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British Columbia politicians in the late 1800s to early 1900s were some of the most corrupt in Canadian history. Price Ellison is one of these men. Despite this infamy, little has been written about the Okanagan Valley pioneer. The late Margaret Ormsby writes a passing note that at the turn of the century, he operated the largest ranch in the valley(f.1) and became a member in the McBride government where he ascended from backbencher to Finance and Agriculture Minister.(f.2) Two of Ellison's descendants are the only ones to describe his life in any detail.(f.3) Because of this, one must be critical of the mythical tone in which Ellison is depicted and how the controversies that surrounded this man are simply ignored. In eulogy, Bishop A.J. Doull described Ellison as "a man among men, a true spirit."(f.4) Much of this praise can be attributed to Ellison fitting the mould of the self-made man, who came to the country with nothing and through hard work made himself wealthy. There is no doubt Price Ellison made a major contribution serving Okanagan Valley residents as a community leader and politician.
However, Price Ellison should also be viewed as a man who manipulated his position as a community leader and politician for personal gain. In a sense, he was very much a man of his time; Price Ellison was a gilded man in British Columbia's gilded age.
Price Ellison was born on October 6th, 1852 in Dunham-Massey, England. As a child, he received basic schooling and an apprenticeship as a blacksmith. When he turned 21, he left for the United States in search of riches. After trying his luck in the Californian gold fields, he left for the Cariboo with nothing more than "blankets on [his] back."(f.5) Ellison and his partners decided to head to Cherry Creek in the North Okanagan when word of a find filtered through the Fraser Valley. After months of work, they found two nuggets worth 125 and 120 dollars each.(f.6) By 1876, Ellison started working for George Vernon at the Coldstream Ranch and two years later, he had saved enough money to buy 320 acres in Priest's Valley for 320 dollars. The locale later became known as Forge Valley. Ellison established a blacksmith operation...