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Bryce
Johnston Saunders
In 1842, William Saunders of
Dumfriesshire, Scotland, with his wife immigrated to St. Lawrence
County, State of New York, but in the following year he located at
Buells' Mills in the Township of Yonge in the Province of Upper Canada.
His wife was Miss Jane McVittie, of Kirkcudbright, Scotland. There were
five children, James B., the eldest, was born in New York State in 1843,
and died at Athens, Ontario, in 1902.
He was for many years a member of the County Council of Leeds and
Grenville, and afterwards Warden.
Bryce Johnston Saunders, the youngest member of the family, was born at
Lyndhurst, Leeds County, on October 17th, 1860. The two other children
were Minnie of Athens, and William J. of Worcester, Mass.
For many years William Saunders and his son James B., carried on a
milling business about a mile east of Farmersville (now Athens) in the
County of Leeds.
Bryce J. Saunders was educated privately and at the Farmersville High
School. He entered the School of Practical Science, Toronto, in 1881,
but transferred to McGill University in 1882, and graduated in
engineering in 1886. He qualified as a Dominion Land Surveyor in 1884
and as a Provincial Land Surveyor in Ontario on January 7th, 1885.
At the outbreak of the North West Rebellion in March, 1885, Mr. B.J.
Saunders volunteered for service with the Dominion Land Surveyors'
Intelligence Corps. He took part in the engagements at Fish Creek and at Batoche, and at the latter battle, his companion, A.W. Kippen, PLS,
of Perth, was killed.
In March, 1888, he entered into general practice with Willis Chipman,
then Town Engineer at Brockville, and that season they surveyed the
Township of Stewart.
In January, 1892, he was appointed town engineer at Brockville in
succession of Mr. Chipman, which position he held until 1896. When at
Brockville, he was also county engineer and acted as drainage engineer
for the United Eastern Municipalities.
In 1896 he removed to Fort William where he entered into partnership
with A.E. Farncomb, the firm continuing
for about two years.
In 1897, he was appointed by the Ontario Government as
provincial
commissioner to survey the boundary between the provinces of Ontario and
Manitoba. The surveyor representing the Dominion of Canada on this work
was Elihu Stewart, OLS, of Collingwood. They commenced the survey at
the northwest angle of the Lake of the Woods, and terminated it at the
Winnipeg River, a total distance of about 58 miles.
In 1900, he acted as assistant to
J.S. Dennis,
DLS, on irrigation surveys, a position he held for two years, with
headquarters at Regina.
In 1902 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Public Works for the
Government of the North West Territory, and was also chief engineer and
surveyor on irrigation and public works.
In 1904, he removed to Edmonton where he practiced
civil engineering and
land surveying until a short time before his death.
For three years he was in partnership with A. Driscoll at Edmonton.
For the Dominion Government he was employed as follows:
-
Subdivision
west of 4th and 5th Meridian
-
Resurveys in
Towns of Macleod and Banff
-
Subdivision
and outlines west of 4th and 5th
-
Subdivision
and removals west of 4th
-
Subdivision
west of 5th
-
Baseline west
of 5th
-
Baseline east
of Principal Meridian
-
Meridian
and base east of Principal Meridian
-
Baseline west
of 5th
-
Baseline west
of 4th
-
- Mr. Saunders always took an active interest in the militia. In 1870 he
was drummer boy in a small unit of scouts at Brockville during the
Fenian Raid scare.
In 1900, he volunteered for service in South Africa but was not called
upon to go. In 1906 he joined "A" Squadron, Canadian Mounted Rifles,
Edmonton, of which unit he became captain. Afterwards he became major in
the 19th Alberta Dragoons and was one of four officers chosen by
the Canadian Government to represent Canada at, the funeral of
King Edward VII in May
1910.
At the outbreak of the Great War in
1914,
he volunteered for service in August, at which time he was commissioner
of public works for the City of Edmonton. He left Valcartier in
September with the first contingent, and served in England, France and
on the high seas until the conclusion of hostilities, returning to
Canada in January,
1919.
He was mentioned in dispatches and was a lieutenant-colonel since
1912.
On his return to Edmonton in
1919
he resumed practicing in Alberta.
In 1887 he married Miss Esther Kincaid, daughter of Archibald Kincaid of
Athens. He was an Anglican in religion and a Liberal in
politics.
In
1910
he unsuccessfully contested the mayoralty of Edmonton, but was defeated
by William Short, who died in January 27th,
1926.
Colonel Saunders died at Edmonton on October 11th,
1926,
after a long illness. He was president of the Alberta Land Surveyors'
Association at the time. He was survived by his widow, two daughters,
Marjorie (Mrs. R.M. Dingwall) of Calgary, and Beatrice (Mrs. R.P. Lefroy) of Edmonton, and by one sister
(Mrs. Z.R. Rowe) of Brockvilie.
The following extract is from
the Edmonton Journal of October 14th,
1926:
"Amid the befitting dignity of a military ceremony, the funeral of
Lieut.-Col. B. J. Saunders, prominent Edmontonian and former city
commissioner who passed away on Monday last, was held from All Saints'
Church on Wednesday morning, the body afterwards being shipped to Banff,
where interment will take place.
"As Rev. Dr. D.G. McQueen, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, who
officiated at the impressive funeral service, remarked in paying tribute
to the memory of the deceased, Col. Saunders played an important part in
the history of western Canada. His life, said Dr. McQueen, should serve
as a fine example to the younger men who are living in the West today,
and to those who are to follow. Col. Saunders had been ever ready to
respond to the call of duty, whether that duty was the defence of his
country or lay along other lines.
"With an escort consisting of members of the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police and of local officers of the militia, the body of Col. Saunders
was conveyed on an RCMP gun carriage to the CPR depot, where it
was shipped on the noon train to Banff.
"High government and city officials were included among those who
attended he funeral. These included Lieut.-Col. Egbert, Chief Justice
Harvey, Mayor K.A. Blatchford and others.
"Many beautiful floral tributes were received."
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- Association of Ontario Land Surveyors
Committee on Biography
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Notable
- Charter Member, 1911
- ALSA President,
1926
- DLS Intelligence
Corps during Riel Rebellion
- Lt-Col in World War I
- Ran unsuccessfully
for Mayor of Edmonton
Places Named by/for
B.J. Saunders
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