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Alfred St. George Hamersley mining collection
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Physical description
4 cm of textual records and 1 map
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Alfred St. George Hamersley (8 October 1848 – 25 February 1929) was a solicitor, entrepreneur, and English Rugby Union international. He was born in Great Haseley, Oxfordshire and educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
He became a barrister in London before emigrating to New Zealand where he married Isabella Snow. They had seven children together. For 15 years he practiced law in South Canterbury, New Zealand, where he also served in the military and promoted the sport of Rugby.
He and his family moved to Vancouver in 1888 where he was credited with becoming the city’s first solicitor. He was legal advisor to the Vancouver City Corporation and was active in local business and athletics. In Vancouver, Hamersley became involved in real-estate investments, significantly buying and subdividing the land that came to be occupied by the city of North Vancouver. He also owned shares in several mining companies in British Columbia, most notably the Vermilion Forks Mining and Development Company.
In 1905 Hamersley retired to Oxfordshire, England, where his electioneering activities for the Conservative and Unionist parties made him a well known figure. In 1910 he was elected as the Unionist MP for Mid Oxfordshire, Woodstock, and served in this position until 1918. He continued to be involved in the Rugby community and helped to establish the Oxfordshire Nomads Rugby Union Football Club. During the First World War he formed a heavy battery unit, but gave the command of it over to a younger man when it was drafted overseas. He continued to support the Oxfordshire Heavy Batteries, advocating for a memorial that was eventually erected to commemorate their service.
Hamersley spent his final years in Bournemouth, where he passed away on 25 February, 1929.
Custodial history
Purchased July 5th, 2018, from bookseller Bjarne Tokerud, who had arranged the items of this collection into a binder with each item encased in a plastic sleeve. Collection's title at time of purchase was "Alfred St. George Hamersley. An Archive of business and legal documents related to various mining companies owned by Hamersley or where he held a large number of shares, particularly in Princeton, B.C. especially the Vermilion Forks Company. 1899-1902."
Scope and content
The collection consists of documents from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries related to mining in the area around Princeton, British Columbia. Many of the documents pertain to Alfred St. George Hamersley’s involvement with mining in this region, mostly notably with the Vermilion Forks Mining and Development Company. Records also relate to W.J. Waterman and Ernest Waterman’s activities in the mining industry of this region, particularly Ernest Waterman’s role as manager of the Vermillion Forks Mining and Development Company. Business of the Anglo-American Gold and Platinum Hydraulic Mining Company Limited Liability, the Princeton Water Power Company, and the London and Vancouver Finance and Development Company Limited is also documented.
Records are arranged into files that correspond to items in the collection. Document types include correspondence, sales of shares, land, and mineral rights, business and mining licenses, lease agreements, land registries, and Government of British Columbia receipts. A map of the region is also included.
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Mostly arranged according to arrangement of last custodian, bookseller Bjarne Tokerud. Some items such as correspondence and mining receipts condensed into files of similar items.
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1 map (RBSC-ARC-1796-OS-01)
2 oversized mining licenses (RBSC-ARC-1796-OS-01)
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Collection arranged and described and finding aid developed by Stuart Hill, July 2018.