The Tyrrell brothers the first family of Canadian mining and exploration

On my walk to Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, I visited the grave of William and Elizabeth Tyrrell, parents of two remarkable sons — Joseph Burr Tyrrell, a geologist and explorer, and James William (J.W.) Tyrrell, an explorer, surveyor, and promoter. Both brothers made significant contributions to Canadian mining and northern exploration. Together, they helped chart vast stretches of previously unmapped territory, identifying mineral-rich regions that would later become central to Canada’s resource economy. Joseph was the scientific mind; James, the entrepreneurial developer. Their combined talents helped transform wilderness into recognized mineral potential.

Wanting to learn more about them, I later visited the grave of Joseph Burr Tyrrell at Toronto’s historic Necropolis Cemetery, and then traveled to Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Ontario, to visit James William Tyrrell.

One of Joseph’s most important discoveries came in 1884, when he was surveying for coal in Alberta’s Red Deer Valley. There he uncovered major coal seams — and, unexpectedly, the first known Albertosaurus fossils — a discovery that later became foundational in Canadian paleontology.

James (J.W.) Tyrrell partnered with Joseph on major northern expeditions, documenting the vast Subarctic in detail. He recorded these explorations in his book Across the Sub-Arctics of Canada, a landmark narrative of early northern travel. Later, he became a pioneer in promoting mining prospects in the Red Lake region of Ontario, eventually serving as president of Tyrrell Red Lake Mines.

Joseph Burr Tyrrell died in Toronto on August 26, 1957, at the age of 98.
James Williams Tyrrell died in 1945, at the age of 81 or 82.

 Joseph and J.W are both in the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, Toronto.