b. 1825
d. 1897
John Allison was a gold prospector who settled in the
Similkameen Valley in the southern interior of
British Columbia. Allison was born in
1825 in Leeds, England. He immigrated to California in
1837 and, at age 12, participated in the gold rush there. In
1858, he came to the Fraser Valley to prospect for gold. In
1860 Governor James Douglas sent him to prospect in the
Similkameen region.
On
27 July 1860, Allison reported to
Peter O'Reilly, a county court judge, that gold was plentiful in the region. In a despatch to
Newcastle on
3 August 1860,
Douglas states that
Mr. Allison's claim produces £10 a day, for each man employed.
His first wife, Nora Yakumtikum, a First Nations woman, worked for the HBC running
a pack train. They had three children together before their relationship ended. In
1868, he married Susan Moir who is known for her memoir,
A Pioneer Gentlewoman in British Columbia.
The Allison Pass, between
Hope and
Princeton, is named after Allison for his discovery.
- 1. Allison, Susan: 1850-1900 Early BC Literary Landmarks Women, ABC Bookworld.
- 2. Ibid.
- 3. Douglas to Newcastle, 3 August 1860, 9346, CO 60/8, 2.
- 4. Douglas to Newcastle, 25 October 1860, 85, CO 60/8, 232.
- 5. Allison, Susan, ABC Bookworld.
- 6. Ibid.