robert dunsmuir
robert dunsmuir, father of james dunsmuir, built the craigdarroch castle in downtown victoria. learn more
robert dunsmuir in 1885. (photo credit: bc archives via cumberland museum )
i thought you might like to see a memorial for robert dunsmuir i found on findagrave. com .
in the 1890s craigdarroch castle in victoria was built for robert’s wife, joan olive (white) dunsmuir .
“a great man has fallen, ” read the headline in the vancouver world. “robert dunsmuir is dead! ”
), memorial page for robert dunsmuir (31 aug 1825–12 apr 1889), find a grave memorial no .
david r. elliott. 2008. robert dunsmuir. the canadian encyclopedia urltoken (accessed july 9, 2018) .
robert dunsmuir passed away in melbourne, victoria. the obituary was featured in herald sun on november 7, 2003 .
elliott, david r. . 2008. robert dunsmuir. the canadian encyclopedia urltoken (accessed july 9, 2018) .
robert dunsmuir, b. c. ’s coal king, was one of the most controversial people in the province’s history .
nanaimo archives: : swanson, robert - coal mines, railways, etc .
robert dunsmuir was the son and grandson of ayrshire coal - masters. he received his early education at the kilmarnock academy and at about age
david r. elliott, r. the canadian encyclopedia. (2008). robert dunsmuir. retrieved july 9, 2018, from urltoken
coal baron robert dunsmuir left a fortune worth $ 15 million when he died in 1889. and his family fought over it for years .
elliott, d. r. . r. the canadian encyclopedia. (2008). robert dunsmuir. retrieved july 9, 2018 from urltoken
elliott, d. r. . r. the canadian encyclopedia. (2008). robert dunsmuir. retrieved july 9, 2018 from urltoken
elliott, david r. .
robert dunsmuir .
in the canadian encyclopedia. historica canada, 1985—. article published january 23, 2008
david r. elliott .
robert dunsmuir
in the canadian encyclopedia. historica canada, 1985–. article published january 22, 2008. urltoken
maynard and alex miles, who were good friends of robert, have started the dunsmuir dream foundation to carry on the memory of the family .
... me is from robert dunsmuir b. abt 1665 shettleston, to john dunsmuir who married christian donald in barony in 1710, to john dunsmuir who married agnes young in govan in 1730 to john dunsmore b. 1740 in ca ...
“simple, honest, gentle, noble robert dunsmuir has entered into rest, ” said the world’s obituary, which took up most of the front .
elliott, david r. .
robert dunsmuir
. the canadian encyclopedia. toronto: historica canada, 2008. web. 23 jan 2008 .
elliott, david r. .
robert dunsmuir
. the canadian encyclopedia. toronto: historica canada, 2008. web. 23 jan 2008 .
the grandson of ayrshire' s robert dunsmuir, coal baron of nanaimo and the son of the former premier and lieutenant - governor of british columbia .
craigdarroch castle in victoria was built by coal baron robert dunsmuir. but he died a year before it was finished in 1890. craigdarroch castle collection .
david r. elliott
robert dunsmuir
the canadian encyclopedia. eds. . toronto: historica canada, 2008. web. 9 jul. 2018 .
robert’s son, alexander, moved to the san francisco bay area in 1878 to manage the family business and built dunsmuir house for his wife josephine in 1899 .
- 17yrs after father robert’s death, mother elizabeth finally relinquishes control of the dunsmuir empire, despite oral agreements made to james and alexander by their father. .
then there was the 21 which was the robert dunsmuir which we only found the other day and alex bell' s two boys were up there and they found this old boiler and after i wrote a letter to the baldwin locomotive works just a month or so ago i find that the no. 21 was the robert dunsmuir .
robert dunsmuir production manager at engelhard, masonic worshipful master and lodge trustee, 88 robert dunsmuir, 88, of colonia, n. j. , entered into eternal rest on tuesday, jan. 12, 2016. relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend the funeral at the walter johnson funeral home, 803 ...
robert dunsmuir, b. c. & # 8217; s coal king, was one of the most controversial people in the province & # 8217; s history .
vancouver - - robert dunsmuir was the richest person in british columbia in the 19th century. when he died on april 12, 1889, the news shook the province .
after his death, the san francisco call speculated that robert dunsmuir’s ambition was “to have his family among the first in the country, socially as well as financially. ”
dunsmuir was born in hurlford, ayrshire, scotland in 1825. his father and grandfather ran small coal mines, and were relatively well off. but an epidemic swept the area in august, 1832, killing dunsmuir’s parents, grandmother and two siblings. robert dunsmuir was orphaned at the age of seven .
