June – July
1859-06-21
Yale, BC
A Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post on the Fraser River starting in 1848, Yale boomed when gold was discovered near there in 1858. Yale was the end of navigable water for steamboats and the starting point of the Cariboo Wagon Road which accessed other gold rush areas. Yale boomed again in the early 1880s when the Canadian Pacific Railway started construction in the Fraser Canyon.
1859-06-28
Matthew Baillie Begbie
(1819-1894)
First judge of the Colony of British Columbia (1858), then became the first chief justice of British Columbia at Confederation in 1871 serving until his death in 1894, knighted in 1875 by Queen Victoria.
1859-06-28
George Hunter Cary
(1832-1866)
Lawyer, acting attorney general from 1859 to 1861.
1859-06-28
Arthur Thomas Bushby
(1835-1875)
Private secretary to Judge Matthew Begbie.
1859-06-28
Andrew Charles Elliott
(1828-1889)
Lawyer and judge.
1859-06-30
Port Douglas, BC
Gold rush town started in 1858 at north end of Harrison Lake.
1859-07-03
John Vernon Seddall
(1831-1870)
Medical officer with Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment, 1858 to 1863.
1859-07-08
Steamer Colonel Moody
Paddle steamer built in Victoria in 1859.
1859-07-10
Royal Engineers Camp, Sapperton
Royal Engineers Camp (center), Government House (left) at Sapperton (New Westminster)..
1859-07-11
John Drummond Buchanan Ogilvy
(1835-1865)
Hudson’s Bay Company clerk, later a member of the Chilcotin Expedition in 1864.
1859-07-14
Mashell
(?-?)
Indigenous man who would work, travel, assist, and interpret for Peter O’Reilly for many years.
1859-07-26
Kanakas
Workers from various Pacific islands employed in British colonies.
1859-07-30
New Westminster, BC
Queen Victoria determines that Queensborough should be renamed “New Westminster”.
1859-07-31
“Chaw”
Nickname of Charlotte Ellis of Faccary House in Ireland, eldest daughter of Francis & Louisa Ellis.
August- December
1859-08-02
Pig War
Boundary dispute between the US and Britain in the San Juan Islands.
1859-08-04
Steamer Otter
Built in 1852 and used by the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Otter was the second ship to operate on the Pacific Coast along with the Beaver.
1859-08-04
Robert Mann Parsons
(1829-1897)
Surveyor and map maker for the Royal Engineers, Columbia Department, 1858-1863.
1859-08-04
Henry Spencer Palmer
(1838-1893)
Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, Columbia Department, 1858-1863.
1859-08-29
Colonial Administration Buildings – Victoria
Completed in 1859, these buildings became known as the “Birdcages” for their unusual design by architect Hermann Otto Tiedemann.
1859-09-08
Chinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon is based on Lower Chinook, Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), French, English, with some contributions from Salishan, and other Indigenous languages. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 people could speak Chinook Jargon or Wawa in 1875, and it was used widely in court testimony, newspaper advertising, missionary activity among Indigenous peoples, and everyday conversation from central British Columbia to northern California.
1859-09-08
halo
Chinook jargon meaning “nothing”.
1859-10-16
Alexander St. David Francis Pringle
(1828-1908)
Anglican missionary at Hope (1859-1864).
1859-10-21
Cornish Bar, BC
6 km south of Hope, BC on Fraser River, a gold rush site from 1858 to 1859.
1859-10-22
Free Miner’s Certificate
Under the Gold Field Act of 1859, the gold commissioner issued a certificate for a fee which entitled the person the right of mining on Crown (government) land.
1859-10-23
Ebenezer Robson
(1835-1911)
Methodist clergyman, brother of John Robson who became BC premier (1889-1892).
1859-10-23
Donald Chisholm
(1822-1890)
Constable, miner, and later MP for New Westminster.
1859-11-17
Arthur Reid Lempriere
(1835-1927)
Royal Engineer, surveyed Hope to Lytton route via Coquihalla River in 1859.
1859-11-18
William Charles
(1831-1903)
Fur trader and HBC employee, clerk at Fort Langley, chief trader at Forts Hope, Yale and Kamloops (1860-70).
1859-11-25
Fort Hope, BC
Hudson’s Bay Company fort established in 1848-49 on the Fraser River.
1859-12-03
William McColl
(1819-1865)
Royal Engineers surveyor.
1859-12-10
Roderick Finlayson
(1818-1892)
Thirty-nine-year career with HBC including Fort Victoria as accountant, trader, factor (1843-1862), also helped rebuild Fort Langley.
1859-12-24
Mary Ann (Birnie) Charles
(1839-1921)
Married William Charles (1831-1903) in October 1859.
Back to Peter O’Reilly’s 1859 Diary
Peter O’Reilly’s 1859 diary has been transcribed by volunteers and staff of the Vancouver Island Local History Society and is for informational purposes only. Researchers interested in this diary are advised to consult the original document housed at the Royal British Columbia Museum & Archives, found in MS-2894, the O’Reilly family fonds.