William Ogilvie (April 7, 1846 – November 13, 1912) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Dominion land surveyor, explorer, and the

commissioner of Yukon The commissioner of Yukon () is the representative of the Government of Canada in the Canadian federal territory of Yukon. The commissioner is appointed by the federal government and, in contrast to the governor general of Canada or the Lieuten ...

. He was born on a farm in Gloucester Township,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

. He was born to James Ogilvie of Belfast Ireland and Margaret Holliday Ogilvie of Peebles, Scotland. Ogilvie articled as a surveyor with Robert Sparks, qualifying to practice as a Provincial Land Surveyor in 1869. He married Sparks' sister Mary, a school teacher, on March 8, 1872. He worked locally as a land surveyor, qualified as a Dominion Land Surveyor in 1872 and was first hired by the Dominion government in 1875. He was responsible for numerous surveys from the 1870s to the 1890s, mainly in the

Prairie Provinces The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

. From 1887 to 1889, Ogilvie was involved in

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. He performed many early explorations in western North America and compiled numerous records of the native peoples. Biography He was born in ...

's exploration and survey expedition in what later became the Yukon Territory. He surveyed the

Chilkoot Pass Chilkoot Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point along the Chilkoot Trail that leads from Dyea, Alaska to Bennett ...

, the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

and

Porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

rivers. Ogilvie established the location of the boundary between the

and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

on the

141st meridian west The meridian 141° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 141st meridian west forms a great ...

. During the Klondike Gold Rush, he surveyed the townsite of

Dawson City Dawson City is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon. History Prior t ...

and was responsible for settling many disputes between miners. Ogilvie became the Yukon's second Commissioner in 1898 at the height of the gold rush and resigned because of ill-health in 1901. He was the author of ''Early Days on the Yukon'' (1913), which is still available in facsimile reprints. The

Ogilvie Mountains The Ogilvie Mountains are a mountain range in the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada. Geologically they are part of the Yukon Ranges, in the upper Laramide Belt of the North American Cordillera. Geography The range lies north of Dawson Ci ...

, Ogilvie River and

Ogilvie Aerodrome Ogilvie Aerodrome, formerly Ogilvie River Aerodrome, is a registered aerodrome located near Ogilvie River in the Yukon, Canada and has a wide runway that receives no maintenance. During the late-1960s to early-1970s the Canadian Forces used th ...

in the Northern Yukon Territory along with Ogilvie Valley in the Southern Yukon Territory are named after him. Ogilvie performed the following surveys for the Surveyor-General of Canada: * 1875 – 76—Township outlines south of Dauphin. *1878 – 79—Surveys of Indian Reserves, Bow River. *1880—Township outlines West of York. *1881— Fourth meridian to Township 40. *1882—Seventh base line West of Fourth meridian. *1883— Fifth meridian from Edmonton to Athabasca River and Twenty-first base line Westerly. *1884—Micrometer survey of Peace River from Chipewyan to Dunvegan and Athabasca River from Slave River to Athabasca Landing. *1885—Traverse along C.P.R. in British Columbia. *1887—Exploration surveys—Yukon River and Mackenzie River. *1888 – 89—Surveys and explorations—Porcupine, Lewes, Bell, Trout and Peel River. *1890—Exploration survey between Lake Temiscamingue and Hudson Bay. *1891—Examination between Liard and Peace Rivers. *1892—Subdivision and re-surveys in Prince Albert District.

Legacy

'Pride and Perseverance', a Gloucester Museum display which ran September to May 1994, honoured native son William Ogilvie.

Mount Ogilvie Mount Ogilvie is a mountain summit located on, and in part defining, the international border between Alaska, United States, and British Columbia, Canada. Description Mount Ogilvie, also known as Boundary Peak 95, is located in the Boundary Ran ...

on the US–Canada border was named in his honour by both countries.

References

* ''Gloucester Roots'', L. Kemp (1991) * ''Carleton Saga'', Harry & Olive Walker (1968) * Obituary in ''Annual Report of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors and Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth Annual Meeting since Incorporation Held in Toronto, Feb. 18th, 19th, 20th, 1920'', Association of Ontario Land Surveyors (1920)

External links

Ogilvie in the New York Times, 1897Biography from Alberta's Survey HistoryEarly Days on the Yukon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogilvie, William Commissioners of Yukon History of Yukon People of the Klondike Gold Rush Canadian surveyors People from Dawson City 1846 births 1912 deaths Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Canadian explorers Scientists from Ottawa Civil servants from Ottawa

Legacy

See also

References

External links