- on july 18 th, the dunsmuir’s sailed for fort rupert and when they arrived on august 9 th their three year contract with the hudson’s bay company began. robert dunsmuir was an indentured servant, working for $ 5 / wk .
for neighbours and friends there is no forgetting what kevin, jennifer, robert and cameron meant to them .
craigdarroch (technically not really a castle but almost always referred to as such) is the splendid building that coal baron robert dunsmuir had commissioned in 1887 to be his home .
robert combined his real estate interests with his quarry business to build victoria' s well known craigdarroch castle. (14) the castle, robert believed, would help marry his remaining three daughters. (15) construction began on the castle in 1887, but sadly robert did not get to see the castle to completion when he died in 1889. (16) robert' s sons took on the task of completing the castle and in 1890 robert' s wife, unmarried daughters, and several grandchildren moved into the castle. (17 )
robert dunsmuir’s son james was b. c. premier from 1900 - 1902 and lieutenant - governor from 1906 - 1909. he also was sued by his mother, who said he had “misrepresented” the value of the dunsmuir family estate. craigdarroch castle collection
- father robert discovers the rich seam of coal near nanaimo while james is apprenticing as a machinist in oregon .
- father robert is re - elected to the bc legislature in 1886 and becomes a cabinet minister in 1887 .
robert dunsmuir was a coal baron whose family ruled the industry in bc from the 1870s until the turn of the century. from railroads, the formation of towns, and even government office, the dunsmuir name helped shape the province in many forms. although the reign was not without scandal, such as the dunsmuir’s opposition to organized labour, dunsmuir was an economic force to be reckoned with for decades .
robert and joan dunsmuir had two sons, eight daughters and plenty of exploits. the castle weaves a fascinating tale of this intriguing family – their achievements, their relationships and even their quirks .
built by coal baron robert dunsmuir during the reign of queen victoria and now a national historic site, craigdarroch castle has been meticulously restored, giving visitors a glimpse of privileged life in the 1890s .
- during a fire - explosion in 1879, father robert again assumes command. (another slight against james ?) .
in 1908, joan dunsmuir launched another lawsuit against her son james, who by then was b. c. ’s lieutenant governor. her statement of claim said that robert dunsmuir had left her his entire estate in 1889, but a few years later her sons james and alexander had bought her out of the dunsmuir empire for only $ 400, 000 .
it’s been two years since kevin, jennifer, robert and cameron dunsmuir tragically died in a house fire. the surviving member of the family, david, was away at brock university at the time .
david dunsmuir (last pallbearer with glasses) carries the coffin of his brother, cameron dunsmuir, 16, at the funeral of his family at st elizabeth seton parish friday. his father, kevin dunsmuir, 55, his mother, jennifer, 51, and his other brother robert, 19, all died in a house fire in east gwillimbury last weekend .
robert dunsmuir was born in hurlford, scotland and immigrated to canada in the early 1850s. (3) robert came from a family of coal masters, (4) so he began work in british columbia for the vancouver coal company until he discovered and founded his own coal mine in wellington, british columbia. (5 )
it was at fairview that dunsmuir arranged for and saw the beginning of construction of craigdarroch castle, the palace he had promised his wife years before. robert would never live in his castle. before its completion, when it was just a shell of the finished structure, robert passed away at fairview, in april 1889, aged 64 .
her statement of claim in 1908 said that robert dunsmuir had left her his entire estate in 1889, but a few years later her sons james and alexander had bought her out for only $ 400, 000 .
the dunsmuir saga tells us ,
in the drawing room of fairview, robert dunsmuir lay in a metal coffin, his head resting on a pillow of white roses. mourners, peering through the coffin' s plate - glass lid, saw a man who appeared to be at peace .
we are told the embassy' s breakfasts are second to none! and that wall robert dunsmuir had built back in 1883 - part of it still stands today, on the edge of the hotel' s property .
heir to the dunsmuir business fortunes, james managed the dunsmuir coal empire from 1876 until 1910 and sold his esquimalt and nanaimo railway to the canadian pacific railway in 1905 .
before school, miles and robert would often go to the national training rink to shoot pucks. “i miss that, ” miles said .
reported that diggle had sold his holdings to dunsmuir for $ 600, 000, and that henceforth the firm would conduct business “under the name and style of r. dunsmuir &
in december, 1899, hopper’s mother josephine had married alexander dunsmuir, the other of robert’s two sons. unfortunately, alexander died on their honeymoon in new york on jan. 31, 1900, at the age of 46 .
so in 1883 dunsmuir decided and this is the wellington estate and this is dunsmuir' s map i got this from the colliery and we photographed it in victoria and it is an authentic copy and i will give the society a copy of dunsmuir' s estate in 1883 .
robert married joan white from kilmarnock, scotland. (11) robert and joan had eleven children although one did not live beyond infancy. (12) the couple' s son alexander dunsmuir also died prematurely at the later age of 46 from complications of alcoholism, which was just six months after getting married to the woman he had lived with for nearly 20 years. (13 )
- by the end of 1850, father robert dunsmuir’s mentor (his uncle boyd gilmour) had signed on with the hudson’s bay company to exploit a coal - finding on the north - east coast of vancouver island, near fort rupert (present day port hardy). because some of those who were to travel with gilmour backed out upon hearing of the conditions and prospects, gilmour sought replacements at the last moment. on 24hrs notice of this opportunity, robert dunsmuir signed on. .
