Charles William Digby Clifford (October 14, 1842 – May 10, 1916) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born miner, trader, hotel owner and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented Cassiar from 1898 to 1903 and Skeena from 1903 to 1907 as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He was born in

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is ...

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

, the son of Reverend R. S. Clifford and Harriet Young, and was educated in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1888, he married Lucy Margaret McNeill. Clifford was a postmaster for the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

at Hazelton from 1885 to 1887; he was employed as a clerk there from 1887 to 1891 and at

Fort Simpson Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...

from 1891 to 1896. He later owned a hotel and general store in

Kitselas {{about, the people, the location, Kitselas, British Columbia, their band government, Kitselas First Nation Kitselas, Kitsalas or Gits'ilaasü are one of the 14 tribes of the Tsimshian nation of British Columbia, in northwestern Canada. The origi ...

. In 1912, in partnership with Nels Anderson and John Walker "Jack" Patterson, he built the Nicholl Hotel. He died 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 ...

at the age of 73.

References

1842 births 1916 deaths Politicians from County Leitrim Irish emigrants to Canada British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub