William Sinclair GORE

  General Notes:

FAMILY:
-- William's father Thomas Sinclair Gore (1820-1858) was an Irishman who founded the town of Gore's Landing at Rice Lake, Ontario, Canada in 1841.
-- After William's father's death, William's mother Harriette Sarah (Hitchcock) Gore was remarried to Frederick William Barron who turned Harriette's large home in Gore's Landing, along the banks of Rice Lake, into a school for boys from the upper class.
-- William's son Thomas Sinclair Gore (1869-1955), was an architect who designed, built and owned the renowned Hotel Geneve in the historic "Zona Rosa" district of Mexico City (see: www.hotelgeneve.com.mx/en/).
-- William's other son Arthur Sinclair Gore (1879-1976), was a draftsman who started the Electric Blueprint and Map Company in 1907 (at age 28), one of the first engineering supply and blueprint firms, with branches in both Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. Arthur Gore's home in Victoria, British Columbia (built in 1912 by famed Canadian artichitect Samuel Maclure) eventually became a designated Heritage Site in 1988.

SCHOOL: William's father sent him to Ireland for his schooling.
RESIDENCES: London, Ontario, Canada (1842);
Ireland (approx 1850's);
Chicago, Illinois (1868);
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (1881)

OCCUPATIONS: William moved from Ontario, Canada to British Columbia, Canada in 1875 (at age 35) while a dominion land surveyor working on the westward railroad surveys. At the age of 38 William was appointed Surveyor-General for the Province of British Columbia, Canada, a position he held twice for 20 years, the record for this post in the British Columbia government. William was responsible for preliminary land surveys conducted at the north end of Vancouver Island and for several years was the Minister of Lands and Works. It was he who prepared the specifications for the present legislative buildings in Victoria. In 1891, William was appointed Deputy Minister/Commissioner of Lands & Works for the Province of British Columbia. William's many interests included bicycling, golf and canoeing. He was Commodore of the Victoria Yacht Club and designed and built class winning yachts. In his later years, he was secretary of the Corporation of British Columbia Land Surveyors.

  Research Notes:

-- Tom Gore (http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/GORE/2009-02/1235411562)
-- Hotel Geneve (www.hotelgeneve.com.mx/en/)
-- 1861 Census of Canada (Hamilton Township, Northumberland, Canada)
-- 1881 Census of Canada (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
-- 1891 Census of Canada (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
-- 1901 Census of Canada (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
-- 1911 Census of Canada (Victoria, B.C., Canada)
-- British Columbia, Canada, Death Index (1872-1990)

William married Jennie BLODGETT, daughter of James BLODGETT Esq., on 29 Apr 1868 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. (Jennie BLODGETT was born on 10 Mar 1842 in Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts and died on 28 Jul 1925 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.)