; it connected wellington with departure bay. the company had simply grown too large for one person to handle the day - to - day management of both mining and shipping. it was corporate expansion and robert’s widening interests that brought james to the departure bay office. robert’s son - in - law john
kevin dunsmuir, 55, his wife jennifer, 51, and their sons robert, 19, and cameron, 16, died in a house fire, trapped in a second - floor bedroom of their home waiting for a rescue on march 29 .
the news - advertiser estimated dunsmuir’s income “at $ 1, 000 per day and upwards” when he died, in an era when there was no income tax. according to terry reksten’s book the dunsmuir saga, dunsmuir’s empire was worth $ 15 million, which is about $ 400 million today .
[ … ] references: 3wikipedia, the reference of that had very little to say about premier dunsmuir. 4dictionary of canadian biography online 5miss 604’s blog posting on the dunsmuir family. [ … ]
we think of craigdarroch castle as robert dunsmuir' s home, but he never did live there. in fact he lived at fairview, on the southwest corner of menzies and quebec, during his victoria years from 1884 until his death in april 1889 .
... logie, perth), john (same birth place), margaret (born at stirling, stirling, scotland), robert (born at barony, lanark, scotland) and james, my ancestor, (born at gorbals, lanark, scotland). james and robert b ...
as robert' s coal mine grew successful, he moved from nanaimo to victoria. (6) robert' s son, james, remained in nanaimo to oversee the mining operation. (7) in san francisco, another of robert' s sons, alexander, managed sales and shipping for the coal mine. (8) the wellington coal mine expanded into business with rail and ships (which were used to transport the coal), collieries, an iron works, a saw mill, a quarry, a dyking company, a theatre, and extensive real estate. (9) consequently, robert became very wealthy and influential in british columbia. indeed, later in his life robert became involved in politics and was a president of the council for nanaimo. (10 )
... glasgow, lanark. john mckay logan was the son of robert logan and catherine clark m. nov. 25, 1818 barony, glasgow .
“i have not had anyone speak for robert and cameron. that may seem a little bit odd or unbalanced, but it’s too difficult, ” david said .
dunsmuir coal wharf in ladysmith, bc. , c. 1905 (photo credit: ladysmith archives )
on feb. 6, 1904, justice drake of the b. c. supreme court ruled the will was fine. james dunsmuir would get the estate, edna wallace hopper and joan dunsmuir would not .
, machinist, entrepreneur, industrialist, politician, and lieutenant governor; b. 8 july 1851 at fort vancouver (vancouver, wash .), son of robert
31 aug. 1825 near kilmarnock (strathclyde), scotland, the son of james dunsmuir; m .
what remains of the dunsmuir legend in the coal towns of vancouver island, is a legacy of oppression .
dunsmuir coal wharf at departure bay, nanaimo bc. c. 1890 (photo credit: bc archives )
robert' s death in 1889 caused some conflicts to rise amongst robert' s large family. (22) robert had promised his business to his sons, james and alexander, who had worked in the business for many years. (23) however, robert' s will stated the business and estate be left to his wife. (24) the disagreement was brought to court, which reflected poorly on james who had become a british columbia premier by this time. (25) the argument continued with silence between mother and son until joan' s death in 1908 when james with much indecision attended his mother' s funeral where he wept. (26 )
], dunsmuir was to be struck first, but before the threatened work - stoppage could spread to nanaimo, robert locked out his employees, claiming he alone would break the resistance. four months were lost before the miners, harassed by both police and militia sent north from victoria at robert’s demand, and plainly destitute, agreed to return to work. yet dunsmuir, clearly victorious, chose also to be vindictive, and offered the men a maximum daily wage of $ 2. 50 – a rate one - third lower than his best - paid employees were earning before the strike. he effectively had broken the most significant attempt up to that time to organize mine workers in british columbia, and he never faced another major rebellion by labour. for this action especially, robert dunsmuir gained a reputation as the province’s most ruthless, avaricious employer .
for much of his later life, robert was alienated from his wife, though she inherited his entire estate. the dunsmuir children were educated and treated in a fashion befitting their father’s wealth. he made the collieries a family business, drawing the menfolk in first as workers and then as managers. they, in turn, retained control until 1910, when the main dunsmuir interests were sold to william
eventually, hackson hopes the town can honour the memory of the dunsmuir family by naming a facility after them .
