Edward Ovenden Finlaison (1870 – 1956)
Edward Finlaison was born in New Westminster, British Columbia to Jane Holmes and Charles Stoddard.1)
In early 1898, the Canadian Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and the British-backed bank of British North America (BNA) were rivals in establishing the first bank in Dawson. The BNA Bank sent an advance party that sailed from Vancouver on April 11 aboard the SS Pakshan. The party consisted of David Doig (assistant manager), two clerks, E.O. Finlaison and J.F. Stow, plus a voyageur in charge of the company north from Skagway. They travelled with barrister C.W.C. Tabor and an artist named L.C. Barff. When they reached Dawson on 17 May, the party sold their canoes for about four times what they had paid for them. David Doig was manager of the BNA Bank until 1907 when he was transferred to Victoria. Finlaison succeeded Doig and remained in Dawson as manager of the bank for thirty years. He had a small Van Dyke beard and was meticulous in his dress. He was punctual at this job and entertained lavishly at his home where he hosted visiting dignitaries.2)
Finlaison was a shrewd businessman for the bank but was known to dip into his own pockets to help a needy miner. He did not allow his staff to use calculators, considering it good training for them to do their figures in their heads. He loved Dawson and turned down opportunities to manage other banks for better pay. When the Bank of Montreal took over the BNA Bank in 1915, Fin and his staff were kept on.3)
Geologist Hugh Bostock was entertained by Finaison in Dawson in 1933. He said the bank was always referred to Finlaison’s Bank, such was his character. Their dinner was a four-course meal with wines and liqueurs served by a Japanese butler in real décor. The dinner gave Hugh a taste of the Dawson that was.4)