Frederick N. Gisborne
Was born at Broughton, Lancashire, England, March 8, 1824, and came to Canada in 1845.
When the Montreal Company was organized he was employed as one of its first operators, opening the first office of the Company at Quebec.
He was afterwards engaged in various telegraph enterprises in the Maritime Provinces.
In 1851 he laid the cable connecting New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, the first submarine cable in America.
In 1856 he laid the cable connecting Cape Breton and Newfoundland (85 miles in length), this being an important link in the Atlantic cable system.
Previous to this he had secured a charter from the Newfoundland Government to construct a telegraph line across the Island, which, with the projected cable crossing the Gulf of St. Lawrence connecting with the land telegraphs, would provide the quickest news on the arrival of steamers from Europe. In this project he was associated with several American capitalists, but financial difficulties arose, and in the winter of 1853–4 Mr. Gisborne visited New York to secure further capital, and there met Mr. Cyrus W. Field, with the result that Mr. Field returned with him to Newfoundland. The Legislature, at Mr. Gisborne’s request, cancelled the original thirty years’ charter granted to himself and associates, for a new charter for a term of fifty years to the New York, Newfoundland and London Company. The object of this Company was to complete the land lines begun by Gisborne, lay the cable in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and to lay a cable across the Atlantic. The latter attempt, however, proved a failure, and the franchise of this Company was subsequently acquired by the Anglo-American Telegraph and Cable Company.
Meanwhile Mr. Gisborne dropped out of the enterprise, probably losing all the interest in it he possessed. Some years later he was appointed Superintendent of the Canadian Government Telegraph and Signal Service, which he filled until his death, which occurred on Aug. 30, 1892.
