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A TRIBUTE TO THE HOWSE FAMILY AND ITS DESCENDANTS

Written by Patrick Best and Carol Vulliamy

For those who look back through time and search the Canadian history books, the surname of Howse becomes evident. In Canadian history, it all started with Joseph Howse, who originated from Cirencester, England. He was from a family of seven or more children.

Joseph was the only member of his family that travelled to Canada. He was one of the original, founding employee’s of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1795, he embarked on the ship, “King George” which was owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company. The ship set sail from Gravesend, England and two and one half months later, he disembarked at York Factory, Ruperts Land; the land that is now known, as the wonderful country of “Canada”.

To this land and the Hudson’s Bay Company, he was loyal for the better part of twenty years before retiring back to his motherland of England. During the time that he was in Canada, he mapped out a great part of what is known as Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Joseph worked with David Thompson as a guide, and in turn, David Thompson named a mountain, a pass and a river after Joseph Howse. These stand as great monuments for his hard work and dedication to this new country, which was filled with many adventures.

To this day many of his descendants celebrate the life of Joseph Howse at the Victoria Settlement, Alberta and at Bowness Park in Calgary, Alberta. Like so many of his descendants, Joseph was a hard worker and a strong leader. Many of Joseph’s descendants also became pioneers of this frontier land, which he helped to develop. It is to people like this, that we give our utmost
praise and glory to. If it were not for their hard work, perseverance and dedication to their families, the Howse family would not have survived to this very day.

We, the writers of this dedication, are very proud to say that we are merely two of the many descendants of this courageous and adventuresome man. It is our desire to preserve as much of the Howse Ancestry as possible for the many Howse generations that are yet to come.

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