Edmonton pioneers - William Borwick and Betsy (Cameron) Borwick Riverlot 30. Son John Borwick, with Andrew Whitford, founded Andrew and Whitford
- Tom Monto
- Jun 18
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 3
William Borwick born 1836 in the Orkney Islands.
apprenticed as blacksmith
joined HBC in 1854, journey of five weeks on sailing ship to get to York Factory in Hudsons Bay (Ed. Bulletin, March 15, 1884)
(W. Lennie, another HBC employee later of Edmonton, came in 1855. He was on a sailing ship that took nine weeks to make the voyage) (Ed. Bulletin, March 15, 1884)
in 1862 William Borwick married Elizabeth Fraser, "Betsy", eldest child of Colin and Nancy (Beaudry) Fraser
Much of the information here is from Carol Snyder, After the Fur Trade, Living on the Land, 2017.
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Colin Fraser
Betsy's father, Colin Fraser, born in 1805.
He began working for HBC in 1827 at age of 22. bagpiper and fur trader
Colin and Nancy Beaudry married in 1831.
Nancy Beaudry Fraser
Ann was born about 1813. She passed away in 1900
see Allan, Iris. “Colin Fraser Lives on.” The Beaver, Winter 1959, pp 38-43. Article and full magazine viewable online at: https://www.canadashistoryarchive.ca/canadas-history/the-beaver-winter-1959/flipbook/38/
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Colin and Nancy's children married pioneers of early Edmonton:
Betsy married John Borwick who had been working for the HBC since his teenage years and lived the rest of his years in Alberta.
(one of Betsy's sisters married Joe McDonald of Old Strathcona. died in 1921 at age 87;
another sister married Philip Tate (of Cloverdale?; later of Grande Prairie).
A brother, John Fraser, settled on Riverlot 28.
Colin Fraser's other family:
Colin had a union with Therese Karakuntie, daughter of Louis Karakuntie, one of the 1804 Iroquois voyageurs. [he and others who came with him founded the Iroquois nation in Alberta, that now resides on the Michel reserve, and reportedly near Grande Cache and at Jasper.]
In one archival document, Therese was listed as Colin Fraser’s second wife.
Colin and Therese had a daughter that they called Madeleine.
Madeline Fraser married Alexis Joachim on October 7, 1861.
Joachim family were also of Iroquois descent.
"the members of Michel's band are the children and grandchildren of two brothers, Michel and Baptiste, who originally from near Montreal (probably from Caughnaw)
According to Michel Callihoo (i. e., Garheyo, " Fine Forest"), who is now more than seventy years of age [as of 1904], his father went to the West "at least a hundred years ago." The party of Iroquois who went with him are said to have numbered about 40 (all males, no women venturing with them), and they entered the service Hudson Bay Company and other fur companies, Michel's father becoming a boatman in the pay of the Hudson's Bay Co...
(from ALEXANDER F. CHAMBERLAIN, IROQUOIS IN NORTHWESTERN CANADA)
[says that the Iroquois brought two technologies with them: crossbow and dugout canoes.
Some Iroquois were killed by Blackfeet and others were killed by Carrier Indians in the Rockies.
"Michel band" survives as descendants of two brothers - Michel and Baptiste.
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Betsy Fraser
Betsy born in 1833 in Edmonton, when Edmonton was just a fort.
eldest child of Colin and Nancy (Beaudry) Fraser,
at the time of her birth, the fort had been moved up on the hill to a location near the present site of the legislature.
in 1862 Betsy and William Borwick married.
William and Betsy started a family soon after their wedding:
John Borwick born in 1863
(later lived at Andrew, operated a dry goods store there (Ed. Bulletin, May 16, 1902)
Flora born in 1866 died in 1885
Jane born in 1868
Peter born around 1870 (perhaps under ten years old in 1884 Ed. Bulletin, July 5, 1884)
Simon born in 1872 (perhaps under ten years old in 1884 Ed. Bulletin, July 5, 1884)
Catherine born 1874 died 1895
Ann born in 1878 (Possibly she was their daughter who died in 1886)
their kids in school, at first only semi-formal arrangements.
eventually Belmont School opened.
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William Borwick retired from HBC in 1871
the family settled outside Fort Edmonton, first at Long Lake (St. Albert)
then in 1872 settled east of Edmonton at Lower Settlement on what became Riverlot 30.
he farmed and was a blacksmith.
by 1882 John and Nancy had 900 bushels of grain in 1881 (EB Dec. 24th)
had a crop of wheat. (Edmonton Bulletin, Sept. 9, 1882)
their farm when surveyed in 1882 had 148 acres.
EB, Jan. 27, 1883
the survey was cause of much complaint a public meeting was held Jan 1883.
