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Walter Volovsek: Time Windows, Albert McCleary — Solitary Wanderer

The fact that Albert never wrote to him suggests that some hard feelings between them persisted
9823543_web1_Albert-McCleary
This portrait was most likely taken when Albert was in British Columbia and left with the family on his first visit home in 1891. It would have been fairly true to his appearance while he was homesteading here in Castlegar. Scan of photograph supplied by Rob McCleary

Albert was in his early 20s when he left home with his dog. Family tradition has it that his father had tried to persuade him against going but in the end he gave in and took him to the Colborne train station in his wagon.

The fact that Albert never wrote to him suggests that some hard feelings between them persisted, at least on Albert’s side.

We have little knowledge of where he went, although later stories he told imply that he covered a lot of ground through the Wild West, and possibly Mexico as well. If Yukon were a destination as well, he may have fitted it in during the gold rush of 1898. We can only speculate on the gaps in his life that are not documented.

He first appears in the Kootenay District in 1883 as a packer, hauling supplies from Sandpoint to Golden. His familiarity with the Moyie River valley enabled him to win a 1885 government contract to improve the pack trail from Wildhorse Creek to the international boundary. That work occupied him for the next year or two. He may have followed it with work on the CPR snow sheds through the Rogers Pass.

In 1887 the Hall brothers’ discovery of the Silver King deposit precipitated another mineral rush to the lower Kootenay River watershed, and Albert may have been hired by Robert E. Lemon to transfer a barge load of goods from Revelstoke to a new boom town at the trailhead to the mine, soon known as Sproat’s Landing. Albert saw his opportunity, across from the Landing, at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia rivers and pre-empted District Lot 181 on May 1, 1888. He also bought Lemon’s scow and put it into service as a ferry across the Columbia River on what became known as the Colville Trail.

Having learned farming at home, the enterprising pioneer soon had several acres cleared and fenced and a vegetable garden established. It was irrigated by water from Bloomer Creek, brought to the property in an open ditch. Sheep were the most suitable livestock that did well on the rougher pasture that prevailed. A cabin and a root cellar were other improvements.

In the summer of 1889 Albert was sought out by CPR engineer D. A. Stewart to assist with the survey for the Crowsnest line. He sublet his ferry operation to Ed Picard, who left a memorable record of what life in this setting was like. When he returned from the survey, Albert was back in charge. In 1890 E. S. Topping and Frank Hanna were relocating from Nelson to what would become Trail. Much to his chagrin, Topping discovered Albert had outraced him and staked the townsite, and had to be bought out for $50.

In the summer of 1891 Albert sold out his property to Edward Mahon, who proceeded to turn it into a townsite. He returned home and, although his father was gone, he was welcomed back by his mother and siblings. All were enthralled by the stories of his adventures, especially his six-year old nephew, John Hiram.

In the winter of 1893 we find him in Revelstoke. He has now turned into a full-time prospector, chasing leads for a fortune. Between that year and 1894 he worked prospects on Gold River, to which he ran his outfit by boat every spring from Beavermouth. He probably was betting on that river as it drained the same heights as the westward running Goldstream, which had proven so profitable in the 1860s. He appears on the Nelson voters list for 1898.

For the last phase of his life he returned to the railway. He was employed as a watchman between 1916 and 1919, patrolling the mainline and checking for potential problems.

It appears he was based in Kamloops, where he maintained a bank account. He returned briefly to his Ontario home in 1917 and was offered a half interest in John’s property, which he accepted and then inexplicably reversed three weeks later.

Two years later he left his employment with the CPR to return home as he felt a waning of his strength and realized the time for an adventuresome life was ending. He sought out a doctor in May 1921; tests indicated a serious disease. Albert died on November 29, 1921 either during or right after surgery for cancer, which had metastasized. He was buried on the following day in the Warkworth cemetery. At last the wandering son was reunited with the family he had once set aside.

This is the third part of the history of the McCleary’s, based on the book Ireland to Canada: The John McCleary Story, by George McCleary. Much of the Albert chapter is based on my researches.