now there is a reason in 1883 why dunsmuir did this - dunsmuir was like a chicken when it crossed the road it was wanted to get on the other side. he didn' t do anything for fun. he went in 1883 and he was an mla for the district at the time and he put the wellington colliery railway act through in 1883 and the purpose of the act was to connect the wharfs of the south wellington wharfs with the wellington wharfs. in 1883, in june 1883 dunsmuir ordered a locomotive from the baldwin locomotive works, later it was called number 21 and it was named the robert dunsmuir .
robert dunsmuir production manager at engelhard, masonic worshipful master and lodge trustee, 88 robert dunsmuir, 88, of colonia, n. j. , entered into eternal rest on tuesday, jan. 12, 2016. relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend the funeral at the walter johnson funeral home, 803 raritan rd. , clark, n. j. , on saturday, jan. 16, at 10 a. m. interment will follow in st. gertrude cemetery, colonia. visiting hours are on friday from 4 to 8 p. m. to offer condolences please visit urltoken. mr. dunsmuir was born in plains, pa. he graduated from middlesex county college and proudly served his country as a corporal in the army. he lived in newark, n. j. , prior to moving to colonia over 50 years ago. robert was raised in 1957 in st. albans lodge 68. it later became essex lodge 7. he served as worshipful master of lafayette 27 in 2003, and was appointed lodge trustee in 2007. mr. dunsmuir was a production manager at engelhard industries in union, n. j. , where he worked for over 40 years, retiring in 1991. mr. dunsmuir was the beloved husband for 55 years of dorothy dunsmuir, and the devoted father of jill dunsmuir and robert dunsmuir and his wife, gina. he was the cherished grandfather of jaimie, vinny, courtney and kaitlin, and great - grandfather of hailey and kaiden. he was predeceased by his brothers, david, john and alexander, and his sister, theresa peill .
the dunsmuirs would always have parties at their house with an open - door policy. robert also was the goalie coach for carvalho’s son, which brought the families even closer together .
i am married to a member of the dunsmuir family (neil – his mother was a margaret dunsmuir) who originally came from ayrshire in scotland. probably no relation to the robert you mentioned but it’s nice to read info. we visited vancouver a few years ago and saw the street name and a carriage on the train had the dunsmuir name too! i am sure they moved from scotland at some stage! ! the dunsmuirs on my husband’s side come from allan dunsmore 1813 who married catherine walker and produced alexander, mary, james (our link), allan, jean, robert (born 1852), david, catherine and john. allan, david and john moved out to new zealand !
vancouver island coal baron; builder of craigdarroch castle, victoria. colonial legislator; father of hon. james dunsmuir .
. in various documents, dunsmuir has been spelled dinsmore, dinsmuir, dunsmore, dansmore, dunmuir and many more .
so dunsmuir saw a chance here, he thought now - he was very far sighted - the old man had died and young james dunsmuir had taken over by this time. old bob dunsmuir had died in 1887 and the son was a trained mining engineer, he was premier of the province and don' t think the companies didn' t have a lot to say. the companies had more to say then the government because dunsmuir was premier for one thing .
for much of his later life, robert was alienated from his wife, though she inherited his entire estate. the dunsmuir children were educated and treated in a fashion befitting their father' s wealth. he made the collieries a family business, drawing the menfolk in first as workers and then as managers. they, in turn, retained control until 1910, when the main dunsmuir interests were sold to william mackenzie and donald mann. james dunsmuir was premier of british columbia from 1900 to 1902 and lieutenant governor from 1906 to 1909 .
robert and joan had two sons and eight daughters plus one child who died in infancy. as the dunsmuir fortune grew, the family eventually moved from nanaimo to victoria and took up residence in 1885 in a house named fairview situated near the legislative buildings. robert at this point had been elected and was serving as a member of the legislative assembly for nanaimo. james, the elder son, took charge of the mining operations in nanaimo, and alexander, the younger son, lived in san francisco and managed the sales and shipping office. dunsmuir coal now moved to market on dunsmuir rail and in dunsmuir ships and the business empire also included: collieries; an iron works; a saw mill; a quarry (the source of the sandstone for the exterior of craigdarroch); a dyking company; a theatre; and extensive real estate .
the next installment of “canadian castles” will feature hatley castle in victoria bc, built by robert dunsmuir’s son james. hatley castle is now the home of royal roads university. if you thought craigdarroch was grand, wait until you read about hatley castle! there is something to be said about father / son rivalry !
we visited the nearby craigdarroch castle, built by an extremely wealthy coal merchant in the late 1800s. robert dunsmuir, the families patriarch, capitalised on the north american industrialisation period through various business interests, mostly revolving around coal. he was known as a bit of a bastard and was a tyrant to his workers. he famously lowered his miners wage by one sixth, and when they decided to strike, evicted them all from their houses (the only accommodation available was owned by mr dunsmuir himself). robert dunsmuir eventually went into politics, like most rich businessmen, he then used his power to further his business interests. i couldn’t help but draw parallels with a well known overweight coal mining magnate from queensland who has recently entered politics .
as with the recent wfp privatization, back in the 1870’s only a select few well - connected people reaped the bulk of the windfall. the man behind the e & n deal was coal baron robert dunsmuir. dunsmuir, who came to bc from scotland, made his fortune in coal mining on vancouver island. he was both the richest man in bc and, with a seat in the provincial legislature, influential in political circles .
if you would like more information on the family you can find copy of the dunsmuir saga in our museum gift shop .
