Margaret L. Clarke, Editor #29, Evanson Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Thomas Taylor was a third generation Bay man. He was not only the son of one of the first men of mixed race to attain the position of clerk in the Hudson's Bay Company, but the grandson of Chief Factor James keith and Sloopmaster George Taylor.
The first son of Thomas Taylor and Mary Keith, Thomas Jr. was reportedly born 25 August 1831.(Thomas Taylor, Sr. and Mary Keith were married by banns at Red River Settlement on 17 August 1831. It is passing strange to me why they didn't wait the week to have their child baptised before setting out for Shoal Lake.) He was baptised with his mother and younger brother, James, on 1 September 1833 at Red River Settlement by Rev. David T. Jones. Much of his childhood was spent at various posts in the same district as well as the Lake Superior District until his father's appointment to clerk in 1841 and transfer to Lake St. Johns, King's Posts. In 1843 he moved with his family to the post at Lac des Sables in Lower Canada.
In 1847 he himself joined the HBC and was posted as an apprentice clerk at Fort Coulonge under Chief Trader Hector McKenzie, a post his father would buy when he retired in 1855.
Thomas Jr. stayed in the Montreal Department until 1852 when he got his first appointment west to take charge of the post at Touchwood Hills in the Company's Swan River Department. He moved between there and Edmonton for the next eight years and was there when Palliser visited in October 1857 and when the Earl of Southesk visited in November 1859. On 27 February 1860 he was promoted to the position of Chief Trader at Edmonton House, a position he would retain for the next ten years at various posts in the Swan River, Saskatchewan, Cumberland and Lac la Pluie Districts. On 10 October 1860 he married Elizabeth Margaret Kennedy, the daughter of Philip Kennedy and Jessie McKenzie at Fort Pelly, N.W.T. [now in Saskatchewan].
When the Company reorganized trade in 1870, the Deed Poll of 1834 under which commissioned officers had been appointed was revoked. These chief factors and chief traders were accordingly placed on a retired list and paid a compensatory amount. Taylor was subject to this action and was not one of the officers re-appointed under thethe new Deed Poll of 1871.
On 27 May 1875 Taylor wrote from White Mud River Settlement to Chief Commissioner James A. Graham to request er-entry into the company's employ, but was denied.
At White Mud Settlement Taylor and his wife with now a family of seven purchased the claim from Frank Field and received a homestead patent. He rose to some prominence in the Westbourne community. He was on the school board from 1874-1876 and was the instigator of the 1873 Municipal Petition which enabled the community to obtain a railway charter and sell bonds toward the construction of a rail line which would terminate in Red River Settlement. Two more Taylor children were born at Westborne.
In 1880 the family moved to Prince Albert and in October, 1884 Taylor was engaged by the HBC again as a monthly employee to take charge of the newly established post of Battle River Crossing near present day Ponoka [Alberta]. He was there during the North West Rebellion when the post was raided in April, 1885.
In the summer of that same year he was appointed to the post at Lac Ste.Anne where he would remain until his retirement in late 1899.
In September, 1889 E.K. Beeston reported of him during the post inspection:
Thos. Taylor, Clerk in charge, 58 years of age, married, 1 child resident; about 30 years service; has been connected with the Company for 42 years, having formerly been a Commissioned Officer. A good Fur Trader and Post manager, and well liked. He is said largely to have overcome his failing of being addicted to drink, and in all other respects is a reliable useful man."
Taylor died at lac Ste.Anne in January, 1904. Three of his sons continued in the fur trade: his oldest, William as a guide, trapper and trader; his second son, Edward, as manager of the Hudson's Bay Store in Winnipeg and a third, Frederick as one of the company of Edmonton boys who went to the Klondike via the Mackenzie route.
His obituary which appeared in the Edmonton Bulletin of 16 January 1904 remarked:
No better Indian trader ever lived or one who more thoroughly understood the customs, manners and ways of the Indians. Speaking Saulteau and Cree as fluently as an Indian. French like a French-Canadian and English in a manner that marked him at once as a man of superb education . . .
Considering his mother's Chippewa, French Canadian and Scottish descent and his father's Cree and English heritage and the fact that the family business had been fur trading for three generations, could he have been less?
[ Complete citations available on request.]
Editor's Apology
The note following Mr. Denney's story in the last edition should have read,
"The story of the incident which appeared in the December issue from Jennifer Brown's files appears to have have come from a different branch of the family."
I did not intend to slight Mr. Denney's fine research , and apologize for any apparent disrespect. Finding Donald McKay's journal was a fine coup.
Jennifer Brown tells me that she found the story back in 1970, while researching in the hanging files in the old HBC House that was home for the HBC archives at the time. The files were a complete collection of all correspondence with editors, family researchers and writers of biographies for Beaver, the HBC Record Society and Champlain Society volumes, etc. They may now be found in the current HBC Archives now filed as the RG20 series in the Provincial Archives of Manitoba, and cover the years from 1930 to 1974.
