We are a non-profit organization focused on promoting, preserving, and being a strong, active resource for all things of heritage value on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia. Join us to learn about the history of Sea Island and its residents, past and present.
Newsletter
(Barbara Kinahan Collection)
Laing, Thomas (1864-1951)
Laing (née Mackie), Marion Brown
(1870-1949)
Thomas Laing was born in 1864 in West Hartlepoole, Durham, England. He died at the Athlone Nursing Home in Vancouver, Canada in 1951. In 1895, Thomas Laing married Marion Brown Mackie in Vancouver. Marion was born on April 11, 1870 in Scotland.
In the 1901 Canadian Census, Thomas Laing was 36 years old, married, the head of the house, and a farmer. He was living on Sea Island with his wife Marion and two children, Thomas and Rachel Laing.
Thomas and Marion Laing had six children, Thomas Mackie Laing (1895-1915), William Laing (1900-1900), Richard Laing, Arthur Laing (1904-1975), Rachel Moodie née Laing (1897-1966), and Marion Laing.
Thomas Laing was a member of the group that initiated the British Columbia Federation of Agriculture. His son, Arthur Laing, followed in his footsteps and studied agriculture at the University of British Columbia before going into politics. In 1972, Arthur Laing was appointed to the Senate and the Arthur Laing Bridge over the North Arm of the Fraser River from Sea Island to Vancouver was named after him. The south end of the bridge was located close to the Eburne area of Sea Island where Arthur Laing was born.
To view the Laing family tree on Ancestry or obtain further information, contact Barb Nielsen at barbaralynnnielsen@gmail.com.