Talk:John Sebastian Helmcken

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Great start, I can't believe this guy didn't have an article already.

I'll be adding lots more. This guy had an interesting life, and with others of that era in the region spoke something like 10 languages (another guy like this is the Tolmie who was his contemporary...William Fraser Tolmie, whose son Simon Fraser Tolmie became Premier of BC later on).Skookum1 21:34, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Politician stub?

Well, uh, I guess....the colonial assembly hasn't had an article written on it yet, but yes he was a member, so I guess he's a politician. Not how I think of him. But the upshot of the precedent here is that all members of the BC colonial assemblies and executive councils will be classes as politicians; that's half the pre-1858 population of Victoria, ultimately (the British-subject males anyway, and I think including a few franco-canadiens/Metis). My further issue here, which has to do with the lack of appropriately BC stubs, is that he wasn't a Canadian politician, but a British Columbian one in the days before BC was part of Canada.....Skookum1 21:34, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I think that the role he played in bringing British Columbia into confederation qualifies him as a Canadian politician. He lobbied on behalf of his fellow colonists, trying to balance the best interests of the colony with the realities of joining the confederation, or be annexed by the United States. Also keep in mind that this is before the advent of "modern politics" required every last member to be at least partly spiritually corrupt and morally indistinguishable from each other, thus sullying the term "politician" forever. ;) -- KirinX 22:11, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, I see your point....which reminds me I've been meaning to write something on the Yale Convention of 1867 (or was it 1868?), which was the main gathering of pro-Confederationists in the united colony. Also, as per his mention in the German chapter of Strangers Entertained: A History of Ethnic Groups in British Columbia, I may add the German Canadian category; even though he was born in London, as you can see by his parents' names he was ethnically German, his parents being among the many Germans in the UK during the Hanoverian period.Skookum1 22:17, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Research ref on Helmcken and his son J.D.

Found this: JB Kerr's BC biographical sketches, 1890, link goes to specific page ref on the Hemlckens; written when John D was still alive in fact; lots of details useful for this article, and another on J.D. which still has to be written....Skookum1 20:44, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Neat. I believe that text would have fallen into the public domain by now too. HighInBC ^{(Need help? Ask me)} 20:45, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I'd say so, but paraphrase is still paraphrase, not plagiarism; quoted passages that carry cites aren't plagiarism anyway. Anyone else you need bio material on, pre-1890, is in there too, but there's not really a searchable index, and I haven't found the particular index page yet, if there is one; seen stuff on Mara, Vernon, looking at Roderick Finlayson right now; other details in these texts concernn who was gold commissioner, whowas customs agent, who was etc. etc. regarding various forts and mining districts, so it's not just bio material that can be gleaned from it.Skookum1 20:51, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

A lot of these guys were still alive when Kerr was writing, too; and in 1890 the Oregon Treaty was only 44 years beforehand, too, so memories were fresh, and not distorted by latter-day writings, and/or by the emerging biases/agenda of later historiography...he's very cutting in his intro about Bancroft being anti-British and a pro-American propagandist, too, which might be worth adding to the Hubert Howe Bancroft page; I recommend Bancroft as a worthwhile source, but like all sources their agendas and backgrounds have to be taken into account......Skookum1 20:52, 25 January 2007 (UTC)