James Davidson Geddes (c. 1844 – March 30, 1895) was a Canadian accountant, rancher and politician who served a term in the Northwest Territories Legislature.

James Davidson Geddes
Member of the Council of the Northwest Territories for Calgary
In office
1886–1884
Succeeded byJohn D. Lauder
Hugh Cayley
Personal details
Bornc. 1844
United States
DiedMarch 30, 1895(1895-03-30) (aged 50–51)
Calgary, North West Territories
OccupationAccountant

Early life

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Geddes, originally from the United States,[1] lived in Galt, Ontario and worked as an accountant for the Merchants Bank.[2] He married his wife, Eliza Fanning at the Trinity Church in Galt on June 12, 1866.[3]

He moved out west in 1882 to the District of Alberta in the Northwest Territories.[2] His ranch was established on land where the Ghost River intersects the Bow River and in 1885 he had 200 head of cattle.[4] The land is now part of Ghost Reservoir Provincial Park.

Political career

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Geddes ran for public office to a seat on the North-West Legislative Council in a by-election held on June 28, 1884. (The Calgary NWT district had never existed before and was filled by itself at time of creation in 1884.) Geddes was the first member of the NWT council to be elected in Calgary. Geddes defeated James Oswald in a hotly contested election, when emotions were inflamed by the Nor'Wester newspaper, newly started in Calgary.[5] Geddes did not run for re-election when his term was up in 1886.[6]

Geddes died of influenza in March 1895.[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "FamilySearch.org". Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Canadian Parliamentary Companion 1886. J. Durie & Son. p. 364.
  3. ^ "Dumfries Reformer Marriages 1866-1870" (PDF). Ontario Genealogical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
  4. ^ "Personal Business Sketches". Alberta Family Histories Society. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
  5. ^ "The Election". Calgary Herald (July 9, 1884): 4.
  6. ^ "North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
  7. ^ "The Winnipeg Tribune from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on April 1, 1895 · Page 4". April 1895.
  8. ^ "Qu'Appelle Progress, April 11, 1895, Page 3, Item Ar00309".