GEORGE BANNERMAN (23144)
George Bannerman, born ca 1791, son of Alexander Bannerman of Ulbstal,(1) was a passenger on the Prince of Wales in 1813.(2) Due to an outbreak of typhoid, the ship disembarked the settlers at Churchill Fort instead of York Factory. The winter was spent at a camp near Churchill and in the spring, George was among those who made the trek on snowshoes to York Factory.(3) They arrived at Red River in early summer 1814.
George stayed at the colony only one year. During this time, he married Christian Bannerman, who had also come on the 1813 ship(4) and trekked to YF.(5) There is no record of their marriage, however when the settlers departed Red River for Upper Canada in the North West Company canoes in 1815, George was accompanied by his wife Christy.
When the settlers arrived at Holland Landing in September, the lands promised to them had not been surveyed so they took up employment on farms and businesses along Yonge Street near Holland Landing and Newmarket. A record was made giving the details of the families and where they first stayed. It includes the information that George Bannerman had married Christy Bannerman, daughter of John Bannerman of Dalhalmy.(6) The Selkirk Papers entry notes that they had one daughter. Presumably she was born either on the journey to Upper Canada or soon after the arrival at Holland Landing. The move to West Gwillimbury did not take place until 1819.
George and Christy settled in West Gwillimbury and would have at least ten children. George died in West Gwillimbury in 1859 and was buried in the Auld Kirk churchyard. Christy died in 1875 and was buried in the same churchyard.
(1) Library and Archives Canada, Selkirk Papers, p. 2042 [Ulbstal is in Kildonan]
(2) HBCA C.1/778 fo. 2: Log of Prince of Wales, outward bound, 1813: Passengers for the Red River. He was listed as a labourer, age 23. Also, LAC MG 19, E4 fo. 165-168: Passengers on Board the Prince of Wales for Red River Settlement, 1813. This document in the Miles Macdonell Fond gives his age as 22 and notes he was from Kildonan.
(3) LAC, Selkirk Papers, p. 1123. List included in a letter to Lord Selkirk from Archibald McDonald, York Factory, May 22, 1814.
(4) HBCA C.1/778 fo. 2: Log of Prince of Wales, outward bound, 1813: Passengers for the Red River. Christie’s age given as 19. Also, LAC MG 19, E4 fo. 165-168: Passengers on Board the Prince of Wales for Red River Settlement, 1813. Gives her age as 17 and notes that she was a sister of Alexander Bannerman of Dalhalmy.
(5) LAC, Selkirk Papers, p. 1123.
(6) Library and Archives Canada, Selkirk Papers, p. 2042
Note: John George Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada, was a descendant of this couple. Many family histories suggest that Christian Sutherland was George Bannerman’s wife. However, the Selkirk Papers show that his wife was Christian Bannerman.