Owen Forrester Browne, of Hawaiian heritage, began work on the upper Fraser River in 1906 piloting the pioneer sternwheeler Charlotte. Because of his familiarity with the river and his skill as a swift water pilot the BC Express Company hired him to pilot their first sternwheeler, the BX. Hawaiian pilots were known for their confidence in rough waters and intuitive navigational skills.[1]
Browne skippered the BX for his entire career from May 13, 1910, until August 1919 when she sank in the Cottonwood Canyon carrying 100 tons of sacked cement bound for Soda Creek that had been intended for building the Deep Creek Bridge of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway.[2]
In 1915, Browne married Margaret Seymour of South Fort George, daughter of the locally famous, Granny Seymour, and they had four sons and five daughters.[3] One of Browne's daughters was named Tito who married Ranford Messer in 1952 and 4 children, 2 sons and 2 daughters. One of Messer's daughters was Colleen Messer, who married Bruce Holbrook and had 2 daughters, Stephanie and Sasha.
Browne's Children include Hugh M. Browne, Betty O'Donnell, Tito Messer, Oni Browne, Blani Olson, William Browne, Earl Browne, May Thomas, and Leila Johnston.
Browne retired in New Westminster, where he died in 1948.[3]
Browne's mother-in-law Granny Seymour (née Margaret Boucher) came to be known as the holder of important traditional herbal medicine and Indigenous knowledge[4] and her longevity attracted local and international attention.[5] Seymour's home was South Fort George, at the northern end of the BX route.
Koppel, Tom (1995). Kanaka:The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Whitecap Books. p. 104. ISBN1-55110-295-1.
Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
West, Willis (1985). Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC. Heritage House. ISBN0-919214-68-1.
West, Willis (1949). BX and the Rush to Fort George. BC Historical Quarterly.
Notesedit
^Downs, Art (1971). Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1. Foremost Publishing. pp. 50–52. ISBN0-88826-033-4.
^West, Willis (1985). Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC. Heritage House. p. 94. ISBN0-919214-68-1.
^ abKoppel, Tom (1995). Kanaka:The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Whitecap Books. pp. 103–104. ISBN1-55110-295-1.
^"100+ Iconic Prince George People, Places & Objects - The Exploration Place". www.theexplorationplace.com. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
External linksedit
Explorasion.org. . Archived from the original on 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
December 04, 2023
owen, forrester, browne, paddle, steamer, captain, british, columbia, alberta, canada, born, westminster, worked, lower, fraser, yukon, river, sternwheelers, before, coming, upper, fraser, river, early, 1900s, captain, bornmarch, 17th, 1869new, westminster, br. Owen Forrester Browne was a paddle steamer captain in British Columbia and Alberta Canada He was born in New Westminster and worked on the lower Fraser and Yukon River sternwheelers before coming to the upper Fraser River in the early 1900s Owen Forrester BrowneCaptain Owen Forrester BrowneBornMarch 17th 1869New Westminster British ColumbiaDiedSept 14th 1948New Westminster British ColumbiaOccupationsteamship captainSpouseMargaret SeymourParent s Owen W Browne and Teresa Aponi Contents 1 Career 2 Family 3 See also 4 Further reading 5 Notes 6 External linksCareer edit nbsp BX 1911Owen Forrester Browne of Hawaiian heritage began work on the upper Fraser River in 1906 piloting the pioneer sternwheeler Charlotte Because of his familiarity with the river and his skill as a swift water pilot the BC Express Company hired him to pilot their first sternwheeler the BX Hawaiian pilots were known for their confidence in rough waters and intuitive navigational skills 1 Browne skippered the BX for his entire career from May 13 1910 until August 1919 when she sank in the Cottonwood Canyon carrying 100 tons of sacked cement bound for Soda Creek that had been intended for building the Deep Creek Bridge of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway 2 nbsp Northland Echo 1931After he left the Fraser Browne piloted the Northland Echo on the Athabasca River in Alberta Family editIn 1915 Browne married Margaret Seymour of South Fort George daughter of the locally famous Granny Seymour and they had four sons and five daughters 3 One of Browne s daughters was named Tito who married Ranford Messer in 1952 and 4 children 2 sons and 2 daughters One of Messer s daughters was Colleen Messer who married Bruce Holbrook and had 2 daughters Stephanie and Sasha Browne s Children include Hugh M Browne Betty O Donnell Tito Messer Oni Browne Blani Olson William Browne Earl Browne May Thomas and Leila Johnston Browne retired in New Westminster where he died in 1948 3 Browne s mother in law Granny Seymour nee Margaret Boucher came to be known as the holder of important traditional herbal medicine and Indigenous knowledge 4 and her longevity attracted local and international attention 5 Seymour s home was South Fort George at the northern end of the BX route See also editSteamboats of the Upper Fraser River in British ColumbiaFurther reading editKoppel Tom 1995 Kanaka The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest Whitecap Books p 104 ISBN 1 55110 295 1 Downs Art 1971 Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1 Foremost Publishing ISBN 0 88826 033 4 West Willis 1985 Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC Heritage House ISBN 0 919214 68 1 West Willis 1949 BX and the Rush to Fort George BC Historical Quarterly Notes edit Downs Art 1971 Paddlewheels on the Frontier Volume 1 Foremost Publishing pp 50 52 ISBN 0 88826 033 4 West Willis 1985 Stagecoach and Sternwheel Days in the Cariboo and Central BC Heritage House p 94 ISBN 0 919214 68 1 a b Koppel Tom 1995 Kanaka The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest Whitecap Books pp 103 104 ISBN 1 55110 295 1 Narrative Threads 100 Iconic Prince George People Places amp Objects The Exploration Place www theexplorationplace com Retrieved 2020 03 06 External links editExplorasion org Asian North America Timeline Project at UBC Archived from the original on 2007 07 30 Retrieved 2007 08 03 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Owen Forrester Browne amp oldid 1154934193, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
