Nettie Florence (Farris) Elliott 1865-1937

Independent Woman and Trailblazer

Nettie Florence (Farris) Elliott was a fascinating character who traveled across the United States in a horse-drawn covered wagon. Her reputation as a trailblazer continued throughout her life.

Nettie Farris was born in Des Moines, Iowa, USA on May 26, 1865. She was raised a Methodist, and was one of eight children born to Samuel Farris, a farmer from Indiana, and Frances Ann (Montgomery) Farris of Adams, Ohio. Nettie’s ancestors were early Scottish Colonialists. Her three-time great grandparents, Patrick Montgomery and Agnes McCord, were recorded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the 1720’s.

Nettie Florence Farris married John Hess Elliott on February 18, 1888 in Adams, Ohio (See the biography of John Hess Elliott). The couple had two children, Theodore Fay (1888 - 1958) and Elva Eleanore (Elliott) Patterson (1896-1973). In 1898 Nettie Florence and her family crossed the border into Vancouver, British Columbia and made the Fairview Slopes district their home.

Nettie Florence continued her independent ways. She smoked a corncob pipe and taught herself how to drive at a time when it was not popular for women to do so. She was also one of the first to exercise her right to vote when women in British Columbia were extended the franchise in 1917.

Nettie Florence Elliott was an active gardener and lodge worker. She was also an adherent to Vancouver’s Sixth Avenue Methodist Church. During the summer months between 1910 and 1916, the family would board the Union Steamship vessels at Coal Harbour and travel to Savary Island, where the Elliott family had built one of the first homes on the island. Nettie (Farris) Elliott died on August 11, 1937.

Biography by Raymond Reitsma, family historian.