1877 / 78 – 26yrs old – living in nanaimo november 22, 1878 - eldest daughter sarah byrd dunsmuir is born .
click here to include advanced tools for dunsmuir collaboration, genetic genealogy (8 dna connections), surname projects, etc .
robert dunsmuir came from working in the family coal business in ayreshire, scotland. aged 25, he had sailed, with his wife, his uncle, three year old daughter and two year old son, 191 days around cape horn to the hudson' s bay company' s fort vancouver on the columbia river .
the story of the dunsmuir family and their rise from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of wealth and power in western north america is complex and fascinating. theirs is a story of profound courage and achievement, ultimately ending in tragedy. robert dunsmuir died in april 1889, more than a year before the castle was completed. after his death, his sons, james and alexander, assumed the melancholy task of finishing the castle for their widowed mother .
craigdarroch is a modified scottish gaelic term from the word “craigendarroch” meaning “hill of oaks”. the castle, when it was completed in 1890, dominated the victoria skyline as this archival photo suggests. vancouver island in the nineteenth century was teeming with majestic garry oak trees. several acres of these trees had been cleared in order for craigdarroch to be built and since the castle sits on a hill overlooking downtown victoria, this is possibly how the name was chosen. it took three years from 1887 to 1890 for craigdarroch castle to be built. tragically, robert dunsmuir died in 1889 before craigdarroch’s completion. his death would spark a decades long battle that pitted the dunsmuir sons against their mother over control of the dunsmuir empire. at the time robert dunsmuir died, he was the wealthiest man in british columbia worth an estimated $ 20 million at that time. however, he had very humble beginnings .
following her husband' s death, his widow joan stayed on at fairview until 1890, when she moved to craigdarroch castle. son james dunsmuir and his family occupied fairview for a time. in 1905 joan dunsmuir sold the place to pemberton trust .
in 1887, two years after the last spike had been driven on the e & n railway, and five years after he started accumulating 28 acres of property, robert dunsmuir gave the orders to start building craigdarroch. there were still three dunsmuir daughters who were not married and the mansion would be the perfect venue to launch them into married life. unfortunately, he died in april 1889 before the house was completed. after robert’s death, joan spent some time travelling in europe. her sons oversaw the completion of the construction while she was in europe and joan, with her three unmarried daughters and two orphaned grandchildren, took up residence in 1890 .
the news - advertiser estimated dunsmuir’s income “at $ 1, 000 per day and upwards” when he died, in an era when there was no income tax. dunsmuir’s empire was worth an estimated $ 15 million, which is about $ 400 million today .
today, the hul’qumi’num call this scandalous transaction”the great land grab” because it effectively privatized about one - third of their territory. robert morales, chief negotiator for the hul’qumi’num, said recently, “dunsmuir and the government stole our land…and for the last hundred years their decedents particularly logging companies have been getting rich, while locking us out. ”
, reported that “the departure bay [ dunsmuir ] mines are now in full operation, ” the returns from which “illustrate the value of the seams. ” that year dunsmuir’s coal output totalled 29, 818 tons, of which only 2, 384 tons were unsold. this production figure was more than half the vcmlc’s output, and in the following year dunsmuir’s operation came within 10, 000 tons of its chief competitor. by 1878 dunsmuir had overtaken the other colliery’s production, raising 88, 361 tons of coal compared to
dunsmuir was a hard - nosed businessman and often fought with labour. gallacher notes that when miners threatened to strike in 1877, dunsmuir locked them out. the miners capitulated after four months, and he hired them back at a third of their previous wages .
- in 1888, brother alexander dunsmuir was passing through siskiyou county, california, and according to contemporary accounts, was so taken with the beauty of the area that he offered to donate a fountain to a new town, if they would name the town in his honour. the offer was accepted, and dunsmuir' s fountain remains operational near the city park in dunsmuir, california. .
