Eli Bean

(additional images below)

Birth: March 1, 1875 in Lithuania

Death: February 22, 1940

Plot: Row C – Plot 42

Inscription:

פ׳׳נ
In Memory Of
ANNABELL
Born July 8 , 1894
Died June 25, 1968
ELI BEAN
Beloved Husband of ANNABELLE BEAN
Born March 1, 1875
Died Feb. 22, 1940
יחיאל בר מרדכי
נפתר יג אדר תש
ת׳נ׳צ׳ב׳ה

Translation of inscription:

פ׳׳נ
(Abbreviation of Hebrew: “Buried here”)
In Memory Of
Annabelle
Born July 8 , 1894
Died June 25, 1968
Eli Bean
Beloved Husband of ANNABELLE BEAN
Born March 1, 1875
Died Feb. 22, 1940
יחיאל בר מרדכי
(Hebrew: Yechiel bar Mordechai)
נפתר יג אדר תש
(Hebrew: Passed away 13 Adar 5700)
ת׳נ׳צ׳ב׳ה
(Abbreviation of Hebrew: “May his/her soul be bound with the bond of life.”)

Biography:
Proprietor of The Victoria Junk Agency, husband and father

Eli first appeared in Victoria’s City Directory in 1905. That listing shows only the residential address of 50 Humboldt, it does not include any employment information.
According to a passenger list, Eli lived in Bellingham, Washington for five years. In 1911, at the age of thirty-eight he immigrated to Victoria from there. Two years later his name appears in the Victoria City Director. He is listed Eli as the manager of the Great Western Junk Company (1421 Store Street) . In 1914 he was employed as the proprietor of the rival Victoria Junk Agency (1620 Store Street). Between 1913-1922, Eli lived in six different locations, including a year at the Metropolis Hotel (Located at 706-718 Yates Street, designed by George C. Mesher and opened in 1913).

When the government of British Columbia introduced prohibition the majority of residents voted in favour of it. The law came into effect on October 1, 1917 and was officially repealed on June 15, 1921. In the United States prohibition was from 1917-1933. Bootlegging and smuggling liquor from Victoria was dangerous for most, but lucrative for others. Eli was one who benefited. He sold burlap which was smugglers used to wrap bottles of liquor. At one point, Eli was able to sell 3,000 burlap sacks a week to one outlet. He used some of the profits from his business to buy properties in Victoria.

On December 26, 1922, the 46 year-old Eli married the 30-year old widow Annabelle. The couple moved twice before settling in at 1204 Dallas Road. From 1928-1929 Eli also ran Sidney West Furniture Store at 725 Fort Street.

The Bean family lived at different addresses on Dallas Road, Wellington Avenue and Hollywood Crescent before Eli purchased a plot on the Northeast corner of Linden Avenue in May 1925. According to the Times Colonist on May 27, 1925, the property was sold for $1000.00. By 1935, the home address for the Bean family was listed as 15 Linden Avenue.

In 1928, his daughter, Esther, was listed as student at Vic College living with her father and Annebelle on Dallas Road. In 1930, son Harold was listed at the same address on Dallas Road and was a salesman for Spencer’s Department Store.

Following Eli’s death, Annabelle was listed as the executrix of Victoria Junk Agency.

Parents:
Bessie or Rosa Popler or Publock
Morton, Marton, or Mordeki Bean

Siblings:
Jacob Bean (1858–1940)
Harry H Bean (1879–1962)
Bertha Bean (1891–1957)

Spouses:
Rachel Leah Schuman 1874–1920
Annabelle Gumbert Bean 1894–1968

Children:
Bertha Bean 1900–1983
Ethel Bean 1905–
Max Bean 1906–1913
Esther Bean 1910–1996
Stepson: Harold Theodore Gumbert (1913-2003)

Additional images: