Allison, John Fall
b. 1825
d. 1897
John Allison was a gold prospector who settled in the Similkameen Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia.1 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.2
On 27 July 1860, Allison reported to Peter O’Reilly, a county court judge, that gold was plentiful in the region.3 In a despatch to Newcastle on 3 August 1860, Douglas states that Mr. Allison's claim produces £10 a day, for each man employed.4
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.5
The Allison Pass, between Hope and Princeton, is named after Allison for his discovery.6
  • 1. Allison, Susan, ABC Bookworld.
  • 2. Ibid.
  • 3. Douglas to Newcastle, 3 August 1860, 9346, CO 60/8, p. 2.
  • 4. Douglas to Newcastle, 25 October 1860, 85, CO 60/8, p. 232.
  • 5. Allison, Susan, ABC Bookworld.
  • 6. Ibid.
Mentions of this person in the documents
The Colonial Despatches Team. Allison, John Fall. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/allison.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)