“the trial established the fact that alexander dunsmuir was a godsend to the liquor industry of california, ” said the vancouver daily world .
now it runs a little further, dunsmuir was still trying to sell this wonderful gift of timber and mineral for about $ 16, 000, 000 and he would throw the e & n in with it. then he wanted to sell all the mines and everything, dunsmuir and diggle and they could call it canadian collieries dunsmuir limited so long as he got his royalties it didn' t matter .
on june 1, 1849. they were the john muir and john mcgregor families from kilmarnock. the next group was the boyd gilmour and robert dunsmuir families, also from kilmarnock. the miners had signed a contract with the hbc for three to five years. all were transferred in 1852 from fort rupert when the new coal deposit was discovered at nanaimo .
she bought out her brother’s interest in alexander dunsmuir’s estate, then launched a challenge against alexander’s will, which alexander’s mother was already challenging .
robert dunsmuir passed away in 1889 leaving the running of his wellington coal mines to his two sons, james and alexander. by the mid 1890’s the pits at wellington were beginning to run out. an individual by the name of ephraim hodgson discovered a seam of coal on the southern slope of mount benson seven miles to the south west of nanaimo. this turned out to be an extension of the wellington seam and as it was within the railway belt, hodgson approached james dunsmuir about his discovery .
actress edna wallace hopper circa 1900. in the early 1900s, hopper challenged the will of her father - in - law alexander dunsmuir, who left the bulk of his multi - million - dollar estate to his brother, b. c. premier james dunsmuir. she lost .
as we were taking a stroll down dunsmuir street in cumberland this weekend, keira was filling me in on all of the regional history. i realized that even though i’ve profiled the origins of street names in vancouver, i have never mentioned dunsmuir and the family’s impact around the province .
alexander white dunsmuir 1853 - 1900 married 21 december 1899, san pablo, contra costa co. , ca, to josephine bour 1850 - 1901
craigdarroch castle was built as the home of robert dunsmuir, the richest man in nineteenth century british columbia. the castle was designed by portland, oregon architect, warren h. williams. williams died only four months after construction began on the castle. the responsibility for building craigdarroch castle was given to and successfully completed by williams’ associate, arthur l. smith in 1890 .
robert' s importance to st. andrew' s is illustrated by the large east window in the church that is dedicated to his memory. (18) the dunsmuirs were one of the five married couples listed on the first communion roll, but are not recorded as attending regularly. (19) nonetheless, robert was one of the trustees of st. andrew' s property (20) and a church manager for two years. (21 )
robert dunsmuir was the son and grandson of ayrshire coal - masters. he received his early education at the kilmarnock academy and at about age 16 entered the mines as an apprentice to his uncle and guardian, boyd gilmour. by 1850 gilmour was overman at the hudson' s bay company coal - mine near fort rupert (near present - day port hardy) on northern vancouver island. on gilmour' s urging, dunsmuir indentured himself to the company, arriving at fort rupert with his wife and three children in september 1851 .
dunsmuir discovered two seams of coal there in 1853, and a small town sprang up (in 1857, nanaimo’s population was 132). dunsmuir went on to work for the vancouver coal mining and land company, which bought the hbc claims, then was hired to run the harewood coal company .
dunsmuir, robert (vol. 11) bryden, john (vol. 14) walkem, george anthony (vol. 13) davidson, andrew duncan (vol. 14) hawthornthwaite, james hurst (vol. 15) houston, john (vol. 13) joly de lotbinière, sir henri - gustave (vol. 13) leiser, simon (vol. 14) more
dunsmuir had little interest in railroads, what he wanted was the land grant and with it control of the great reserves of coal and other minerals. dunsmuir used his economic and political influence to secure the contract to build the railway. he negotiated behind the scenes with dominion officials in victoria and ottawa, and in april 1884, the esquimalt & nanaimo railway company was formally established, with dunsmuir appointed president and holding almost half of the company’s shares .
the purchase of the south wellington proved both a logical and a profitable move, as the output, workforce, and plant value of dunsmuir, diggle, all rose sharply. in 1881 dunsmuir claimed that his coal operations were worth $ 245, 000. equally significant, he was by then employing 547
occupying a hill overlooking downtown victoria, craigdarroch’s dramatic profile was purposefully designed to assert the wealth and social stature of its original owner, robert dunsmuir, a wealthy industrialist who had amassed his fortune from vancouver island coal. craigdarroch epitomizes the “bonanza castle, ” a term used to describe oversized mansions built as symbols of success for wealthy north american industrialists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries .
located a short drive or a leisurely walk from the downtown harbour, just off fort street at 1050 joan crescent, victoria, bc, canada, craigdarroch castle is a beautiful historic victorian - era mansion, built in the 1890s by wealthy bc coal baron robert dunsmuir. it is now owned by the craigdarroch castle historical museum society and almost totally funded by its 150, 000 annual visitors .
born in scotland, dunsmuir moved to colonial vancouver island in 1851 to work for the hudson’s bay company, which had several mines on the west coast .
the dunsmuir house, which is no longer a home, still stands much the same as it did that fateful good friday, march 29, 2013 .
- father robert buys out the original investors in the mining company and renames it r dunsmuir and sons in 1883. with brother alexander in charge of the san francisco sales office and father becoming a provincial cabinet minister in 1887, more and more of the management of the company falls on james. it is from this time that james becomes the real force behind the rising profits and corporate expansion .
