Surveyors

William G. Cox was born in Ireland in 1822. He married Sophie E. Webb in November of 1857. Shortly after Cox left his career as a banker and the couple emigrated to New York in the United Sates. In August of 1858 Mrs Cox returned to Ireland and W.G. Cox moved west to what is now British Columbia. Through connections with the Hudson’s Bay Company Cox was employed as a constable and he was posted at Yale. In 1859 Cox was sent to Kamloops as the Deputy Collector of Customs. Soon after he was appointed Gold Commissioner and Justice of the Peace in Rock Creek. While in the position of Gold Commissioner Governor Douglas instructed him to mark out reserves in the Okanagan in 1861. Two years later he marked out reserves with post in the Kamloops area. His instructions from Douglas were to “grant all lands claimed by the Indians”. These reserves were later reduced prior to the Joint Indian Reserve Commissioner by Mr. Nind and Mr. Haines with support from other government officials to support habitation by settlers. These reserves would become somewhat controversial as it would be greatly reduced in the future and involve disputes with settlers over illegal pre-emptions. This line of work sent him up to the Cariboo mines in 1863 and later in 1867 he was found Columbia and Kootenay regions. In 1864 Cox was charged with leading the search party to seek out the Chilcotin warrior Klatsassin and others after the violence that occurred on settlers as a result of Alfred Waddington’s Bute Inlet work party dispute. Although the Chilcotin viewed this as a war the colony saw them as murders and Cox’s success in capturing led to their death by hanging as ordered by Judge Begbie. Cox became a county court judge in 1866 and went on to hold a seat legislative Council of British Columbia in 1867 and 1868. Cox was viewed by others in his field as a generally entertaining man who spoke his mind, told good stories, and wasn’t afraid to use his fists when challenged in his earlier positions. He was popular as a judge among the miners and was known for his unconventional decisions; he once settled a dispute over a mining claim by ordering the disputants to a foot race from their current location to the claim in dispute. Cox’s personal life caused him some controversy and affected his professional standing. Cox, like many others, had made a home with an Aboriginal woman while he was still legally married to his first wife Sophia which brought the anger from family in a high social status back in Ireland. This controversy along with his support of establishing the capital of the new province in Victoria angered Governor Seymour who favoured New Westminster as the capitol. In May of 1868 Cox’s office was terminated. Almost a year later with no government employment Cox left Victoria for California. His later years he had little money as he sent some paintings to his friend Dr. Helmcken in Victoria requesting that he sell them for him as he was in need of income. He sought out gold in California and died in the mining town of Bodie in 1878. References Harris, Cole. Making Native Space. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002. Dahlo (Eek), Sue. “William Cox: Gold Commissioner” Boundary History No. 13 (1995): pp. 31-37.

Edward Mohun was born on September 3, 1838 in Chigwell England to Mr. and Mrs John Mohun. He arrived in Victoria in June of 1862. He was married to Emmeline Jane Newton (widow of W.H. Newton) in New Westminster in 1878. From 1863-1871 he worked as a surveyor throughout Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, Fraser Valley and Haida Gwaii. In 1871 and 1872 he was a the Canadia Pacific Railway Divisional Engineer of the “H Party” in charge of surveying the Yellowhead and Eagle Pass. Mohun was appointed as a surveyor to the Joint Indian Reserve Commission in 1876. He surveyed reserve allotments throughout Vancouver Island and the coastal areas. In 1884, with the direction of the Honourable W. Smithe, Chief Commissioner of Lands and works, Mohun created a map of the Province of British Columbia. In 1885 he was involved in the large dyke and drainage projects in the Fraser Valley and from there he went on to designing the sewer systems in Vancouver and Victoria. In 1886 his research on BC wood products for bridge building resulted in the basis for future bridge calculations. In 1890 he was awarded the contract to be the chief engineer for the design of Victoria’s sewage system. In 1897 he received the “Gzowski Silver Medal” for his paper titled “The Sewage System of Victoria” presented before the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers”. The Victoria sewage system that he designed was considered state of the art at the time but is currently under scrutiny as a result of the sewage being deposited into the Strait of Jaun de Fuca. Later in his career he was involved in sanitation and drainage projects in Victoria and the Vancouver - Pitt Meadows areas, a sanitation inspector, provincial railway inspector, and a public works engineer. He also held the position of Justice of the Peace for a period of fifteen years. In 1890 he was involved in the creation of the Professional Association of Land Surveyors in British Columbia along with fellow JIRC surveyor W.S. Jemmet and others, which resulted in Mohun’s unanimous election as its first president. The establishment of the association led to the establishment of the “Act Respecting Land Surveyors” which became law in APril of 1891 and placed authority for land surveying under the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works. In 1898, he reported on the sanitation conditions in a number of town in the interior of the province and Vancouver Island. Mohun passed away in October 1912 at his home at 618 Blanshard St., Victoria at 74 years of age. His name is remembered in Mohun Lake and Mohun Creek in the Sayward region and the Mohun Shoal on the mid-coast. References Allen, Robert W. “Edward Mohun, CE, LS: Surveyor of Railways, Indian Reserves, and the First President of the Association of Provincial Land Surveyors, British Columbia” The Link Vol. 23 no. 4, (October 2000): pp 14, 16. Gordon, Katherine. Made to Measure: A History of Land Surveying in British Columbia. Vancouver: Sono Nis Press, 2006.

