Trader.
Born at Clifden, Ireland in 1859, son of John Evans Adamson, he came to Manitoba with his brother, Alan Joseph Adamson, in 1873 where they worked on crews surveying the southern area of the province. He eventually took up a homestead in the vicinity of Nelsonville, near the site where the Boundary Commission Trail forded the Pembina River, where he built a log store. It became the site of the Pembina Crossing post office with Arthur J. Moore as postmaster. He renovated the building to provide lodging for travellers and it became known as Valley House. It was torn down after 1886 and Adamson sold his property to move into Nelsonville. In 1884, he married Anne Marie Dennis (1861-?). He later moved to Madison, Wisconsin, serving as chief of police prior to his death in 1910.
Reprint of Southern Manitoba and Turtle Mountain Country by L. O. Armstrong, annotated by Felix G. Kuehn, Winnipeg: Boundary Commission – North West Mounted Police Association, March 1991. [Archives of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land]
We thank Kip Sturgis for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 September 2026
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