Who is George Belcourt?

That's the new question of the day - and I've got to figure it out. I don't suspect that he's going to be found Online, unfortunately. He's an oldster, from Lower Canada in the early 1800s, meaning he's likely not the most popular subject for people to be blogging about - or posting information about on the Internet.

That does mean that I'll get a neat chance to head back into the library, search through some Microfiche, and see what I can learn about the good ol' days, the Maritimes and Manitoba.

What's so special about this guy that I will be writing a period-piece on him? Chiefly, he was legally ejected from the Red River Valley (Louis Riel, anybody?) and sent to Rustico, PEI, where he founded Canada's first credit union (so I'm told) called the Farmers' Bank of Rustico (1864). He must have lent a few dollars to the fathers of confederation, you'd think. That's kind of neat.

I wonder what he was doing the day of Confederation? I wonder, back in those days, how long it took for the word to spread that Upper and Lower Canada, and a few colonies in the Maritimes, were now confederated under the jurisdiction of a new land?

The crux of this article, however, will be the unique quality of him driving the first steam-powered vehicle on PEI. I believe I heard that he had the device imported from Europe somewhere - although I can't be sure.

So this was the first man to drive a car in Canada. That's what makes his story so interesting, and may give me a chance to get published in Beaver Magazine. It will definitely be fun to watch this article unfold. I haven't done any archival research for an article in almost four years - it'll be nice to get back into the books, taking notes and wiping my eyes when I take my glasses off in the archives of the Leddy Library.

Wish me luck.