- during a strike in 1877, father robert (who works in his office in departure bay) takes command of the company (a slight to james? - he was pretty young and wet behind the ears, mind you .) .
by 1881 this wealthy man and his family began planning a move to victoria. what held them up was locating a suitable home in that city. robert and his wife wished to introduce their three daughters to victoria society with the chance of good marriage. in 1883 dunsmuir was able to close a deal to purchase fairview. this was the type of dwelling he wished to have to enter victoria society .
another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic early dunsmuir notables in all our pdf extended history products and printed products wherever possible .
aside from the street traversing downtown vancouver, i’ve noticed the dunsmuir name in a few other locations so here’s a brief introduction to the family and their legacy .
according to historian daniel t. gallacher, within a decade dunsmuir’s collieries “surpassed in size and output the combined value of all other british columbia coal mines. ”
the mansion had been built in 1881 for captain lewis manville starr. dunsmuir added a stable and a stone and iron fence while he lived in the house .
please join us in collaborating on dunsmuir family trees. we need the help of good genealogists to grow a completely free shared family tree to connect us all .
i worked for captain dunsmuir as a sergeant in the south district. he was a good cop and showed outstanding leadership. another member of the greatest generation .
but the coal was gone, dunsmuir had taken it. they all thought there was a lot of coal in there but if they had read the mine reports, they would have found the coal was taken when dunsmuir finished with anything he would squeeze the last drop out of the turnip you know. he had it all .
for a fleeting moment, david dunsmuir was just one of 32 pallbearers at a funeral, carrying not all, but just a fraction of the load and grief .
during the next half decade, although production remained steady, the position of the company changed dramatically. it consolidated coal lands in the comox valley to the north, and it acquired a charter and huge land grant for the esquimalt and nanaimo railway, which it built in concert with california entrepreneurs. robert bought out the original partners in the wellington mine and renamed the company r. dunsmuir and sons in 1883. with the second son, alexander, in charge of the san francisco sales office, and with robert a provincial cabinet minister from 1887, more and more of the management fell upon james. from this time he became the real force behind corporate expansion and rising profits .
this is another survey that dunsmuir made, where he was going to take his railway from no. 4 shaft across about to where the golf course is but he improved the present railway, the old grade that is in there now and went to the bay. we have pictures here of dunsmuir' s locomotives at departure bay .
alexander and josephine had actually been together for 18 years in san francisco, where alexander ran a wing of the dunsmuir empire. but alexander had kept the romance secret .
and king had two score of chinamen, the chinamen use to come in tens or twenties or forties, you always got twenty of them. oh better you another lot come tomorrow so another twenty came. so they were all working along with straw hats and robins said oh no no you aren' t going there you had better get dunsmuir. so dunsmuir came, jim dunsmuir, he said “what' s going on here, what' s the matter, what have you an injunction against us for” .
dunsmuir, robert (robbie) sadly passed on the 12th june 2015, in his 86th year, at auckland city hospital. dearly loved husband of annette and much loved father of sherree, paul and lesley. grandad to jamie, angela and tina .
forever loved and not forgotten
a celebration of robbie' s life will be held in the all souls chapel, purewa cemetery 100 st johns road meadowbank, auckland on wednesday 17th june 2015 at 11: 30am
beaven, robert (vol. 14) bryden, john (vol. 14) elliott, andrew charles (vol. 11) hawthornthwaite, james hurst (vol. 15) houghton, charles frederick (vol. 12) mackenzie, alexander (vol. 12) morton, catharine (vol. 12) nichol, walter cameron (vol. 15) rithet, robert paterson (vol. 14) robson, john (vol. 12) smith, ralph (vol. 14) smithe, william (vol. 11) walkem, george anthony (vol. 13 )
dunsmuir came out to the westwood' s and, oh robert dunsmuir, i will give you $ 25, 0000 for it. no you won' t, we want $ 100, 00 for it. he said, you' ll no get it. chandler' s gave them $ 100, 000 for it, now that is a million dollars today. the westwood' s had a $ 100, 000 in 1883 and so right where the black ball ferry pulls out today, there was a wharf called the east wellington coal wharf and it is pretty hard to see it all on here but it is right down here where the black ball is .
the e & n railway was part and parcel of the dunsmuir of the dunsmuir and diggle coal mine. it was indivisible you couldn' t tell one from the other, it was all interwoven. but he, some day he was going to have to break this apart because he was going to sell this and sell this and going to make a lot of money .
robert and uncle boyd gilmour were contracted to develop an hbc coal mine in the coal seam discovered at fort rupert on vancouver island (near port hardy). they arrived on vancouver island at fort rupert on august 9, 1851. things did not go well. they were unsuccessful in developing a mine .
kevin’s brother douglas spoke first, followed by jennifer’s sister dianne. but it was a eulogy by david dunsmuir, who was out of town during the fire, which brought the mourners to tears .
