John Glenn Calgary

John Glenn (1833 in County Mayo, Ireland – January 9, 1886 in Calgary, Alberta) was the first documented European to settle in the Calgary, Alberta, Canada area. He settled there in 1873 with his wife Adelaide (née Belcourt), and built a small log cabin near the confluence of Fish Creek and the Bow River - in today's Fish Creek Provincial Park.

John Glenn was born in Mayo County, Ireland in 1833. As a young man he left Ireland and travelled to England. He was homesick for his native country so started to travel back home, however he changed his mind just a few miles from his Father's home and turned around and travelled back to England.

From Liverpool he took a ship to New York, he was 16 years old. Upon arriving in the United States he decided to travel to Waco, Texas where he took employment on a ranch. In 1861 he was drafted into the Confederate Army, however, as he did not believe in slavery, he deserted and joined the Northern Federal Army. He served during this period under General William Tecumseh Sherman until the end of the Civil war in 1865.

He then traveled around the United States, working in mines and in 1867 he moved to British Columbia and then on to Barkerville (along with James Votier and Sam Livingston - who would later become his neighbours in the Calgary area).

At the age of 40 he decided, in 1873, to settle down and married Adelaide Belcourt of Lac Ste. Anne. The marriage took place in the mission in St. Albert (built by Father Lacombe twenty years earlier) and the ceremony was performed by Father Leduc.

They then headed out to find good land to settle on. When they reached Fish Creek they were impressed by the rich soil and decided to make their home there. They built a log cabin in 1873, becoming the first settlers in what is now Calgary. Later he said "I like the climate better than any I have found between the Atlantic and the Pacific; the Rio Grande and the Peace, over all of which Territory I have travelled. There is everything in the country a settler can desire".

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