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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Diary of Alexander Begg 1843-1846 |
| Author | Begg, Alexander (1825-1905) |
| Date | Nov 1842 - Sep 1846 |
| Document Type | Personal Account |
| Reference | M-74-52 |
| Library / Archive | Glenbow Museum |
| Collection Name | Alexander Begg Fonds |
| Description | Diary written by Alexander Begg between 1842 and 1846 from John O'Groats, Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Records his travel between the three places, the money he spent and what on. At this time he was working as a teacher and he makes occasional references to his pupils. Entries describe his journey by boat from Scotland to Canada. He records the weather conditions, the speed of the ship and the places they pass. |
| Series Description | From Series 1 – Textual records, (1843-1914). The series is broken down into 53 sections and consists of biographical information, letters written by and to Alexander Begg, Dunbow Ranche records, letters from his son Magnus Begg, correspondence of his wife Emily, and miscellaneous personal papers. |
| Biographical Note / History | Alexander Begg (1825-1905), was born in Scotland, where he received a teaching diploma. In 1846, he emigrated to Ontario where he resumed teaching. In 1854, he turned to journalism and established a number of newspapers. He married Emily Maria Luke (d. 1930) in 1858 and they had 11 children. One of their sons, Magnus, became an agent at the Blackfoot (Siksika) Indian Agency in Alberta. For a number of years Alexander was employed by the Department of Internal Revenue and was Collector of Customs for the North-West Territories in 1869. In 1872 he was appointed Emigration Commissioner in Scotland for the Province of Ontario and persuaded thousands of crofters to settle in Canada. He later attempted to promote a similar scheme as Commissioner for the British Columbia government, but this was abandoned as impractical. In the 1870s he established a temperance colony at Parry Sound and Beggsboro. In 1881, he visited the West as a Toronto Mail correspondent. He then acquired the Dunbow Ranche near Davisburg and High River, Alberta in 1883. In 1887 he moved to Victoria where he and three of his sons later formed the Stickeen and Teslin Railway, Navigation and Colonization Co. The following year he was employed by the Dominion Government to assist in defining the Canada-Alaska border. He retired to New York City in 1903. |
| Theme(s) | Journey Conditions; Motives for Emigration |
| Country (from) | Great Britain |
| Country (to) | Canada |
| Places | Edinburgh, Dundee, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| People | Begg, Alexander |
| Keywords | travel, emigration |
| Additional Information | Selections of this series are included in this project. This document is part 52. Please note: Some of the metadata for this document has been taken from the Glenbow Museum catalogue. |
| Language | English |
| Document(s) linked to |
Diary of Alexander Begg, 1857 |
| Copyright | Glenbow Museum |
