William J. Stafford

William Stafford
William Stafford, courtesy of the Galt Museum & Archives
Born	(1842-11-15)November 15, 1842 Patna, East Ayrshire, Scotland
Died	May 12, 1907(1907-05-12) (aged 64) Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Resting place	Mountain View Cemetery, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Occupation	Mine superintendent, rancher
Known for	Establishing the location of the City of Lethbridge
Spouse(s)	Jane Gibb
Children	13
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William Stafford (November 15, 1842 - May 12, 1907) was a coal mining engineer and mine superintendent for the North Western Coal and Navigation Company who was responsible for determining the location of the City of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

William Stafford was born in Patna, Ayrshire, Scotland, on November 15, 1842. He was the only son of William Stafford, an English mining engineer and geologist, and Margaret Findlay Stafford. On December 31, 1863, he married Jane Gibb of Auchinleck, Ayrshire, Scotland, whose brother David Gibb became a prominent contractor in British Columbia. While residing in Auchinleck, William and Jane Stafford had three sons: William, Jr., Henry, and John. They then emigrated to Westville, Nova Scotia, in 1871, where they had five additional sons (Richard, Alexander, George, David, and James) and two daughters (Agnes and Margaret). In 1883, the family moved to the area that later became Lethbridge, Alberta, where they had an additional son (Elliott) and two additional daughters (Henrietta, the first white child born in the area, and Annie Laurie). The Staffords constructed a large ranch house on the bottomlands of the Belly River River which became a major community and social center.

After an education in Scotland, William Stafford became the manager of coal mines operated by the Acadia Coal Company of Pictou in Nova Scotia, and he continued in that capacity until 1882. In that year, he was hired by Sir Alexander Galt as manager and mine superintendent for the North Western Coal and Navigation Company to assess coal mining opportunities in the West. After investigating a number of possibilities, Stafford and his companion Captain Nicholas Bryant focused on Coal Banks on the Belly River due to the high quality of coal in that region. It was William Stafford who made the final decision as to the location of Drift Mine No. 1, which ultimately determined the location of the City of Lethbridge. In 1894, Stafford became Inspector of Mines for the company but then later resigned to pursue ranching and real estate interests. In order to provide accommodations for the increasing number of miners who were coming to the area, William Stafford purchased an area of land that became known as Staffordville, which he developed into lots for miners' houses. Stafford maintained an interest in coal mining, and at the time of his death, he was operating a private coal mine near Carmangay, north of Lethbridge.