William Driscoll Gosset

W. D. Gosset
6th Surveyor General of Ceylon
In office 1855–1858
Preceded by	H. Chims
Succeeded by	Charles Sims

William Driscoll Gosset or Gossett (1822–1899) was a British officer of the Royal Engineers.^[1][2]

Early life

He was the son of Major John Noah Gossett of the Rifle Brigade.^[3] He was promoted Captain in the Royal Engineers in 1850.^[4]

Ceylon

The 6th Surveyor General of Ceylon, Gosset was appointed in 1855, succeeding H. Chims, and held the office until 1858. He was succeeded by Charles Sims.^[5] He was active in recruiting assistants, interviewing in London; but failed to spot embezzlement by the survey's head clerk.^[6]

British Columbia

Gosset then served as Treasurer of British Columbia.^[7] He clashed seriously with James Douglas, from 1860.^[8] He also uncovered book-keeping issues, and recommended the dismissal of Alexander Caulfield Anderson.^[9]

In the aftermath of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, coin was short in British Columbia. In 1861 Douglas sent Gosset, or the assayer Francis George Claudet, to San Francisco, for equipment to set up a local mint in New Westminster; in 1862 Gosset operated the mint.^[10][11] Gosset was replaced as Treasurer in 1862.^[7]

Family

Gosset married Helena Dorothea Gosset, daughter of Isaac Gosset (1782–1855); her maternal grandfather was Dr. James Lind of Windsor.^[12][13]

References

1. J. F. Bosher (April 2010). Imperial Vancouver Island: Who Was Who, 1850-1950. Xlibris Corporation. p. 304. ISBN 978-1-4500-5963-3.
2. Ross, Victor; Trigge, Arthur St. L. (1920). "A History of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, with an account of the other banks which now form part of its organization". Internet Archive. Toronto: Oxford University Press. p. 463. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
3. Thom, Adam (1875). "The Upper Ten Thousand: A Biographical Handbook of All the Titled and ...". Internet Archive. George Routledge & Sons. p. 188. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
4. Bulletins and Other State Intelligence. Compiled and arranged from the official documents published in the London Gazette. 1851. p. 526.
5. "History". Survey Department of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
6. Ian Jeffrey Barrow, Surveying in Ceylon during the Nineteenth Century, Imago Mundi Vol. 55 (2003), pp. 81–96, at p. 91. Published by: Imago Mundi, Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3594757
7. Allan Pritchard (1 November 2011). The Vancouver Island Letters of Edmund Hope Verney: 1862-65. UBC Press. pp. 54–5 note 20. ISBN 978-0-7748-4257-0.
8. John Adams (2011). Old Square-Toes and His Lady: The Life of James and Amelia Douglas. TouchWood Editions. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-926971-71-1.
9. Nancy Marguerite Anderson (2011). The Pathfinder: A.C. Anderson's Journeys in the West. Heritage House Publishing Co. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-926936-82-6.
10. T. M. Scotty Gardiner (2010). In the Mind of a Mountie. Agio Publishing House. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-897435-37-3.
11. "www.royalengineers.ca, The Gosset Gold Coin Affair". Retrieved 9 April 2016.
12. Sir Bernard Burke (1871). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Harrison. p. 525.
13. Gordon Willoughby J. Gyll (1862). History of the parish of Wraysbury, Ankerwycke priory, and Magna charta island [&c.]. p. 230.