Henry Joseph Woodside

Who was Henry Joseph Woodside?

Henry Joseph Woodside was a Canadian businessman, journalist, writer, and photographer.

Born in Arkwright, Ontario, Woodside attended school at Owen Sound and Prince Arthur's Landing. From 1878-1880 he worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway at the beginning of its great westwards expansion.

Between 1880 and 1898 Woodside ran a number of businesses in Portage La Prairie, including a newspaper, the Manitoba Liberal. He served in the Canadian militia during the North-West Rebellion of 1885.

In 1898 he relocated to the Yukon at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush and soon after was serving as managing editor of the Yukon Sun. He resigned from the paper in 1901 and was appointed Census Commissioner for the Yukon Territory. His photographs from this period provide a considerable portion of the recorded visual history of the Gold Rush.

While there Woodside befriended Robert Henderson and spent considerable effort, through his newspaper and Canadian government contacts, in getting Henderson recognised as the authentic discoverer of gold in the Klondike.