Father Leduc was already to go to Ottawa to present case of St. Albert settlers who were definitely being denied rights.
Frank Oliver stated that the Edmonton case was different in that pioneers got some but not as much as they felt their due.
J. Gullion of Riverlot 32 complained that he had been farming on strip going two miles back from river but his farm was surveyed only one mile deep and already someone had put up a shack on the lost-mile part. other settlers were getting 320 acres but he was allowed less than 160 acres. (14 house lots in Edmonton today make up an acre)
W. Borwick said his case was similar to Gullion's. he had been farming there for years. but the survey was denying the back stretch where he had made improvements, which were now claimed by Fraser. But he stated that "as he had taken up the land so long ago, he intended to stay there and hold it."
resolutions were passed and a delegate chosen to go to Ottawa to present the case but apparently no good came of it.
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1883 March 3 - report in newspaper that "logs on ground for a church and school to be built on W. Borwick's claim, lower settlement".
in early 1880s, sturgeon were being caught in the river, some as large as 67 pounds (31 kgs).
But already newspaper sounded alarm that when steamboats began to use the river more, the fish would leave the river. (Edmonton Bulletin, June 3, 1882)
first steamboats on river at Edmonton: Northcote in 1875 and also Lily in 1879. (Barris, Fire Canoe, p. 50)
the ferry began operations at Edmonton in 1882.
(T. Hourston set a record in 1885 when he travelled from Calgary to Edmonton by horseback in "only" 36 hours. (Ed. Bulletin, July 4, 1885)
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(1885 Northwest Rebellion.
son John Borwick (born 1863) served as army scout alongside Andrew Whitford.
They served with Strange's Alberta Field Force, which went down stream from Edmonton securing Battleford and Victoria Settlement, etc.
soon after the rebellion was quelled (last fighting in early June), John and Eliza Erasmus married.
Eliza Erasmus was daughter of Peter and Charlotte Erasmus. (perhaps they met when the AFF arrived at Victoria, near the home of the Erasmus family of Whitefish Lake.)
Just a few days before the wedding, Andrew Whitford arrived at Edmonton from where the AFF was camped on the Beaver River near Loon Lake.
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Peter Erasmus (1833-1931) was famous frontiersman, guide and interpreter in north-central Alberta. His life is outlined in his book Buffalo Days and Nights.
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John and Eliza's wedding held at Riverlot 30.
Ed. Bulletin of July 4, 1885 (almost exactly 140 years ago) reported:
"A large and merry party were present and danced until daylight in the morning."
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daughter Bella born in May 1886, less than a year after the wedding.
she died in infancy in the diphtheria epidemic of 1886, which also took four Kirkness children living on Riverlot 26.
They adopted two others and parented two nephews, Ed and George Erasmus, whose father had died.
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With friend Andrew Whitford, John operated a store southeast of Victoria Settlement, at the settlement of Whitford that they founded.
then got land at site of present-day Andrew and opened a hotel there.
The centre took on name of Andrew (after Andrew Whitford)
Thus, Andrew Whitford and John Borwick founded the small population centres of Andrew and Whitford that exist today.
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back at Riverlot 30
1890 William Borwick, , got employment with the HBC to remove boulders from Slave River.
1892 put in claim for land north of his riverlot. It seems John Fraser, his brother in law, of Riverlot 28, got the land. Even the Gullion's living on Riverlot 32 east of Borwick, were unable to extend north due to Fraser's holdings.
the riverlots were not parallel but pointed toward same point, north of the site of the LRT station on 118 Avenue today.
1899 although apparently hale and hearty, William died of pneumonia at age of 63.
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Betsy sold the land of the Borwick farm in 1906 to developers. (Ed. Bulletin, June 4, 1906)
and went to live with her sister Isabella Fraser Lenny at Andrew.
her children -- John, Peter and Jane (Mrs. Ed Carey) -- and their families were living at Andrew as well.
1921 she was living at Wostok (west of Andrew) with Peter and his family.
Betsy (Elizabeth) died in 1929, at age 95.
she was living at Andrew (with son John) at time of her death but died at Edmonton.
(in 1910s Andrew was a new home for several former Edmonton families:
Borwick family ran hotel
a Whitford had post office and store.
Ed Carey had store and garage.
(Dreams and Destinies (history of Andrew), p. 477)
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Riverlot today includes or is close to Henry Martell Park.
who was Henry Martell?
Born: March 16, 1913
Died: 1987
Inducted: 2014
Henry Martell was both a fine amateur player and professional golfer. He won the 1946 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship as well as the 1953 and 1958 PGA Championship of Canada. In 1966 and again in 1971, he captured the PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada.
Martell was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1982.
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