Jennifer's note from Donald McKay's file reads
"Above info in HBC Winn. from Mrs. Waldo A. Young, 216 Glenwood Ave. Franklin N.H. She got it from her father, Daniel McKay 123 Wollaston St., Cranston 10, R.I., the great great grandson of this D.M."
Thank you to all those who sent in a submission or a payment for subscription. A reminder that those of you who have sent along significant submissions in the past, you are considered life members, and will receive a receipt verifying that. We have received more interesting submissions. To those of you who are still thinking about it: Is there a piece of research you would be willing to share, or some family history which I may help verify, to advance the discussion here? Interesting areas of discussion could include the history of a fur trade community, a fur trade family, or an anecdote which illustrates that way of life.
Laura McGoldrick writes: I am a descendant from John Curtis Bird and Elizabeth Montour. I am trying to find Elizabeth Montour's parents, but with no luck. Elizabeth Montour may be, (not proven) the daughter of Nicholas Montour. Any information would be welcomed. James Curtis Bird[The editor looked through her files and found the following information on the James Curtis Bird family from the HBC Archives prepared biography.]
James Bird, Sr. (sometimes James Curtis), born in Acton, Middlesex, England, entered the service of the Company 23 April 1788. He began as a Writer (a position late known as Clerk) at York Factory. He was first sent inland, again as Writer, in 1792 serving in Cumberland House. From there, he moved up the Saskatchewan River, serving as Master in South Branch House, Nepawi, and Carlton House in consecutive years. 1797 found him serving as Trader in Cumberland House, from where he moved to Edmonton House in 1799 in the same position. From there, he moved up the ranks quickly. By 1803 he was in charge of Inland Posts. 1813 saw a promotion to Chief of the District out of Edmonton and then in 1816, Carlton House. He spent the year 1817-1818 as Acting Governor of Rupert's Land, before returning to Chief of the District, out of Cumberland until 1820. From there he moved to Red River, where he served one year as Chief Factor, before again being promoted to Chief of the District. He took a year furlough after the death of his first wife and mother of most of his children, Elizabeth Montour, born circa 1798, married 30 March 1821, buried 1 November 1821.
Their children are listed as:
James Jr. (James John or Jimmy Jock)
George (1793-1855)
Joseph (1800-1878)
Levi (1801-1864)
William (1805 - ?)
Henry (1805 - ?)
Elizabeth (1806-April 1845) married James Sinclair [who lead to HBC settlers to Oregon]
John (1808-1837)
Letitia (1810 - ?) married Charles McKay, to Oregon 1841
Thomas (1816 [1812?] - ?) to Oregon 1854
Philip (1818 - ?) to Oregon, 1854
Chloe (? - 1842) married ____ Flett, died in Oregon
Arthur (1822 [1811?] - ?) to Oregon, 1854
Nicholas Garry (1824 - ?) to Oregon 1841
Mary (11 Oct. 1829 - ?) married _____ McKenzie
He retired from the HBC in 1824.
His second wife was Mary Lowman, who he married 22 January 1835. The biography lists their children as:
Curtis James (1837-1876)
Elizabeth Margaret (4 January 1840 - ?)
Harriet Isabella (6 June 1842 - ?) Baptised 23 October 1843, died before 1855.
James Bird Sr. died 18 October, 1856.
The biography lists two biographical articles for him; one in E.E. Rich's Simpson's Athabasca Journal, Hudson's Bay Record Society, Vol. I, p. 429, and the second in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. VIII.
[I know that some of our readers are more knowledgeable about this family than I am. Is there anyone out there who can give more information on the Bird / Montour connection? The Editor]
Frieda Klippenstein sent along some information on HBC genealogy and Family History at Fort Langley. The first is an excerpt from her newsletter to the interpreters, titled Annotations.
There is much to learn about the social history of Fort Langley from geneological records and family histories. Recovering this information is useful in addressing such topics as the makeup of families and households, and the unique cultural diversity of the Fort Langley society. It is useful for linking the past and present, as descendants of the early "fur trade families" are occasional visitors at the site. Some visitors will "connect" with the site in a new way, if a database is in place to address the occasional requests for information (which Fort Langley National Historic Site already receives from people). It will also be possible to tap into these living descendents as new sources of information, who can contribute to our knowledge of various cultural communities making up the 19th century fur trade society. In this year, a start on recovering relevant family / geneological information could involve an interested staff person doing some networking with other sites to research and establish methodology for a HBC family history database, building from the profile information we already have on the Company men attached to Fort Langley. Archival and Stó:lö Nation records could be accessed in a source list which could be used in developing this research base initiative further in the future. (ANNOTATIONS, No.12, October 1995).
Frieda adds that they are getting lots of requests for information on one family or another lately, and are building a database. She further suggests the work of Bruce Watson and Jean Barman for those interested in the families of the NorthWest coast.