Silas Alexander Ramsay (August 27, 1850 – December 5, 1942) was a Canadian politician and merchant in

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 ...

, Canada. He served as the 14th mayor of

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 ...

. A native of

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

, Ramsay first travelled to the west with the Wolseley Expedition in a suppression effort to the

Red River Rebellion The Red River Rebellion (), also known as the Red River Resistance, Red River uprising, or First Riel Rebellion, was the sequence of events that led up to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by Métis leader Louis Riel and his f ...

in 1870. Before returning home, he visited the Calgary area and hunted buffalo. This was prior to the initial Fort Calgary settlement, which happened in 1875. In 1883, Ramsay returned to Calgary and established several businesses. In the 1885

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

, he was a Government dispatch rider. He served eight total years on the city council as an alderman and was also mayor from January 5, 1904, to January 2, 1905, during which time he was a stringent supporter of municipal ownership, working to establish a lighting and water system for the city. After his retirement in Calgary from his business, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he died in 1942.

Early life, career

The son of William and Sarah (née Mohr) Ramsay, Silas Alexander Ramsay was born at

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Quebec Route 148, Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is ...

in 1850. He attended public schools in his birthplace, completing high school. At the age of nine in 1860, Ramsay would witness the cornerstone lying ceremony of the Canadian Parliament buildings at

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

. He moved to

Almonte, Ontario Almonte ( ; ) is a former mill town in Lanark County, in the eastern portion of Ontario, Canada. Formerly a separate municipality, Almonte is a ward of the town of Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Mississippi Mills, which was created on January 1, 199 ...

around 1867 and lived there for three years, when he participated the suppression of the

in a faction commanded by

Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley (4 June 183325 March 1913) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential British generals after a series of victories in Canada, West Africa and E ...

. During that time he participated in the Wolseley Expedition, travelling through Port Arthur and then embarking westward, in a journey of around three months, to Fort Garry (presently

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

). Being the first trip he undertook Canadian West, he also visited the Calgary area and hunted buffalo, prior to Fort Calgary's establishment in 1875. He would later home via railway through

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

after heading through

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. There he would open up a general store and operate it for around eight years, when he closed up and became a

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

merchant for four years. Intrigued by the opportunity and potential it held, in 1883, Ramsay decided to move west, settling in the village of Calgary, in the

North-West Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated pop ...

, which was then the terminus of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. At Calgary he would ranch and enter the agricultural product manufacturing business as an agent for an Ontario company, producing buggies,

wagons A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

plough A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...

s, and mowers. This was one of the first such businesses in the province of

. He was also an agent for a sewing machine company, with an office located on Stephen Avenue. When the

of 1885 broke out, Ramsay would be involved in it, serving as a government dispatch messenger and later a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. During his rebellion duties, he was attacked in encounter with local

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

peoples, forcing him to fire shots from his

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

in self-defence. In Calgary he also built the Ramsay Block, on a piece of land, opposite of the city's old post office.

Civic politics

Keenly interested in Calgary's civic politics, Ramsay first served as an alderman on the

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 ...

from January 7, 1895, to January 3, 1899, and January 6, 1902, to January 5, 1904. A strong supporter of

public ownership State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed t ...

utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

, he also served a stint as chairman of the council's Water and Light Committee, in which he oversaw the installation of the city's first electric lighting system, as well as the purchase of the water system by the municipality from a private company. He was later lauded for this action by the '' Calgary Albertan'', who stated that it had helped set the foundations the municipal utility system that was later established and improved upon of Calgary. He was an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. On December 7, 1903, municipal nominations day for the upcoming election, Ramsay was acclaimed as mayor of Calgary, with no opposing nominees for the office. Ramsay served as mayor until January 5, 1905, when he was succeeded by John Emerson. During his term, the city moved to establish a numbering system for its streets, and the

initiated an irrigation project east of the city, which would later become Chestermere Lake, Alberta. He did not seek re-election as mayor in the 1904 election, instead accepting a nomination to once again serve as alderman. He was later elected and would serve a final aldermanic term, from January 2, 1905, to January 14, 1907. He later retired from his business around 1921 and moved to Vancouver.

Personal life

Ramsay married Jessie Ann Wilson in Alamonte on April 18, 1876. Together they had four children: Bertha Maud, Robert Wilson, Charles Henry, and Percival Clod. One of his brothers served as mayor of

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. It is situated near the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway ...

. He was active member of the Calgary Rifle Club, and the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church. In 1939, at the age of 90, Ramsay travelled to

to visit the site of the Fort Garry gate, where he had travelled almost 70 years prior. At the time it was noted that he was one of the last remaining survivors of the Wolseley Expedition. He died at his daughter's home in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

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 ...

on December 5, 1942, at the age of 92. He was survived by his daughter and two sons. His wife predeceased him on May 16, 1925, in Vancouver. It was said about him that he was "one of those wholesome toilers in behalf of the people who never grow old in years and energy." A 1912 biography in the publication ''History of the province of Alberta'' noted that Ramsay was a man of "broad mental grasp, cosmopolitan ideas and notable business sagacity", with a "thorough understanding of life, its principles and possibilities" that was "honoured and respected by all". His former residence was in the present-day Calgary neighbourhood of Ramsay, situated east of the Elbow River and south of the CPR tracks, which is named in his honour.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, Silas Alexander Mayors of Calgary Politicians from Gatineau 1850 births 1942 deaths 19th-century Canadian municipal councillors 20th-century mayors of places in Alberta