Tingley, Stephen

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Tingley
  • Wiki profile notes:
    • Stephen Tingley (September 13, 1839 – October 9, 1915) was a stagecoach driver and one of the original owners of the pioneer transportation company BC Express that served the Cariboo region in British Columbia, Canada for 60 years, from 1860, when it was first founded as Barnard’s Express, until 1920, when it ceased its sternwheeler service.
    • For twenty years Stephen Tingley drove the BC Express stagecoaches between Yale and Cache Creek, over what was then one of the most hazardous roads in North America.
    • Tingley Creek, which flows north-east into the Fraser River near Marguerite is named for him
    • Born in Point de Bute near Sackville, New Brunswick, Stephen Tingley came to British Columbia in 1861 and tried his luck at mining during the Cariboo Gold Rush before returning to Yale in 1864 and starting a harness shop, having apprenticed as a saddler in New Brunswick. In 1864, he hired on as a driver for Francis Jones Barnard. In 1868, he travelled to California and Mexico where he obtained 500 unbroken horses for Barnard. His notebooks provide details on the harrowing drive northward to Vernon. This exploit left him secure enough financially that in 1869 he returned to New Brunswick where he married Elizabeth Harper, with whom he returned to BC.
    • The British Columbia Express Company was incorporated in 1871 with original owner, Francis Jones Barnard, holding one half interest, and Stephen Tingley and James Hamilton each holding one quarter interest. In 1886, Hamilton died and Barnard sold out to Tingley who thus became sole owner. Tingley ran the company for ten years before selling out to Charles Vance Millar.
    • In 1894 Tingley bought the Hat Creek Ranch where he built the BX Barn and a large stables for the draft horses that were used to pull the stagecoaches along the Cariboo Road
  • Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=8560
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6399/stephen-tingley