Edward Carey

Edward F. Carey
Alderman on the Edmonton Town Council
In office February 10, 1892 – January 13, 1893
Personal details
Born	1832 London, Upper Canada
Died	September 10, 1908 (aged 75–76) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Children	at least 2
Profession	Merchant, prospector, fur trader

Edward Francis Carey, Sr. (1832 – September 10, 1908) was a Canadian gold prospector, fur trader, and merchant. He was also politician in Alberta, Canada serving briefly as a municipal councillor in Edmonton.

Carey was born in Upper Canada in 1832. Intrigued by the opportunity to gain a fortune in gold, he was quickly drawn to the California Gold Rush, and later to British Columbia, where he prospected for gold along with his partner, Bill Cust. In the 1860s, the duo would make major discoveries of gold in the Parsnip River and in Peace River, leading to gold rushes when news spread of the discoveries. Carey later went into the fur trade, establishing himself at Peace River, and later, Lac la Biche. After spending a couple years in the fur trade, he went into the general merchant business, establishing stores in Manitoba, and later in Edmonton, North West Territories, where he would move to in 1882. Carey would operate the first store in the town, as well as a cattle business along with fellow merchant John Norris, until his retirement in the late 1890s. After his retirement he would live quietly in Edmonton as his health declined, leading up to his death in 1908. Regarded as one of the pioneer citizens of Edmonton and earliest settlers of Western Canada, Carey would later be interred at the Edmonton Cemetery.

Carey was born in London, Ontario in 1832, of Irish ancestry. After completing education in the area, he received word of the California Gold Rush, and being intrigued with the possibility of a fortune, Carey would head to there in 1849 to pan for gold. Carey would remain there until around 1858, gradually moving back north and ending up in the Fraser Valley area, where he partnered up with fellow prospector William (Bill) Cust (1823–1908), in search for gold in the Fraser River. It was also in British Columbia where Carey and Cust co-discovered the Omineca Gold Rush, when in 1861, Carey struck gold along the Parsnip River while prospecting in the area. Along with Cust, he would later operate a trading post at Rocky Mountain Portage. In 1862, the duo of Cust and Carey, along with Pete Toy another prospector from the Fraser Valley area, headed further north, to Peace River Country.

...
Wikipedia