Caspar Phair (died 1933) was one of the early settlers of

Lillooet, British Columbia Lillooet () is a district municipality in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. The town is on the west shore of the Fraser River immediately north of the Seton River mouth. On British ...

, Canada, arriving about 1877 to take up the role of the village's school teacher. He emigrated from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Caspar Phair became Lillooet's Government Agent, a position which at one time encompassed a wide-ranging assemblage of duties. In time he assumed the roles of magistrate, chief constable,

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

, fire chief, and game warden. His lasting mark was made in business as a merchant-launching the family's general store on a 'run' that would extend over 50 years. In 1879 he married Cerise Eyre, daughter of Maria Josephine Martley by a previous marriage. Cerise Armit Eyre and her sister Mary Eyre had remained in England with their grandparent's when the Martley's travelled to the new colony of British Columbia in 1861. Maria's daughter's by Eyre joined the family in 1871. The wedding took place on The Grange, the Martley ranching property near Pavilion. Cerise's sister Mary would marry Henry Cornwall of Ashcroft Ranch. In the 1890s the Phairs had a residence that they named

Longford House The Miyazaki House (formerly the Longford House) in Lillooet, British Columbia is an elegant house built by Caspar Phair in the 1880s. It was partially modelled after Mrs. Phair's previous home, Eyrecourt Castle, in County Galway, Ireland. The ga ...

, built in Lillooet. This elegant building is said to be partially modeled on and named after Mrs Phair's home in

Eyrecourt Eyrecourt, historically known as Donanaghta (), is a village in County Galway, Ireland. Eyrecourt is on the R356 regional road 12 km west of the Banagher bridge over the River Shannon. History The Eyres after whom the village is named ...

, of

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

in Ireland. Longford survives to this day as the village's only significant example of heritage-quality domestic architecture. Caspar Phair's son, A.W.A. (Artie) Phair, was a

as well as a noted chronicler and photographer of Lillooet's history. Caspar and Cerise Phair died in 1933, leaving their house to Harold Phair, Artie's son. Longford House was later bought by Dr.

Masajiro Miyazaki Masajiro Miyazaki, Order of Canada, CM (November 24, 1899 – July 23, 1984) was a Canadian osteopathic physician who practised in Vancouver prior to World War II. During World War II, he was appointed as a coroner by the British Columbia Provinci ...

and is now called the

Miyazaki House The Miyazaki House (formerly the Longford House) in Lillooet, British Columbia is an elegant house built by Caspar Phair in the 1880s. It was partially modelled after Mrs. Phair's previous home, Eyrecourt Castle, in County Galway, Ireland. The g ...

References

*Edwards, Irene "Short Portage to Lillooet, and other Trails and Tales" (Self-published, Lillooet BC, various editions, out of print) *Harris, Lorraine "Halfway to the Goldfields; A History of Lillooet," J. J. Douglas, North Vancouver, 1977 (out of print) * Martley Family History Collective 2012 * http://www.eyrehistory.net/eyrecourt_and_eyreville/fam192.php

References

See also