Henry Kelsey
| Henry Kelsey | |
|---|---|
 Henry Kelsey sees the buffalo on the western plains illustrated by Charles William Jefferys (1869-1951) |
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| Born | 1667 East Greenwich |
| Died | 1 November 1724 (aged 56–57) Greenwich, England |
| Resting place | St Alfege's Church, Greenwich |
| Occupation | explorer |
Henry Kelsey (c. 1667 – 1 November 1724), aka the Boy Kelsey, was an English fur trader, explorer, and sailor who played an important role in establishing the Hudson's Bay Company. Kelsey was born in 1667 and married in East Greenwich, south-east of central London.[1] He is the first recorded European to have seen the present-day provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as the first to have explored the Great Plains from the north and encountered numerous Plains First Nations, as well as vast herds of their prime game, the American bison.
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[edit] Career
Kelsey started working before he was 20 for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). He moved to North America, where he worked with First Nations people.
During the years 1690 to 1691, Kelsey travelled with the Cree Nation and explored what is now northern Manitoba from Hudson Bay to the Saskatchewan River. He is traditionally believed to be the first recorded European man to see the land of the present-day provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
He is the first European travelling from the north known to have seen the prairies, the great buffalo herds, grizzly bears, and the many Great Plains First Nations tribes.[2] (Francisco Vásquez de Coronado had reached Kansas from New Mexico in 1540-42.)
After years in Canada, Kelsey returned at age 55 to England in 1722. He died two years later on 1 November 1724,[3] and was buried the next day[4] in St Alfege's Church, Greenwich. A commemorative plaque to his name was installed there.[1]
[edit] Representation in popular culture
He is the 'Brave Kelso' that Stan Rogers refers to in his song "Northwest Passage".[5]
[edit] Honours
- Henry Kelsey Senior Public School in Scarborough, now part of the City of Toronto.
- Kelsey Park in Saskatoon.
- Housing residence at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
- Canada Post issued a 6¢ postage stamp entitled "Henry Kelsey, first explorer of the Plains". [6]
- The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology or SIAST (abbv.) named its Saskatoon campus for Kelsey.
- The call letters for CBC radio in Saskatchewan are CBK; the K stands for Kelsey.[7]
- The French-immersion Kelsey Elementary School (K–8) in Saskatoon.
- The Henry Kelsey rose, developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, was named in his honour. [8]
- Big Game Records, the Henry Kelsey Awards are the official Big Game records of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. [9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Greenwich Guide - Greenwich Day by Day - November
- ^ "Henry Kelsey Senior Public School". Archived from the original on 2008-04-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20080404224156/http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/henrykelsey/whowasshkelsey.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Dalmyn, Tony (2004-04-04). "A Sea of Flowers: Brave Kelso". Archived from the original on 2004-04-04. http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.sea-of-flowers.ca/weblog/sea/archives/2004/04/brave_kelso.php. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
- ^ "Henry Kelsey, first explorer of the Plains". http://mikan3.archives.ca/pam/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=2216646&rec_nbr_list=2220536,2216646,3632622,3632929,2958383,2226332,2226328&print_version=yes.
- ^ "The Call Letters of Canadian Stations". The History of Canadian Broadcasting. Canadian Communications Foundation. http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.php?url=http%3A//www.broadcasting-history.ca/stations/radio/Call_Letters_Radio.html. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ http://www.canadianrosesociety.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=55 Henry Kelsey rose
- ^ http://www.swf.sk.ca/7Angling-Hunting/henrykelsey-awards.html
[edit] External links
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