Munroe, (also Munro) Thomas. (birth and death dates unknown)

Munroe was one of eight of 'Grant's Men' to arrive at Fort Victoria from England on the Harpooner on May 31, 1849. The following day they, along with eight miners who had accompanied them on the voyage, disembarked and, in short order, expressed their displeasure with the food and the way they had been treated on board the ship. Almost immediately they sought to return to England via HMS Inconstant but were declined permission by Captain Shepherd and the ship departed on June 4 without them. The disgruntled men then took their complaints to James Douglas who arrived from Fort Vancouver to take charge of Fort Victoria on June 6. Douglas had just completed an arduous journey and was in no mood to hear, what he deemed, "trivial complaints". Instead, he "received them into the Company's Service" and they worked at menial tasks around the fort while awaiting the arrival of Grant. Munroe seems to have taken on a supervisory role as, on June 13, Finlayson assigned him along with two unnamed men to the task of "trenching the ground in the orchard". However six weeks later, Finlayson reported: "The hired servants, who came by the Harpooner discontinued work this afternoon, alleging as a reason that they had not fresh beef for dinner. Mr. Douglas settled with them this evening & they promised to resume duty to morrow." It was August 8 before Grant arrived and began the process of moving his work force to Sooke where they were to create their own living accommodation and farm on 100 acres 40 kilometres west of the fort. Munroe helped to clear and cultivate land and build Grant's farm at Sooke for almost two years before Grant grew restless and agreed to lease the property to Munroe in the spring of 1851. However, by December the majority of 'Grant's Men' had dispersed and abandoned the settlement. Subsequently, Grant sold the farm to John Muir and Munroe's whereabouts have not been traced.

Sources:

• Bowsfield, Hartwell, ed. Fort Victoria Letters (1846-1851). Winnipeg: Hudson's Bay Record Society, 1979.
• Roots Web Ancestry. "Passenger List of 'The Harpooner.'" http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bcvancou/ships/harpoon.htm