Joseph Eldedge Morrier


(1874.08.29 - 1940.04.12)
DLS, SLS
Commission #036 (1911.04.18)
See also (en français): le Musée Virtuel Francophone de la Saskatchewan

His parents lived in the area of France which was devastated by the Germans in 1870 and shortly afterwards they came to Canada in order to secure relief and sanctity from constant wars. Morrier always had this fact before him and in the last world war was a firm believer that Canada should take no part and that the people of Europe should be allowed to fight all the wars they wished and that the new world should be not drawn in. Another strong conviction of his was the rights of the French Canadians in Canada with particular reference to their language. In this connection, he was a firm and ardent follower of Bourassa .The decorations which he subsequently received from the Pope were due to his work in this connection. As I knew him, he was a French Canadian first and a member of the Roman Catholic church second.

From recollection, his first government employment was in the Printing bureau and next he was employed in the lithographic office of the Surveyor General. In 1904 he passed his preliminary D.L.S. and was employed in the Surveyor General's office compiling plans until April 1905. He was assistant to T S. Bash (now Assistant Surveyor General) who was in charge of a government Party carrying on inspection of surveys in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Morrier was possibly in the field as assistant in 1906 as he had to serve one year in the field and two in the office in order to get his commission. He obtained his commission as D.L S. on May 16, 1907 and apparently remained in the Surveyor General's office until the spring of 1908. During the summer of 1908 he was in charge of a day-pay party with F. H. Peters (now Surveyor General) as assistant. His work that year was a survey of Fort Churchill. For the next tour years from 1909 to 1912 he carried on contract surveys of Dominion Lands in the area east and north of Prince Albert.

In 1911 he became a member of the firm of Montgomery and Morrier, Surveyors and Engineers, located at Prince Albert, Sask. The firm dissolved partnership during the war and Mr. Morrier continued the work of the firm for some time there after. He also became connected with the French paper Le Patriote de l'Ouest published in Prince Albert.

In 1929 he joined his brother carrying on a commission business in the City of Montreal and in 1931 he returned to the west and was connected with the French-Canadian newspaper La Survivance of Edmonton and remained there until his death.

Additional notes:

  • Commissioned as a Saskatchewan Land Surveyor April 18, 1911. From June to December 1923 he was temporarily employed in the Surveys Branch, Land Titles Office, Regina.

  • In 1925 he was made Commander of the order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Pius XI.

  • In 1928 he received from the French Government the decoration of Officer of Public Instruction.

  • Survived by his wife Emma Gravel Arcand Morrier and son Roland deLorme Morrier, both residing in Edmonton, Alberta.

Information compiled by R.H. Montgomery, SLS