Whenever I think of sisters, I am reminded of the song, Sisters, from one of my favourite Christmas movies, White Christmas. The first couple of lines of the song reminds me of sisters, Naomi and Manuella Briggs.

“Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters.”

Naomi Spencer Briggs, born July 25, 1886, and Manuella Octavia Briggs, born April 6, 1891. They were two of nine children (six boys and three girls) born to Thomas Lasher Briggs and Mary Irving.

Naomi Spencer Briggs, 1886¹ and Manuella Octavia Briggs, 1893²

You ask, what is so interesting about these two sisters? Well, you can say they’re interesting in one aspect (they led a very quiet traditional life of the times), but in other aspects, they were almost like twins!

Here are many similarities:

• both born and raised in the family home, Irving House, 302 Royal Avenue, New Westminster
• both lived in the family home until it was sold to the City of New Westminster in 1950
• both moved and lived together in their next home at 702 – 6^th Avenue, New Westminster
• both moved and lived together in their next home at 206 St. Patrick Street, New Westminster
• both never married or had children
• It is not really known what Naomi did with her time, but I have heard from some sources that she was a music teacher; Manuella was a piano teacher until she passed away – both had the musical gene!
• both passed away at the age of 86 – Naomi February 12, 1973, Manuella December 19, 1977
• both are buried at Fraser Cemetery

Here are a couple of the differences:

• Naomi passed away at St. Mary’s Hospital; Manuella at Royal Columbia Hospital
• Manuella was the second May Queen of New Westminster in 1904

Newspaper Article³ Manuella, 1904 May Queen⁴

As you can see, the similarities overwhelm the differences. One more similarity – they were both beautiful women and loved to pose for the camera!

Naomi, 1914⁵ Manuella, abt 1914⁶

Looking back through records, it seems they were pretty much together from the day they were born until Naomi passed, and Manuella was on her own until she passed. Talking with other family members that were more in touch with Naomi and Manuella in their later years, one of their nephews, Kingston Jr, had lived with them off and on throughout the years.

I don’t know about you, but if you’ve ever seen the movie, White Christmas, and are familiar with the song, Sister, I can just see them performing that song together – it really speaks to me for some unknown reason – it would’ve been a sight to see!^{7 8}

Both Naomi and Manuella were very involved in the community, donating a lot of their time, and hosting many events at their homes as indicated in several newspaper articles. This was carried on after their mother, Mary Briggs moved back down to Portland, Oregon.

I would have given anything to having gotten the chance to get to know Naomi and Manuella. They seem like great aunties that would have doted on their nieces and nephews. Plus, I have a little bit of the music bug having taken piano lessons when I was younger.

If you’ve never seen White Christmas, here’s a link to my inspiration for this blog post:

I hope you have enjoyed a little glimpse into my thoughts about Naomi and Manuella Briggs – they seem to be two of a kind – sisters!

Naomi and Manuella Briggs, 1967⁹

1. New Westminster Archives, Item #IFP0050, ID #31107; Mrs. R. Maynard, photographer. ↩︎
2. New Westminster Archives, Item #IFP0057, ID #31114; Mrs. R. Maynard, photographer ↩︎
3. Newspapers.com/image/500448705; The Province, Sat. Apr. 23, 1904, Page 13 ↩︎
4. New Westminster Archives, Item #IHP1422-030, ID #19123 ↩︎
5. New Westminster Archives, Item #IFP0054, ID #31111 ↩︎
6. New Westminster Archives, Item #IFP0061, ID #31118 ↩︎
7. New Westminster Archives, Item #IFP0125, ID #31179 cropped, 1967 ↩︎
8. New Westminster Archives, File #132, Item #IHP10000-0309, ID #54543 cropped, Abt 1960 ↩︎
9. New Westminster Archives, Item #IFP0125, ID #31179 ↩︎