Rufus Allen Burriss
| Rufus Allen Burriss | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1859-07-30 Lewis County, Kentucky |
| Died | 1930-01-31 Ashville, Chautauqua County, New York |
| Occupation | Minister, immigration agent, real estate speculator, politician |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
Rufus Allen Burriss (30 July 1859 – 31 January 1930 (aged 70)) was an American-born Disciples of Christ minister who served as the dominion immigration agent for "New Ontario" based in Port Arthur from 1898 to 1911, and later served on Port Arthur City Council.
Early life
Burriss was born on 30 July 1859 in Lewis County, Kentucky, the son of Marcus L. Burriss and Sarah R. Hamlin.[1] He was raised as a farm boy in Illinois, where he came to embrace the Disciples of Christ faith.[1] On 16 January 1884 he married Hester Ann Watts in Fort Erie, Ontario; together they had four daughters and two sons.[1]
Immigration work in New Ontario
Around 1893, Burriss moved to Ontario to pastor a Disciples of Christ congregation in Bowmanville.[1] There he came under the influence of Daniel Francis Burk, a promoter from that town with interests in northwestern Ontario, and developed a Christian colonization scheme intended to attract impoverished American tenant farmers seeking freehold land.[1]
In December 1897, Burriss published his vision in the Christian Standard, declaring his intention to plant the cause of Christ on the banks of the Rainy River.[1] Robert Beith, the Member of Parliament for Durham West, lobbied Interior Minister Clifford Sifton on his behalf, and on 1 February 1898 Burriss was appointed dominion immigration agent for New Ontario.[1] That summer he relocated his family to Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay).[1]
Working under the slogan "Manless Land for Landless Men," Burriss promoted settlement through public lectures, lantern-slide shows, printed publications, and promotional materials.[1] The Department of the Interior placed him on a formal retainer of $1,000 annually in May 1901.[1] The opening of the Canadian Northern Railway through the Rainy River country in 1902 aided his promotional efforts considerably.[1] He also served as secretary-treasurer of the West Algoma Agricultural Society and the New Ontario Industrial Exhibition.[1]
Settlement areas promoted by Burriss included Dorion Township, the Slate River valley townships of Paipoonge and Neebing, the Whitefish River valley townships of O'Connor, Gillies, and Conmee, and thirty-seven tiered townships along the Rainy River.[1] Settlers supplemented farming income through logging and railway work. A township and settlement west of Fort Frances bear his name to this day.[1] Among the settlers he attracted was Clara Babcock of Illinois, reportedly the first ordained woman among the Disciples of Christ.[1]
Political difficulties and dismissal
Following the resignation of Clifford Sifton in February 1905, Burriss encountered growing institutional resistance.[1] Conservative appointee James Michael McGovern resented his presence, and immigration commissioner John Obed Smith opposed the continuation of the Port Arthur agency.[1] An attempt to close the agency in January 1906 was defeated through Liberal intervention, but after the Conservative electoral victory of October 1911, Burriss was dismissed effective 31 December 1911.[1] His total salary and expenses charged to Canada from 1898 to 1911 came to $26,929.56.[1]
Later life
After leaving the immigration service, Burriss continued real estate dealings he had pursued since at least 1901, and served on Port Arthur City Council from 1913 to 1915.[1] In March 1919, municipal and trade-board leaders petitioned the federal government for his reinstatement without success.[1] Later that year he relocated to New York State to undertake temporary ministry work for the Disciples of Christ, subsequently pastoring congregations at Bridgeburg (Fort Erie), Ontario, and Windmill Point.[1]
Death
Following a period of hospitalization in Buffalo, Burriss died on 31 January 1930 at his home in Ashville, Chautauqua County, New York.[1] He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Bridgeburg.[1]
According to his daughter Mae Nugent Burriss, approximately 3,000 families may have settled in northwestern Ontario through his promotional efforts, though the majority purchased established farms rather than taking up free land; proportionally, more settlers arrived from eastern Ontario than from the United States.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 F. Brent Scollie."F. Brent Scollie, "BURRISS, RUFUS ALLEN," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).2005.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ Rufus Allen Burriss."My first moose."[newspaper].Canadian Courier (Toronto).1911-11-11.pp. 9–11.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Archives of Ontario, RG 80-2-0-422, no. 21634; RG 80-3-2-75, no. 901112."[record].RG 80-2-0-422, no. 21634; RG 80-3-2-75, no. 901112.Archives of Ontario.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "International Genealogical Index."[record].Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Genealogical Society.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Biographical Data File, Burris/Burriss family, notes by M. N. Burriss."[record].Dictionary of Canadian Biography.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Library and Archives Canada, RG 31, C1, 1901 census, Port Arthur, Ontario, Ward 2; RG 76, 165, file 47195."[record].RG 31, C1, 1901, Port Arthur [Thunder Bay], Ont., Ward 2: 19; RG 76, 165, file 47195.Library and Archives Canada.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Bridgeburg Review."[newspaper].Bridgeburg Review (Bridgeburg [Fort Erie], Ont.).1930-02-06.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Daily Times-Journal."[newspaper].Daily Times-Journal (Fort William [Thunder Bay], Ont.).9 November 1901; 22 September 1904; 18 March 1919.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Weekly Herald and Algoma Miner."[newspaper].Weekly Herald and Algoma Miner (Port Arthur).26 August 1898; 2 September 1899.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Reuben Butchart."The Disciples of Christ in Canada since 1830."[book].1949.Toronto.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Canada, Parliament."Sessional Papers, Reports of the Department of the Interior, Part II, Immigration, 1898–1903."[record].Government of Canada.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ W. R. Wightman and N. M. Wightman."The Land Between: Northwestern Ontario Resource Development, 1800 to the 1990s."[book].1997.Toronto.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)