Thomas Harris (1817? – November 29, 1884http://search.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-2004D11/view/Deaths/find-adv%2B%20givennames%3D(thomas)%20AND%20place%3D(victoria)%20AND%20surname%3D(harris)%20%2B%2B%2B%2B/1 ) was the first

mayor of Victoria, British Columbia This is a list of mayors of Victoria, the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The mayor leads Victoria City Council, the city's governing body, and is elected to a four-year term. The current mayor is Marianne Alto, who was ...

, serving from 1862 to 1865. Born in

Almeley Almeley (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Almeley Wooton and Upcott. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 601. Location Almeley is in the west of the ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, Harris married Emily Dickinson, a widow, in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1848. Harris came to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

by way of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1858, at the height of the Cariboo gold rush. He ran a

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

for a time, then became a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

shortly afterward and made his fortune. A jovial man who had an opinion on everything and wasn't afraid to tell whoever would listen, he was a likely candidate for

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

in 1862 when the town's father decided to incorporate the town. At election time, Harris won by "forest of hands" amid a group of 600 men. During his second official council meeting, the 300 pound (136 kg) Harris had a chair collapse under his own weight. In 1873, he was named sergeant-at-arms for the provincial legislature. He was named high sheriff for Vancouver Island in 1876. Harris Green, an area within Victoria, is named after him. His stepson Robert Dickinson took over the shop in New Westminster and served as mayor of that city.

References

Mayors of Victoria, British Columbia 1817 births 1884 deaths {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub