved to the Windsor, Ont., area. A Sirghe Sofian is listed arsenic the caput of the household and his woman and children’s names lucifer those astatine Spirit Lake. Around 1923, they settled southbound of the borderline successful Michigan.

A fig of documents —- including census records, U.S. section of labour migration documents and a U.S. declaration of volition — database Sofian’s assemblage oregon commercialized arsenic a furniture shaper oregon carpenter. He besides worked successful factories oregon arsenic a workplace manager.

In the U.S. declaration of intention, Sofian’s carnal characteristics, including height, are listed, which lucifer what was recovered connected the discharge papers from Spirit Lake.

He remained successful Michigan until his decease from bosom problems successful 1936, according to his decease certificate.

Schroder said each signs constituent to this being the aforesaid antheral who made the seat astatine Spirit Lake.
 

The seat Sofian made astatine Spirit Lake whitethorn not beryllium the lone portion of furnishings helium manus carved. In 1933, a tiny excerpt successful the Ludington Daily News said a Romanian husbandman named Sirghi Sofian had made a array for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

At the time, Sofian was surviving successful a tiny farming assemblage called Capac successful Michigan state.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library was incapable to find the array itself, but the depository collections manager recovered letters betwixt Sofian and the White House successful its statesmanlike papers.

In those letters, Sofian tells the president helium manus carved the array arsenic a Christmas present. Following the White House’s missive of appreciation thanking Sofian for the table, Sofian writes to Roosevelt again and appeals for fiscal assistance, explaining that helium has different furniture, including a penning desk, penning seat and representation framework helium could besides send.

“I americium precise poor,” Sofian writes successful the letter, dated Dec. 1, 1933. “I had a 40 acres [sic] workplace connected rent. I mislaid my 2 horses this outpouring and the proprietor of the workplace enactment maine retired due to the fact that I couldn’t marque my rent.”

In response, the president’s backstage caput said the president was atrocious to perceive Sofian was having a hard time, but could not assistance him financially. Under the circumstances, they thought it champion to instrumentality the table, but aft different missive from Sofian, chose to clasp it.

It’s not wide wherever the array is now. Other humanities sites devoted to FDR, including assorted retreats successful some the U.S. and Canada, including Campobello International Park successful New Brunswick, were incapable to find it.

An obituary for Sofian’s youngest son, Alexander, helped zero successful connected imaginable descendants.

Alexander Sofian was calved successful Montreal successful 1917. He fought successful the Battle of the Bulge, the largest, bloodiest azygous conflict fought by the United States successful the Second World War. In the obituary, a godson, Alexander Cojocar, is listed. 

Cojocar is simply a retired veterinarian successful New Jersey and his older member John, inactive lives eastbound of Detroit successful the aforesaid portion his large gramps settled successful much than a 100 years ago. Their grandmother, Anna Davis, was Sofian’s daughter. She was 7 erstwhile she was detained astatine Spirit Lake.

John Cojocar remembers his grandma talking astir her father, Sirghi, but helium had already died by the clip they were born. She did not talk astir her clip astatine the internment campy often.

“She told america it was beauteous desolate, beauteous barren and she remembered that they ate a batch of rabbit,” said John Cojocar, who lives successful a suburb of Detroit.

Whenever helium went hunting and caught a rabbit, he’d connection it to her, but she ever refused.

“She didn’t privation thing to bash with rabbits,” said Cojocar with a chuckle.

He besides recalls his parent had a missive astir the array Sofian made for President Roosevelt. It said the array had been sent to a warehouse for items taken from the White House.

“All I cognize is it’s astir apt successful D.C. successful a warehouse somewhere,” said Cojocar.

When Whyte recovered retired the presumed individuality of the antheral who made her chair, she was overwhelmed and thanked CBC for pursuing it.

“History is truthful important,” said Whyte, who appreciates having a communicative to archer her grandchildren. 

She is going to instrumentality immoderate clip to determine if she’d similar to donate the seat to a museum, springiness it to Sofian’s evident descendants oregon support it wrong her family.

“The seat has had a travel truthful we shall person to fig retired wherever its adjacent travel is going to be.”

Editing and layout by Benjamin Shingler

Lead representation by Steven Silcox