Captain William S. Jemmett was born in London England and is the son of William T. Jemmett. After serving fifteen years as an English army officer he came to British Columbia and joined the government survey service where he worked for twelve years including his service as surveyor with the Indian Reserve Commission. Gilbert Sproat had recommended Jemmett because he was “a quiet, discreet man who [would] not worry settlers, nor alarm the Indians” and because he had some experience in the interior as he was an early pioneer in the Agassiz area. In 1878 Jemmett was one of three surveyors, along with Edward Mohun and A.H. Green surveying reserve allotments throughout the province. Jemmett was assigned to the mainland reserves along with Green. In 1880 he was married to Miss F. Woods, the daughter of Archdeacon Woods of Victoria. References Allen, Robert W. “Edward Mohun, CE, LS: Surveyor of Railways, Indian Reserves, and the First President of the Association of Provincial Land Surveyors, British Columbia” The Link Vol. 23 no. 4, (October 2000): pp 14, 16. Gordon, Katherine. Made to Measure: A History of Land Surveying in British Columbia. Vancouver: Sono Nis Press, 2006. Preuss, Karl “British Columbia, and the Development of Indian Reserve No. 2 at Chuchuwayha”. BC Studies No. 162 (Autumn 2009): p. 87-121. Scholefield, E.O.S., “Captain William S. Jemmett” British Columbia From the Earliest Times to the Present. Vancouver: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1914.

A.H. Green was born August 18, 1840 London England. He studied Civil Engineering in England with plans to work there but health problems resulted in doctor’s recommendation for a cooler climate. He arrived in Victoria on Vancouver Island in August 23, 1862 and never returned to England. He became a partner with F.W Green , no relation, the City Surveyor (now called City Engineer). In 1865 he explored Selkirk Mountain range to locate a government road to pre-confederation Canada. He kept a diary of this expedition which is available at the BC Archives. October 1865 received orders from Joseph Trutch and Dewdney to return to Victoria. In the late 1860’s he settled in the Cowichan Valley on a farm near Somenos Lake where he was a founding member of the Cowichan Lending Library and Library Institute. From 1871 to 1880 he was appointed Divisional Engineer for the CPR working on the location of the CPR line across BC. Through 1974 and 1975 Green surveyed Saltspring Island and in 1879 he married Miss caroline Guillod of Comox. The couple moved to Victoria and had two children; Caroline and Ashdown Thomas. Mrs Green died in 1883 and the children were sent to England to be raised by Mr. Green’s brothers. They later returned and settled in Duncan in 1903. In 1878 Green set out to survey reserve allotments as part of the Joint Indian Reserve Commission along with Edward Mohun and W.S. Jemmet. He appears to have at times also held the role of negotiator when arriving to survey land to find that had been set out by commissioners but the survey created more specific boundaries. His curiosity sometimes cause him inconvenience as demonstrated in 1906 when his queries about how a Nass woman shaped her head through binding was interpreted as a threat and the response was to guard the woman when he was present. He continued as a surveyor for the reserve Commission throughout its existence and in 1913 was appointed as technical officer to the McKenna-McBride Royal Commission on Indian Affairs. In 1888 Green married Constance Clara Augusta Dumbleton of Victoria had three sons, one of whom died in infancy. Sometime before 1894, the Green’s moved to Duncan where Mrs Green became very active in the social life while Henry was traveling with the reserve Commission. Green was an avid sport fisherman and published several fishing articles in the Journal of Natural History on fish species. He identified nine species previously not see in BC and discovered 2 species that were previously unknown; Lake Chub and Lobefin Snailfish. The BC Museum currently has a collection of his preserved fish. He was also known for tying fishing flies. His steamer trout fly, called the Ashdown Green, was regularly featured on the back of packages of Sportsman cigarettes. The Green’s moved back to Victoria in 1913 to Mrs Green’s family home in the Rockland area of Victoria. Green retired as a surveyor in 1918 and passed away in 1927. References Gordon, Katherine. Made to Measure: A History of Land Surveying in British Columbia. Vancouver: Sono Nis Press, 2006. Green, J.W. Ashdown “A brief Account of the Life of Ashdown Green 1840-1927; Civil Engineer, Land Surveyor, and Amateur Ichthyologist” Corporation of Land Surveyors of the Province of British Columbia Biographies September 20, 1984 MS-2259 - Box 10, file 12 BCA. Harris, Cole. Making Native Space. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002. Paterson, Tom W. “Green Trooped Through B.C. - Inch by Inch” The Link July (1999): pp 28-20. BC Archives MS 0437: Survey Journal Howe Pass, CPR 1871. Journal of Columbia River Exploring Party 1865. Diary of Ashdown H. Green CPR Survey Party “S” Han. 31 1872- Oct. 28, 1873. Ashdown H. Green, Diary of A Survey of Salt Spring Island June 8-Nov 22 1874.