Samuel Brethour was born in Ireland in 1818, and came to County York in Upper Canada with his father when he was 15 years old. On February 13, 1844, 26 year old Samuel married Margaret St. John. At the age of 55, Samuel and Margaret decided to move to Western Canada. They traveled the Union & Central Railway to San Francisco, where they transferred to a steamer, finally arriving in Victoria on April 10, 1873. Samuel purchased 500 acres of virgin forest and meadow from the Hudson's Bay Company. On March 18, 1877, Samuel died only four years after arriving on the peninsula. The acreage was divided amongst the adult sons, and the 500 hundred acres became the site of the Town of Sidney in 1892.