James Thomson was to make his fortune in Canada and become a millionaire, but to get there he had to work hard, including shovelling snow to make a living.

James Thomson was born on 6th of October 1859 at Quoys, South Ronaldsay. His mother was Jane (Budge) and his father, also James. Jane died on July 25th 1887 aged 55 years and her husband James on October 21st 1900 aged 81 years. Their son Thomas died at Quoys February 12th 1886 aged 20 years.

James Thomson emigrated across the Atlantic, like thousands of other young Orcadians at this time. First off he lived in Boston, and then to San Francisco. It was there that the lure of the news of a gold rush in the Klondike, took him north in 1896.

The discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1896 led to a stampede to the Klondike region between 1897 and 1899. This led to the establishment of Dawson City (1896) and subsequently, the Yukon Territory (1898). – The Canadian Encyclopaedia

Between his time prospecting for gold he over wintered in Vancouver where he earned money shovelling snow . By 1912, Thomson had made enough money to become part of a partnership owning an hotel in Vancouver.

James Thomson went on to own many hotels and real estate and became the leading figure in this sector in British Columbia. He never married and lived in what are described as ‘cluttered rooms’ in one of his hotels, The Ivanhoe. It is said that he always kept a lot of cash on hand, both in his own rooms, and in the hotel safe, rumoured as between 75.000$ and 80,000$.

James died in December 1948.

On his death there was a struggle to find a will and eventually within papers in one of his real estate offices one was found. In it, amongst other bequests, was one of 600,000$ which he left to his foreman, Gilbert Campbell. James also left money to The Salvation Army and The Children’s Hospital of Vancouver of 5,000$ each. The will was contested by family members.

James Thomson, in his healthier days, had been an expert swimmer, skater, and dancer. An injury, however, to a nerve in his right left, left him crippled for over 40 years forcing him to walk with a cane.

James’ brother, Peter, was a bus operator in Kirkwall.

Fiona Grahame