Rebecca Ellery (b. 1857)

Rebecca Ellery was born on a farm in Ontario. She became a Soldier of Christ with the Salvation Army when she was in her mid-twenties. She served as an officer for ten years and earned the rank of ensign. During the gold rush, Rebecca was chosen to be part of a Klondike contingent and the group boarded a westbound train in mid-April 1898. There were seven men and two women, Rebecca and the younger Emma Matilda Aiken. Forty-one-year-old Rebecca was a senior member, earning a weekly salary of just $1 less than the group’s leader. In Dawson, the group held meetings nightly and three times on Sundays but did not get a convert until late fall. The women’s meetings were more successful, and they attended invalids in their cabins and visited prisoners in the jail. The Salvation Army did good work, offering free meals and beds to the destitute, and handing out clothing to anyone who needed it. They ran a labour bureau and had a woodyard where the unemployed could earn money sawing and splitting logs. The members of the group had signed on for a minimum of twelve months and they stayed until 1900. Rebecca received orders to leave in July 1900 and she did, with regrets.¹⁾