- james returns to nanaimo with his new bride, laura. the dunsmuir’s status was illustrated by the coastal steamer cariboo fly making a special trip from victoria to nanaimo with the bridal party. .
the dunsmuir legacy, however floundered on the lack of heirs in the third generation and in 1910 the coal interest was sold to canadian collieries, and by 1930 most of the fortune had been dissipated .
now these cornish men didn' t have too much money and they might have been canny, but they weren' t as canny as the scotsmen because somehow or the rather and i don' t know quite how but they got, they trespassed on dunsmuir' s property and some how or the other dunsmuir got control of that railroad and he bought it out and the cornish men sort of disappeared .
but the times probably wasn’t that interested in the mother - son dynamic. it was news in new york because there was another claim to the dunsmuir fortune, from the famous stage actress edna wallace hopper .
finally they made the fatal mistake, they went in under into dunsmuir' s property and they went beyond the boundary and they took some coal from behind the boundary and then they shut the mine down and they flooded it. dunsmuir came back and pumped the mine out and confiscated the mine, pumped it out and john holland the same arthur holland' s father ran the hoist and pumped the mine out .
and then he had connected his own railway and enlarged it and made it better and he also now had two wharfs so he brought everything this way. and he had the twenty - one which was the robert dunsmuir and then he widened out the duke and duchess as a mechanic and an engineer he disconnected the front driver and he moved the main rod on the outside - uh inside of the pin and the side rods to the outside and you can look at the picture over there and you can see how he did it .
while in the employ of the vancouver coal mining & land company at nanaimo, robert dunsmuir would do independent prospecting in his free time. in 1869 he discovered a thin surface seam coal on the roots of a fallen tree near diver lake. by 1871 he had discovered the wellington seam which underlaid his initial discovery. he formed his own coal mining company and became fabulously wealthy from the mines at this location which soon out produced the operations of his former employer in nanaimo. the coal was shipped through extensive wharves at departure bay .
cameron, i wanted your life to become as big as your heart was. robert, i wanted to see you become the man you were destined to be. mom, i wanted you to become as old as you were wise and loving. dad, i wanted you to get everything that you gave to so many people .
another 161 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1317, 1317, 1650 and 1750 are included under the topic early dunsmuir history in all our pdf extended history products and printed products wherever possible .
that is the list of those engines and then the e & n railway, when dunsmuir finally made the division, now we come to this. dunsmuir thought and thought and thought, and he said, “i will tell you what i will do”. he sold the e & n railway and the timber the whole works to the canadian pacific. they wanted it badly. and he got 16 million dollars for that .
, for fort vancouver, wa via cape horn, on december 19, 1850. it took 191 days for them to arrive. 8 days later, on july 8, 1851, james dunsmuir was born .
although the company had had sufficient financial backing from its partners to begin mining, it was mainly dunsmuir who had taken the risks, and who had provided the management necessary to create, maintain, and expand the operation from a mere claim to british columbia’s foremost colliery. until 1878 it appears that dunsmuir ploughed most of the profits back into the firm; no additional shares were issued and there is no evidence indicating other sources of financing were necessary. his business success is even more impressive when it is realized that he kept pace with technical developments. dunsmuir described his works in 1879 as having “4 3 / 4 miles of railway; 4
so then dunsmuir left, bob dunsmuir left the nanaimo coal company and he went out to wellington. but first he went to victoria and in victoria he hooked up with a mr. diggle who had some money and was to do with the admiralty at esquimalt. he came up to wellington and if i flip this maps over to show you where he came and what he did. [ rustling of paper being handled ] .
cent of which was exported. further expansion occurred in 1882 when dunsmuir sank two additional main shafts; eventually a total of five mines were in production on the wellington deposit. what probably gave dunsmuir his greatest satisfaction, however, was his step - by - step purchase of the holdings of the non - family partners. before the 1870s had ended, he had bought all but diggle’s interests. then on 14 sept. 1883 victoria’s
e & n immediately began subdividing the grant into parcels and selling it off making dunsmuir and his colleagues millions. in 1905, thecanadian pacific railway company (cpr) bought e & n. cpr paid just over $ 1million for the railway and $ 1. 25 million for the remaining 566, 580 hectares of land not yet sold. in 1910, dunsmuir sold his coal mining interests in the granted lands for $ 11 million.
robert dunsmuir ( august 31 , 1825 – april 12 , 1889 ) was a scottish-canadian coal mine developer , owner and operator , railway developer , industrialist and politician in british columbia . 
robert dunsmuir (august 31, 1825 – april 12, 1889) was a scottish-canadian coal mine developer, owner and operator, railway developer, industrialist and politician in british columbia.
robert dunsmuir (august 31, 1825 – april 12, 1889) was a scottish-canadian coal mine developer, owner and operator, railway developer, industrialist and politician in british columbia.