William Humberstone (October 20, 1836 – April 2, 1922) was a

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businessman and politician. He was a municipal councillor in

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Biography

Humberstone was born in Niagara Region, Ontario in 1836. He moved to

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in the 1870s, and in July 1880 left for Edmonton on foot with an ox and a

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. He arrived three months later. Soon after his arrival in Edmonton, he started a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mine on the banks of the

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(near today's Chinatown) and a brickyard in Riverdale, under the name Humberstone Brick & Coal Company. He also went into partnership with John Walter to operate a sawmill, under the name Walter & Humberstone. This partnership ended in 1901. He was elected to the

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as an alderman in the 1897 municipal election, finishing sixth of nine candidates, (the election was conducted using

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). He did not seek re-election at the conclusion of his term. In 1899, he married Beata, a

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immigrant. Not long after the wedding, flooding in the river washed away his mining infrastructure. They rebuilt the mine the following year, but two factors forced them to decide to move their mine's location—Edmonton had grown and continuing to mine so close in was discouraged; the river valley wall slumped severely in 1901. They then operated a mine on the south bank. Then he and Beata bought land at today's Rundle Park. and started a mine there. By 1915, William was suffering from health issues and old age. Beata took over management of the mine, becoming one of the first women to run a large business in Edmonton. She continued to run the mine until 1934 when it closed due to lack of custom during he Great Depression. He was also a hunter, killing a black bear in 1900 and bringing the cubs into Edmonton.Edmonton Bulletin, April 20, 1900 William Humberstone died in Edmonton on April 2, 1922.

References

Edmonton Public Library biography of William HumberstoneCity of Edmonton biography of William HumberstoneReal Estate Weekly biography of William Humberstone
Edmonton city councillors People from the Regional Municipality of Niagara Canadian people of English descent 1836 births 1922 deaths {{Alberta-politician-stub