51 Facts About Frederick Seymour

Frederick Seymour held positions in various British colonies from 1842 to 1863, when he returned to England.

Frederick Seymour would enter government at a time of unrest, with the Fraser River gold rush causing violence within the colony, and he had to deal with large debts left over from Douglas's time as governor.

Frederick Seymour believed the colony would endure as its own entity and constantly invested in different initiatives that he hoped would further the economic growth of the colony from the construction of roads to bringing infrastructure to British Columbia.

Frederick Seymour played a major role in the development of the constitution that would be used to unite British Columbia and Vancouver Island, despite his opposition.

Frederick Seymour continued to serve as the first governor of the union of the two colonies, named the Colony of British Columbia, from 1866 to 1869.

Frederick Seymour was a key player in developing, creating and cementing a relationship with the indigenous nations such as the sto:lo.

Frederick Seymour was born on 6 September 1820 to Henry Augustus Seymour and Margaret Williams, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Frederick Seymour was the fourth, and younger son to Henry and Margaret.

Frederick Seymour was given family property in Ireland, a secured private income, as well as a position in the customs service.

However, this all ended with the succession of the 3rd Marquis of Hertford in 1822, and Henry Frederick Seymour was forced to take his family to Brussels, Belgium to reside.

Frederick Seymour had a successful military career and had established a friendship with Prince Albert in 1838, and resided at Kensington Place until his death in 1890.

Frederick Seymour was just two years old when his father lost his fortune, and as result, he did not receive a good education or inheritance, unlike his older siblings.

In 1842, Prince Albert intervened on his behalf, and Frederick Seymour obtained a junior appointment in the Colonial Service.

Frederick Seymour was given the title of Assistant Colonial Secretary of Van Diemen's Land, which marked the beginning of Seymour's life spent in colonies.

Frederick Seymour faced challenges with labour due to the abolition of slavery, and with sugar planting over disputes over trade policies.

Frederick Seymour became President of Nevis in 1853, where he supported free trade despite opposition from the leading families in that area.

In 1863, Frederick Seymour spent some time in England, and on his return to Belize he received a letter from the Duke of Newcastle, then Colonial Secretary.

Frederick Seymour returned to England for a short visit, and when he left for North America, he was accompanied by Arthur Nonus Birch, a junior clerk in the Colonial Office, who was to remain in British Columbia for approximately two to three years, taking up the position of Frederick Seymour's Colonial Secretary.

Frederick Seymour was after appointed Governor of mainland British Columbia on January 11,1864.

When Frederick Seymour arrived the settlers of the area greeted him with enthusiasm, and his passion towards bettering the colony quickly grew.

Frederick Seymour was introduced to the Royal Engineers plan to clear the hillside of the North bank of the Fraser River in order to prepare for the gold rush that would occur in the spring of the following year.

Frederick Seymour was astounded by the wilderness of British Columbia, and in his reports to Lord Cardwell often spoke of the grandiose job ahead of them to create mining infrastructure.

Frederick Seymour soon took up permanent residence in New Westminster, which first began as a survey camp of the Royal Engineers that became the colony's new capital.

Frederick Seymour quickly developed warm relationships with the colonists and made friends with the local officials.

Frederick Seymour believed that the policies that Douglas drafted as governor were to let the businessmen of Vancouver Island control the Cariboo gold trade and that the mainland colony had long been neglected and its resources expedited elsewhere.

The debt would only continue to grow as Frederick Seymour mobilized troops in order to put down various indigenous uprisings.

Frederick Seymour was shocked when he discovered that the Imperial Government anticipated leaving British Columbia, which would leave the colony defenseless at a time where uprisings were not uncommon.

Frederick Seymour had been in office only a few weeks when he was informed of the murders and was quick to react to the events, immediately dispatching a force from New Westminster led by Chartres Brew, Chief Inspector of Police, of twenty-eight men.

When Brew soon returned requesting reinforcements, Frederick Seymour helped Brew raise a militia as well as chose to accompany him on his expedition.

Frederick Seymour hoped to form better relations with local indigenous groups, and pushed for the expedition to reach the heart of Chilcotin Country.

Frederick Seymour eventually met with the Chilcotin leader Alexis at Puntzi Lake, where he was informed that the Chilcotin chiefs had lost control of the groups performing the raids.

Frederick Seymour had the power to implement clemency but decided against it to prevent future uprisings.

New gold had been discovered on the Kootenay River east of New Westminster, which led to the implementation of a higher gold export tax that Frederick Seymour implemented in 1865.

Frederick Seymour had put much of his own faith into the future prosperity of the British Columbia colony, but with the failure of the private banking venture at the Cariboo mines in 1864 and the failure of the usual rush of miners to the area in 1865, Frederick Seymour realized union was likely, inevitable.

Frederick Seymour was called back to England in September 1865 to inform the Colonial Office about the conditions of the pacific coastline.

However, during his time in England, Frederick Seymour found that not only the Hudson's Bay Company and the Bank of British Columbia wanted confederation but the military and naval men supported amalgamation of the colonies.

Frederick Seymour was forced to accept the inevitable, and began working with the Colonial Office to construct the policies around the union.

Frederick Seymour insisted that the constitution of the united colonies would be "that of British Columbia", and the capital would be located at New Westminster.

Frederick Seymour insisted that he, the Governor of British Columbia, would announce the act of union between the two colonies.

In 1864, Fredrick Frederick Seymour succeeded Sir James Douglas as governor, whom had worked to develop a reputable relationship with British Columbia's Indigenous nations.

Frederick Seymour was faced with the battle of land and the relationship between government, settlers, and Indigenous nations throughout his career.

On 24 May 1864, Frederick Seymour invited surrounding Indigenous nations to celebrate the Queen's Birthday, and further, begin to establish their relationship.

However, in many oral histories, Frederick Seymour is regarded as "someone who broke promises" and "has been dubbed as a bad person".

The sentiments were brought on by Frederick Seymour's follow of the governmental policy that "Native peoples could neither own nor occupy land that the crown had made available to settlers".

Frederick Seymour set out in boat with other hired men to extinguish the battling, successfully settling the rivalries and paying each tribe a compensation once they had signed a peace treaty.

Frederick Seymour attempted to delay the joining of Victoria and British Columbia due to having to reduce the administration to $88,000.

Frederick Seymour was faced with a massive deficit in 1867 leaving the new province in a dire situation.

On 10 June 1869, Frederick Seymour died from typhoid asthenia on board HMS Sparrowhawk near the north coast of British Columbia.

Frederick Seymour's body was transported to Victoria, British Columbia's chosen capital.

Less than twenty-four hours after the news of Frederick Seymour's death had reached the capital, he had almost been forgotten, and a new Governor appointed, on the way from Newfoundland.

Musgrave unlike Frederick Seymour was a pro-confederation governor, who advocated bringing Newfoundland into confederation with Canada and was looking for a quick transition into another governorship.