Nicholas Sheran (1841–1882) was an entrepreneur born in

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. He spent his early years apprenticing as a printer, working on

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whalers, and serving in the

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History

After his service in the

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, Sheran followed a fellow soldier (Joseph Healy, a member of the

Kainai Nation The Kainai Nation () (, or , romanized: ''Káínawa'', Blood Tribe) is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in southern Alberta, Canada, with a population of 12,965 members in 2024, up from 11,791 in December 2013. tra ...

who was adopted by the Healy family) to Montana where he worked as a prospector and trader. In 1870, he went north in search of gold to

Fort Whoop-Up Fort Whoop-Up was the nickname (eventually adopted as the official name) given to a whisky trading post, originally Fort Hamilton, near what is now Lethbridge, Alberta. During the late 19th century, the post served as a centre for trading activ ...

, a whiskey-trading post started by Healy's older adoptive brother John J Healy near what is now

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

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 ...

where he found coal instead. While in the area, Sheran started a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

service across the Belly River (now Oldman). In addition, he also mined coal from a seam in the nearby

coulee Coulee, or coulée ( or ), is any of various different landforms, all of which are kinds of valleys or drainage zones. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'. The term is often used ...

s and sold it to traders who came to the fort. With this, Sheran was responsible for the creation of Alberta's first commercial coal mine. He was able to sell his coal for $5 a ton according to a later newspaper article; but according to this historical document it went for $3/ton at the site, $15/ton at Fort McLeod, and $22/ton at Fort Benton. From 1878 to 1882, Sheran lived

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with a Peigan woman named Mary Brown, and they had two sons together: Charles and William. Sheran drowned the May before his second son was born. In 1899, the Supreme Court for the North-West Territories ruled that Sheran's two sons were ineligible to inherit his estate. This ruling was made because the court believed Sheran could have legally married Mary Brown, but did not.Brian Slattery and Linda Charlton, ed., Canadian Native Law Cases 3, 1891-1910 (Saskatoon: Native Law Centre, 1985): 636-44.

Namesakes

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, leisure centre with ice rink and swimming pool, and an elementary school in Lethbridge are named after Sheran.

References

External links

Newsletter-Historical Society of Alberta, Whoop-Up Country Chapter (1983)
When Coal Was King
History of Lethbridge People from Montana Territory American emigrants to Canada Businesspeople from the Northwest Territories 1841 births 1882 deaths Union army soldiers {{Canada-business-bio-stub