William Henderson (February 26, 1837 – September 24, 1931) was a Scottish-born architect who mainly worked in

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 the Resident Architect for the Department of Public Works in British Columbia.

Life and career

Henderson was born in Lonmay, Aberdeenshire, to a family of architects. He became a stone cutter at the age of 13, and in 1857, he emigrated to Canada. In 1861 he moved back to Scotland, where he married his first wife, Mary Jane Smith. They had three children together, including

Stuart Alexander Henderson Stuart Alexander Henderson (September 19, 1863 – February 17, 1945) was a Scottish-born lawyer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Yale from 1903 to 1909 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a Liberal. ...

and Gordon Smith Henderson. In 1872 he moved back to Ottawa as an overseer for the Federal department of public works in Canada. Henderson remained in government until 1887, when he started his own general construction business. During this time, he completed independent commissions for new buildings in Regina and Qu'Appelle. In 1896 he was appointed Resident Architect for the Territories and, in June 1897, became Resident Architect for the Dept. of Public Works for British Columbia. This position meant he was responsible as site supervisor for all federal buildings being built in the province. He held that position until he retired in 1925. In public life, he was an alderman at

Oak Bay Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordere ...

from 1906–08 and later a reeve. He was the Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge British Columbia in 1913. He died in 1931.

Legacy

A biographer described Henderson as " highly respected and admired, and his record in public life, as well as his efforts in behalf of all movements tending towards the moral uplift of the community, places him in the foremost rank of Victoria's estimable citizens." Henderson Hall and Henderson road in Oak Bay were both named for him.

Structures

Independent

Government

Descendants

William Henderson (26 February 1837 – 24 September 1931) m. Mary Jane Smith (1862–1904), Caroline D'Aguilar (1917–1931) **

(19 September 1863 – 17 February 1945) m. Alice London (1890–), Mary Jane Losh (1904–) **Dr. Gordon Smith Henderson KC (10 July 1866 – 16 July 1938) m. Charlotte Stratton ***

Gordon F. Henderson Gordon Fripp Henderson, (April 17, 1912 – August 17, 1993) was a Canadian intellectual property lawyer who joined the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in 1937, and later became its chairman. He was known for his advocacy on intellectual ...

CC QC (17 April 1912 – 17 August 1993) m. Joan Parkins (1942–1993) ****Joanne Nelson (1946) m. Robert Nelson of the Nelson family *****Meredith Nelson *****Gregor Nelson *****Gordon Nelson **** Gordon Henderson *****

Stuart Henderson Stuart Robert Henderson is a Canadian historian, culture critic, filmmaker, and musician. He is a writer and producer with 90th Parallel Productions, a documentary film company. He is the author of the Clio award-winning book ''Making the Scene, Y ...

*****Kate Henderson *****Elizabeth Henderson ****Robert Henderson *****Ceilidh Henderson *****Meghan Henderson *****Quinn Henderson **Mary Jane Henderson (23 December 1870 – 13 August 1919) m. William Cruckshank, Claude Rogers

References

{{Henderson family 1837 births 1931 deaths 19th-century Scottish architects Architects from Aberdeen