Thomas Wilson Paterson (6 December 1850 – 28 August 1921) was a Canadian railway contractor, politician, and the

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the representative of the monarch in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in the p ...

Railway career

After moving to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in 1885, he helped to build the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway line on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

. In 1895, he became general manager of the Victoria and Sidney Railway. In 1897, Paterson filed for and was granted a patent for a spark catcher and smoke burner for locomotives. The following year, he filed for a patent in the United States as well.

Political career

In 1902, Paterson ran as an independent candidate in a byelection for the provincial riding of North Victoria prompted by the death of the incumbent, John Paton Booth. He defeated a government-aligned candidate by 43 votes (12% of the votes cast). For the 1903 election, the North Victoria riding was abolished during redistribution, and Thomas ran as a Liberal candidate in the newly created riding of

The Islands The Islands was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It first appeared on the hustings in the 1890 British Columbia general election, 1890 provincial election and lasted until it was integrated into the new ...

. He defeated a Conservative candidate by 67 votes (19% of the votes cast). In the 1907 election, a new Conservative candidate won by 6 votes (2% of votes cast), and Thomas was unseated. In 1907, he was defeated when running for mayor of Victoria. From 1909 to 1914, he was the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. In 1912, he presented a cup to the

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in Western Canada and the Western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...

. The cup was first won by the

New Westminster Royals The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia, first established in 1911 for the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). Though nominally based in New Westminster, ...

, who were PCHA champions in the PCHA's first season.

Family and personal life

Born in Darvel,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, he immigrated to Canada with his parents. He was raised in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Paterson married Emma Elizabeth Riley, the daughter of George Riley in Victoria on November 25, 1886. Paterson retired in 1914. He died in Victoria on August 28, 1921,"British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLG9-82K : 30 September 2015), Thomas Wilson Paterson, 1921. and was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Thomas 1850 births 1921 deaths 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Lieutenant governors of British Columbia Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to the Province of Canada