Ketchum, Henry George Clopper

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Edward Chapman Bowes, “KETCHUM, HENRY GEORGE CLOPPER,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ketchum_henry_george_clopper_12E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Engineer; b. 26 Feb. 1839 in Fredericton, of loyalist descent, son of Richard Ketchum and Mary Anne —; m. 21 Aug. 1866 Sarah E. Milner in Sackville, N.B.; they had no children; d. 8 Sept. 1896 in Amherst, N.S.
    • Henry George Clopper Ketchum received his grammar school education at the Fredericton Collegiate School and in February 1854 enrolled for a series of lectures on civil engineering being given by English engineer McMahon Cregan at King’s College, Fredericton. Early in April the college excused engineering students from attending classes to enable them to gain practical experience in the field of railway building, which was the major engineering activity of the time. From 1856 to 1860 Ketchum was employed during the summers in the construction of the European and North American Railway, which was to connect Halifax with Bangor, Maine.
    • While surveying railway lines across the Chignecto Isthmus, Ketchum conceived the scheme for which he would become famous. The historic crossroads of the Maritimes, Chignecto provides a land-bridge between the peninsula of Nova Scotia and mainland New Brunswick, but at the same time presents a barrier between Cumberland Basin and Baie Verte, and consequently an obstacle to shipping between the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St Lawrence. Since the first European settlement of the area, plans have been put forward for a canal through the isthmus to facilitate shipping.
    • A “ship railway,” as conceived by Ketchum, would lift ships out of the water, carry them on rails across the isthmus, and deposit them in the water on the other side. In 1882 the Chignecto Marine Transport Railway Company was incorporated, with Ketchum as managing director. Parliament undertook to provide an annual subsidy of $150,000 for 25 years, provided the line was completed within seven years and was kept in good repair. In 1888, however, the company was obliged to ask for an extension of time, to 1892.
    • The money was raised by 1896 but at this point even the efforts of Sir Charles Tupper could not persuade parliament to give further encouragement to the scheme. Seven years later the dominion government would move to compensate the shareholders in the company, who had lost a considerable sum in the attempt to build the railway. The remains of Ketchum’s ship railway have all but disappeared. 
  • Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=4433
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179927785/henry-george_clopper-ketchum