"During the processing of his application, Grell was requested to dictate a short biography to the County Court at Ootsa Lake on 15 July 1926.
“I came from Lewiston, Wash. under the name of William Dunnand arrived at Keremeos B.C. on horseback. | never made any report of my entry into Canada.”
Q: Why did you come under the name of William Dunn?
“I was a little bit on the crooked side in those days. | had not been doing anything against the laws of the U.S. and Canada. My inclination was on the wild side of life and I was liable to jump crooked any day. I had not been in trouble since a boy when | was sent to a reform school in Pontiac, Illinois, and that is where I learned not to respect law or order. But for all that I never got into any trouble for all that up to the time I came into Canada. In Canada I was arrested for interfering with H. M. Mail. I was sentenced in Kamloops for life in 1906. This was for holding up a train near Kamloops. I served 9 years in B.C. Penitentiary. | was paroled. | then went to Princetown [sic]. That was in September 1915. I remained there until I came up to this country. I have not been in trouble since. I was with Bill Miner at the hold up. I have tried since my parole to live the life of a respectable citizen. (The applicant files a letter from Mr. Henson, a merchant-farmer residing at the lower end of Ootsa Lake.) I ran a store for him last winter and he wants me to run it again this winter. I told Mr. Henson last fall of the story of the hold up and my term in prison. I also told Constable O. L. Hall the same last fall. | have not told this to any one else in this district. I could get recommendations from reputable businessmen at Princeton, B.C. who know my story and I am perfectly satisfied they would certify that I have tried to go straight since then. The reason I do not want to ask for a certificate of character in this district is because none except Mr. Henson know my past. I cannot ask for recommendation without disclosing it, which I do not want to do because I am doing my best to live it down. If my past is generally known I would be a hero to some and a convict to others.”
The same day, Billy Grell had to fill out another document, a “Petition For Naturalization,” and send it to the Secretary of State in Ottawa. The petition listed basic facts about the applicant. Stating his name, address, date of birth and former citizenship, he adds further details, filling in the blanks of the standard form. Grell stated that he had previously petitioned for naturalization at Princeton; however, he never appeared at the court to petition for this decision as he was out in the hills prospecting when the court was in session.
- Peter Grauer, Interred With Their Bones: Bill Miner in Canada, 1903-1907. Kamloops: Tillicum, 2006. p. 542-543.
[Billy Dunn, who was colleagues of Bill Miner, explains his life while applying for Canadian naturalization - a rare glimpse in print of a paroled prisoner trying to 'make good' in this period.]
