George Henry Seymour fonds, 1855-1860

Abstract

Fonds consists of a travel journal kept by Vice-Admiral George Henry Seymour when he accompanied Edward VII, Prince of Wales (later King of England) for a tour of the Province of Canada, including a visit to Niagara Falls. The journey begins from Plymouth Sound, with subsequent entries at Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville, Toronto, Niagara, Halifax, and Portland. Highlights of the tour include encounters with Governors Sir Alexander Bannerman (Newfoundland) and George Dundas (Prince Edward Island), the Governor General [Sir Edmund Walker Head], Sir George Simpson (Governor-in-Chief of the Hudson’s Bay Company), Charles Blondin,(tightrope walker), and First Nations tribes. Also contains two letters written by Seymour to his family during the tour, and copies of a letter inquiring about an incident in which a vessel had hit ground at the entrance to the Saguenay River. Also included are two certificates of appointment to Seymour from the Admiralty relating to HMS Hero and a large map showing the British Provinces of North America in 1860.