Charlotte Selina (Cox) Bompas

Charlotte Selina Cox, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Cox, was born on February 24, 1930. She spent her early girlhood days with her parents in Italy. She was accomplished and talented and spoke Italian fluently. At the age of forty-four, she was united in marriage to Bishop William Carpenter Bompas on May 7, 1874.

Mrs. Bompas was a woman of much refinement and devotion to the mission cause. They set sail on May 12, 1874, on the steamship China of the Cunard Line for New York and to Canada. Finally, they made their way to Fort Simpson after, according to Mrs. Bompas, many, many repetitious, tiresome portages over lakes and rivers.

The bishop and his wife made their home in Fort Simpson where they would survive a famine that caused Bishop Pompas to experience a very severe attack of scurvy. On one occasion they ate their last piece of bread for dinner without any idea where they would find another meal.

Years after, Bishop Bompas was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Athabasca, an area of one million square miles so the Bishop and his wife were separated for long periods of time. The mail service was not regular so she only had candles for Christmas dinner for the Elder women and put up a Christmas tree for the children. She made presents for them that she then hung on the tree. This was the first time these events ever happened in the village. She had learned some Slavi to be able to teach so she started a school, both Sunday and day schools. Mrs. Bompas grew to love these people but the hardships, the long absences from her husband and the climate were very difficult for her. Charlotte often had a village girl come and live in her home.

Mrs. Bompas went back to England, regained her health, and gave talks to raise money for the church. Upon her return, she met her husband up the river from St. Michel’s and thought that he looked in much better health than she had expected. They had not seen each other since 1887 because she was delayed a year by the Riel Rebellion.

Although they moved around, they settled at Forty Mile in August 1892 and stayed for four years. They started a school for the children; it was called Buxton Missions after its British benefactor. At that time her husband also gave the name Selkirk to his diocese. Charlotte was the wife of the first Bishop of Selkirk, Yukon. They were held in high esteem in the community and on Christmas Day in 1892, Mrs. Bompas was given s splendid three-ounce nugget of gold, “as the first white lady who has wintered among us.” Again, Mrs. Bompas was alone in Forty Mile for eight months. By 1897, the Gold Rush had started and so had the school for the mission children.

The couple’s next move was to Caribou Crossing (now Carcross). They lived in a log bunkhouse infested with gophers, but it was better than a tent! Mrs. Bompas was now past her seventieth birthday. They were involved teaching and in the operation of the school.

In May, 1901, Mrs. Bompas was ill with pneumonia and went to Whitehorse where she had fresh eggs and milk for the first time in twenty-seven years.

Bishop Bompas passed away in 1906 at the age of seventy-two years in Carcross where he was buried. Mrs. Bompas returned to England.

This noble woman was truly a pioneer and had so many hardships. However through it all, her faith was as strong as her endeavours. She made the best of the circumstances, dealing with each difficulty. She is credited with organizing the first branch of the Women’s Auxiliary (W.A.) in the Yukon. There is a stained-glass window at Carcross Church in memory of Mrs. Bompas. She returned to Canada after a year and lived near Montreal with two nieces but she continued her interest in the Yukon and the W.A. After breaking her hip she was presented with a wheelchair from the Archbishops and Bishops of Canada and an ebony cane with a gold top from the W.A.

Mrs. Bompas passed away quietly in her sleep January 21, 1917, a month before her 87th birthday. Her kindness and self-sacrifice endeared her to many people. Her memoirs were published in 1929 by one of her nieces. The title of her memoirs is A Heroine of the North—Memoirs of C.S. Bompas.