Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1862-1989 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
41pp
Context area
Archival history
Transcripts of the Robb letters were provided to Kerby A. Miller by PRONI. The original manuscripts are held in PRONI [reference number T1454].
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The Alexander Robb letters are a set of 11 letters written between 1862 and 1873 by Alexander 'Sandy' Robb (1839-1910) at Nicola Lake, British Columbia to his family in Dundonald near Belfast. Robb was one of a group of young men from County Down to try their their luck in the Cariboo gold rush. After failing to find gold and thereafter working as a labourer helping construct the Cariboo Wagon Road through central British Columbia, Robb became one of the first two Europeans to establish a ranch in the Nicola Valley of southern British Columbia. Robb Creek, which empties into Nicola Lake at Quilchena, is named for him. Robb and his letters are the subject of Brian R.D. White (2023), Alexander Robb and the Making of British Columbia: The life and letters home of an Ulster-Scots pioneer (Newtownards: Ulster Historical Foundation).
The series consists of: Kerby A. Miller catalogue of the letters; correspondence with descendant Dr. John Robb including information on Robb’s descendants; and PRONI’s transcripts of the letters.