Herbert Bealey Adshead (October 17, 1862 – May 2, 1932) was a farmer, author and a municipal and federal level politician from

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Early life

Herbert Besley Adshead was born on October 17, 1862, just outside

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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. He emigrated to Canada in 1880 at the age of 16. He first settled in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. Adshead graduated from Normal School in 1897. He married and moved west with his wife, Ellen Unwin. The couple would settle creating a homestead near

Olds, Alberta Olds ( ) is a town in central Alberta, Canada within Mountain View County and the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. It is approximately south of Red Deer and north of Calgary. The nearest towns are Didsbury to the south, Bowden to the north, S ...

. They moved to

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, in 1912.

Political career

Adshead began his political career on the municipal level. He was elected to

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

in the 1912 municipal election and served two consecutive terms. He was elected once again in

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

, Adshead resigned his seat on council in December 1917 to contest the

Mayoralty In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

but was defeated by Michael Costello. Adshead attempted a run at

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

provincial politics. He ran in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. The Liberal government is replaced by the United Farmers of Alberta. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed gov ...

in the

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

electoral district. His bid for office was unsuccessful. He ran as an independent candidate and finished 14th out of the 20 candidates on the ballot. Adshead would attempt a career at federal politics. He ran as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate in the

1926 Canadian federal election The 1926 Canadian federal election was held on September 14, 1926, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 16th Canadian Parliament, 16th Parliament of Canada.Ray Argyle, . ''Turning Points : The Campaigns that Changed Canada: 2 ...

. He was elected, defeating Incumbent Fred Davis. He served one term in the riding of

Calgary East Calgary East is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1953, 1979 to 1988, 1997 to 2015, and since 2025. It was a lower income urban riding in Calgary, with a sizabl ...

until the

1930 Canadian federal election The 1930 Canadian federal election was held on July 28, 1930, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons of the 17th Canadian Parliament, 17th Parliament of Canada. R. B. Bennett, Richard Bedford Bennett's Conservative ...

when he was defeated by

George Douglas Stanley George Douglas Stanley (March 19, 1876 – February 22, 1954) was a Canadian politician and physician. Born in Exeter, Ontario, he began as a pioneer medical doctor in Alberta in 1901. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1913 t ...

Published works

Adshead was an accomplished writer. He wrote a book about his homesteading experience it was called ''Pioneer Days''. He also wrote 3 other books ''Pioneer tales & other human stories'' published in 1924. ''The Akaitcho youth and unity'' published posthumously in 1964 and ''Akeeah: stone sculptor Baker Lake published posthumously'' in 1968.

References

External links

City of Calgary Aldermanic History Page 70
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adshead, Herbert 1862 births 1932 deaths Calgary city councillors Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Labour MPs in Canada 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers Writers from Calgary Writers from Manchester English emigrants to Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Canadian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers