Life Story

Sarah Goldberg was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1878. Under the instruction of her father, who was a tailor, she, too, became a tailor. Sarah married a watchmaker named Louis Haniford (born Ljeb Hanoft) in Poland in 1900, and together they built a prosperous jewellery business in Glasgow.

They immigrated to Winnipeg in 1902, hoping to establish a store there. When that did not work out, Sarah and her husband took advantage of the cheap homesteads being offered to immigrants in Western Canada, just like the Petersky family. In 1907, Sarah and Louis joined the wave of immigrants moving west and established a farm south of Hanna, Alberta. As they began to build their lives there, the couple and their growing family had to quickly adapt to isolation, harsh Prairie winters, and lack of any family or Jewish community for support. This, plus 9 pregnancies, took a toll on Sarah’s health. In the spring of 1922, after exhausting all medical help, Louis sent his wife to Vancouver, hoping that rest and a milder climate would restore her health. Sadly, it was not to be. Sarah died alone, far from her loved ones, on October 6, 1922, at St. Paul’s Hospital. Somehow, she was forgotten. It was to be 90 years before a descendant visited her grave, as all knowledge of her had evaporated.

Family members in Vancouver and Kelowna who are very interested in genealogical research recently discovered Sarah’s grave.

In October 2013, as part of the Mountain View Cemetary Restoration Project, a temporary marker was placed on Sarah's grave. In spring 2014, Sarah's descendants gathered for an emotional ceremony to celebrate Sarah's life and place a permanent headstone in her memory.