John Peter Pruden (d.1868, aged 80).

Pruden was a native of Edmonton, near London, England, and served the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1791 to 1837, working his way up from apprentice trader to the position of Chief Factor. Much of his service was in what is now central Alberta, and it is more than likely that the city of Edmonton owes its name to Pruden, who was Chief Factor of the HBC trading post there. On retirement, Pruden made his home in the Red River Settlement, where he was appointed a Councillor of Assiniboia. His gravestone is interesting in that it records the name of his first wife, Nancy, a Cree woman who died in 1838, but it makes no mention of his second wife, Anne Armstrong. Judging from letters and journals of the day, Pruden’s second foray into marriage was a lot less successful than his first!