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Owen Forrester Browne was a
Owen Forrester Browne, of Hawaiian heritage, began work on the upper Fraser River in 1906 piloting the pioneer sternwheeler ''
After he left the Fraser, Browne piloted the '' Northland Echo'' on the
paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...
captain 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, ...
, and Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. He was born in New Westminster
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...
and worked on the lower Fraser Fraser may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands
Australia
* Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen
* Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...
and Yukon River
The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercourse ...
sternwheelers before coming to the upper Fraser River in the early 1900s.
Career
Owen Forrester Browne, of Hawaiian heritage, began work on the upper Fraser River in 1906 piloting the pioneer sternwheeler ''Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
''. Because of his familiarity with the river and his skill as a swift water pilot the BC Express Company hired him to pilot their first sternwheeler, the '' BX''. Hawaiian pilots were known for their confidence in rough waters and intuitive navigational skills.
Browne skippered the ''BX'' for his entire career from May 13, 1910, until August 1919 when she sank in the Cottonwood Canyon carrying 100 tons of sacked cement bound for Soda Creek
Soda Creek is a rural subdivision 38 km north of Williams Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Located on the east bank of the Fraser River, Soda Creek was originally the home of the Xat'sull First Nation. Soda Creek Indian Reserve No. 1 is ...
that had been intended for building the Deep Creek Bridge of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
After he left the Fraser, Browne piloted the '' Northland Echo'' on the Athabasca River
The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is ...
in Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
.
Family
In 1915, Browne married Margaret Seymour of South Fort George, daughter of the locally famous, Granny Seymour, and they had four sons and five daughters. One of Browne's daughters was named Tito who married Ranford Messer in 1952 and 4 children, 2 sons and 2 daughters. One of Messer's daughters was Colleen Messer, who married Bruce Holbrook and had 2 daughters, Stephanie and Sasha. Browne's Children include Hugh M. Browne, Betty O'Donnell, Tito Messer, Oni Browne, Blani Olson, William Browne, Earl Browne, May Thomas, and Leila Johnston. Browne retired in New Westminster, where he died in 1948. Browne's mother-in-law Granny Seymour (née Margaret Boucher) came to be known as the holder of important traditional herbal medicine and Indigenous knowledge and her longevity attracted local and international attention. Seymour's home was South Fort George, at the northern end of the BX route.See also
* Steamboats of the Upper Fraser River in British ColumbiaFurther reading
* * * *Notes
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Owen Forrester Year of birth missing 1948 deaths Steamship captains Cariboo people People from New Westminster