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Title Diary of Alexander Begg, 1862
Author Begg, Alexander (1825-1905)
Date Jan-Dec 1862
Document Type Personal Account
Reference M-74-52
Library / Archive Glenbow Museum
Collection Name Alexander Begg Fonds
Description Diary written by Alexander Begg largely recording his business life, including his hours at the office, the trains he has taken and at what time, and accounts paid. Also notes the health of his family and church attendance.
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) Permanent Settlement and Successive Generations
Nationality Scottish
People Begg, Alexander
Keywords business, church, family
Additional Information 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, 1876
Copyright Glenbow Museum