Fur trader.
Born in Ceylon in 1838, his father being in the British Army, he was educated at Gosport, England. He entered the Army as an Ensign in 1853, and came to Canada with his regiment in 1855. He was stationed at St. John’s, Quebec and Kingston. In 1855, he accompanied a detachment of the Royal Canadian Rifles to Fort Garry, by way of Hudson Bay and York Factory. When they returned to Eastern Canada in 1859, he sold his Commission as Lieutenant, and entered the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company. He was appointed to the McKenzie River District, and practically remained there until his retirement to Winnipeg in 1900.
On 28 January 1869, he married Sarah Foulds. They had eleven children, nine of whom lived to adulthood: William Edward Camsell (b 1869), Arthur Frederick Camsell (b 1870), George Camsell (b 1870), Louisa Camsell (b 1872), Charles Camsell, Cecelia Camsell (b 1880), Frank Ernest Camsell (b 1882), Philip Scott Camsell (b 1883), and Ethel A. Camsell (b 1885).
In 1872-3, he was promoted to the ranks of Chief Trader, in 1879 to Factor, and in 1884 he became a Chief Factor. In 1878 he succeeded Chief Factor William Lucas Hardisty in the charge of this important district. From his arrival in Winnipeg, in 1900, to his death there on 16 January 1907, he resided in the north end of the City. He was buried in St. John’s Cemetery.
1906 Annual Report, Manitoba Historical Society.
“Captain Camsell crosses divide”, Manitoba Free Press, 17 January 1907, page 18.
Women of Red River by W. J. Healy, 1923.
Biographical Sheet, Hudson’s Bay Company Archives.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 May 2010
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