William Ogilvie

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(April 7, 1846 in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

– November 13, 1912 in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Dominion land surveyor, explorer and the

commissioner of Yukon The commissioner of Yukon (french: Commissaire du Yukon) is the representative of the Government of Canada in the Canadian federal territory of Yukon. The commissioner is appointed by the federal government and, in contrast to the governor gene ...

. He was born on a farm in

Gloucester Township Gloucester Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 64,634, reflecting an increase of ...

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

in an area now known as Glen Ogilvie to James Ogilvie of Belfast Ireland and Margaret Holliday Ogilvie of Peebles, Scotland. Ogilvie articled as a surveyor with Robert Sparks, qualifying to practice as a Provincial Land Surveyor in 1869. He married Sparks' sister Mary, a school teacher, on March 8, 1872. He worked locally as a land surveyor, qualified as a Dominion Land Surveyor in 1872 and was first hired by the Dominion government in 1875. He was responsible for numerous surveys from the 1870s to the 1890s, mainly in the

Prairie Provinces The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

. From 1887 to 1889, Ogilvie was involved in

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. Biography He was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, the eldest son of Sir John William Dawson, Principal of McGill University and a noted geologis ...

's exploration and survey expedition in what later became the Yukon Territory. He surveyed the

Chilkoot Pass Chilkoot Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point along the Chilkoot Trail that leads from Dyea, Alaska to Bennett La ...

, the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and

Porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

rivers. Ogilvie established the location of the boundary between the

and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

on the

141st meridian west The meridian 141° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 141st meridian west forms a grea ...

People probably including William Ogilvie, commissioner of the Yukon Territory, departing the beach in a small boat, Nome (HEGG 709)

During the Klondike Gold Rush, he surveyed the townsite of

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

and was responsible for settling many disputes between miners. Ogilvie became the Yukon's second Commissioner in 1898 at the height of the gold rush, and resigned because of ill-health in 1901. He was the author of ''Early Days on the Yukon'' (1913), which is still available in facsimile reprints. The

Ogilvie Mountains The Ogilvie Mountains are a mountain range in the Yukon Territory of northwestern Canada. Geologically they are part of the Yukon Ranges, in the upper Laramide Belt of the North American Cordillera. Geography The range lies north of Dawson Ci ...

, Ogilvie River and

Ogilvie Aerodrome Ogilvie Aerodrome, formerly Ogilvie River Aerodrome, is a registered aerodrome located near Ogilvie River in the Yukon, Canada and has a wide runway that receives no maintenance. During the late-1960s to early-1970s the Canadian Forces used th ...

in the Northern Yukon Territory along with Ogilvie Valley in the Southern Yukon Territory are named after him. Ogilvie performed the following surveys for the Surveyor-General of Canada: 1875 - 76—Township outlines south of Dauphin.
1878 - 79—Surveys of Indian Reserves, Bow River.
1880—Township outlines West of York.
1881 -- Fourth meridian to Township 40.
1882—Seventh base line West of Fourth meridian.
1883 -- Fifth meridian from Edmonton to Athabasca River and Twenty-first base line Westerly.
1884—Micrometer survey of Peace River from Chipewyan to Dunvegan and Athabasca River from Slave River to Athabasca Landing.
1885—Traverse along C.P.R. in British Columbia.
1887—Exploration surveys—Yukon River and Mackenzie River.
1888 - 89—Surveys and explorations—Porcupine, Lewes, Bell, Trout and Peel River.
1890—Exploration survey between Lake Temiscamingue and Hudson Bay.
1891—Examination between Liard and Peace Rivers.
1892—Subdivision and re-surveys in Prince Albert District.

Legacy

'Pride and Perseverance', a Gloucester Museum display which ran September to May 1994, honoured native son William Ogilvie.Gloucester Museum
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References

* ''Gloucester Roots'', L. Kemp (1991) * ''Carleton Saga'', Harry & Olive Walker (1968) * Obituary in ''Annual Report of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors and Proceedings of the Twenty-Eighth Annual Meeting since Incorporation Held in Toronto, Feb. 18th, 19th, 20th, 1920'', Association of Ontario Land Surveyors (1920)

External links

Ogilvie in the New York Times, 1897Biography from Alberta's Survey HistoryEarly Days on the Yukon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogilvie, William Commissioners of Yukon History of Yukon People of the Klondike Gold Rush Canadian surveyors People from Ottawa People from Dawson City 1846 births 1912 deaths Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society

Legacy

See also

References

External links