Silas Alexander Ramsay

Who was Silas Alexander Ramsay?

Silas Alexander Ramsay was the 14th mayor of Calgary, during which Alberta became a province.

Ramsay was born in Aylmer, Ontario. He first travelled to the west with the Wolseley Expedition to suppress the Red River Rebellion in 1870. Before returning home, he visited the Calgary area and hunted buffalo. This was prior to the initial Fort Calgary settlement, which happened in 1875.

In 1883, Ramsay returned to Calgary and established several businesses. He served eight years as an alderman and was also mayor from January 5, 1904 to January 2, 1905. In the 1885 North-West Rebellion, he was a Government dispatch rider.

Ramsay married Jessie A. Wilson in 1875 or 1876. Together they had four children. The neighbourhood of Ramsay in Calgary is named after him. He died in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1942.