James McMillan (fur trader)
Encyclopedia
James McMillan was a fur trader and explorer for the North West Company
and Hudson's Bay Company
. He led some of the earliest surveys
of the lower Fraser River
and founded Fort Langley
for the HBC in 1827, and was its first Chief Trader.
. Notably, he joined David Thompson
's 1808 North West Company expedition west across the Rocky Mountains.
Later, he assisted in purchasing Astoria, Oregon
from the Pacific Fur Company
. In June 1824, following the merger of the North West Company and the HBC, McMillan accompanied HBC Governor George Simpson
from York Factory
far west to the lower Columbia River
, arriving in Fort George
on November 8 of that year.
Simpson described McMillan as a “Staunch & Manly Friend and Fellow Traveller”.
Ten days later, Simpson assigned McMillan with commanding an expedition to survey the mouth of the Fraser River and assess it for navigability, settlement potential and agricultural suitability. He led an exploration party of 40 men from Fort George to Puget Sound
and on to Mud Bay, just east of present day Point Roberts. On local advice of a shortcut, McMillan's party proceeded east up the Nicomekl River
through what is now South Surrey
, British Columbia
where they then portaged to the Fraser River. The expedition traveled and surveyed up the Fraser River as far as Hatzic Slough, before returning to Fort George.
he was killed in 1875
, McMillan, his 25-man party and two small boats arrived at Port Orchard
on Puget Sound on July 4. There they camped, awaiting the newly acquired HBC sailing vessel the Cadboro, loaded with horses and supplies, which had departed Fort Vancouver on June 24 to rendezvous with McMillan's party via the open Pacific Ocean. After waiting six days, the Cadboro finally arrived at Port Orchard on July 10.
When the ship approached the mouth of the Fraser River, McMillan set out looking for suitable locations for the establishment of the Fort. He found none in the immediate vicinity of the river's mouth and the Cadboro was unable to gain navigable access to the Fraser River for several days until a channel was discovered. Meanwhile, in the smaller boats, and proceeding further up river, McMillan surveyed several potential locations for the new fort on July 27-28. It was around this time that McMillan Island
was named for him. Other islands named during this survey of the river were Barnston Island (for clerk George Barnston
) and Annacis Island
(for Clerk Francois Noel Annance).
Unfortunately, the Cadboro was unable to weigh anchor close enough to shore to safely unload cargo at the site McMillan had preferred to establish the Fort. The next day it sailed downriver to another spot on the south side of the Fraser, which McMillan had remarked upon earlier. This location was just west of the Salmon River's confluence with the Fraser in an area later to be known as Derby. On Monday July 30, McMillan's party unloaded horses at the site and the laborious clearance of the forest commenced. The first post of the Fort was cut on August 1, 1827. On August 13, the first bastion of the fort—deemed to be the priority as a consequence of rumours of a pending massacre by Indians—was completed.
However, on Christmas Eve, 1827, a surprise visit was paid by HBC Chief Trader Alexander Mackenzie from Fort Vancouver. His party having been pinned in by ice at the mouth of the Fraser River, and apparently robbed and threatened by the Musqueam, Mackenzie dispatched a sympathetic Kwantlen
to convey a distress message to McMillan at Fort Langley. Upon receiving the message, McMillan sent an armed party to recover Mackenzie who was later greeted at the fort by a beaming McMillan.
Following a celebratory holiday fueled by liquor recently delivered to the Fort, McMillan opted to return to Fort Vancouver with Mackenzie and show off Fort Langley's haul of 1,200 furs. However, stranded at Point Roberts in stormy weather for 10 days, McMillan returned to Fort Langley with the furs, while Mackenzie and his group continued onto Fort Vancouver.
Rumour soon reached McMillan that Mackenzie's party had been massacred on the shores of Puget Sound en route back to the Columbia River, which later proved true.
In October 1828, McMillan was transferred out of Fort Langley by Sir George Simpson. It is unclear whether he requested the transfer or was assigned elsewhere. He was replaced by Archibald McDonald
.
, and he was brought in to manage a failed experimental farm at St. James on the Assiniboine River
. In his efforts, he even enlisted a cousin, Robert Campbell from Scotland to assist on the farm with such endeavours as trying to raise sheep from Kentucky.
Later, he was transferred to the Montreal area out of frustration with the farm's failure and his dislike of Red River Colony society.
In 1839, McMillan retired to Scotland where he lived with his Scottish wife, Eleanor McKinley, with whom he had eight children.
He also fathered at least four North American children stemming from relations with native women from the Columbia Region, Saskatchewan and Fort George. One of whom, William McMillan, was a co-signatory to the Métis
petition for special status, 1845.
In his final years, McMillan contributed to Simpson's Narrative of a journey round the world, during the years 1841 and 1842, and kept apprised of events in the fur trade through Simpson and others. He died in 1858 in Perth, Scotland
.
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
and Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
. He led some of the earliest surveys
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
of the lower Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
and founded Fort Langley
Fort Langley National Historic Site
Fort Langley is a former trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, now located in the village of Fort Langley, British Columbia. Commonly referred to as "the birthplace of British Columbia", it is designated a National Historic Site of Canada and administered by Parks Canada.-A new fort:After John...
for the HBC in 1827, and was its first Chief Trader.
Early life and first Fraser River expedition
Born in Scotland, McMillan moved to North America at about age 20 and began work as a clerk for the North West Company in what is now SaskatchewanSaskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. Notably, he joined David Thompson
David Thompson (explorer)
David Thompson was an English-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, known to some native peoples as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer"...
's 1808 North West Company expedition west across the Rocky Mountains.
Later, he assisted in purchasing Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
from the Pacific Fur Company
Pacific Fur Company
The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half of the stock was ascribed to working partners...
. In June 1824, following the merger of the North West Company and the HBC, McMillan accompanied HBC Governor George Simpson
George Simpson (administrator)
Sir George Simpson was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwest Territories and Columbia Department in British North America from 1821 to 1860.-Early years:George Simpson was born in Dingwall,...
from York Factory
York Factory, Manitoba
York Factory was a settlement and factory located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. The settlement was headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Northern Department, from 1821 to...
far west to the lower Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, arriving in Fort George
Fort Astoria
Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Company's primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast. After a short two-year term of US ownership, the British owned and operated it for 33 years. It was the first British port on the Pacific coast...
on November 8 of that year.
Simpson described McMillan as a “Staunch & Manly Friend and Fellow Traveller”.
Ten days later, Simpson assigned McMillan with commanding an expedition to survey the mouth of the Fraser River and assess it for navigability, settlement potential and agricultural suitability. He led an exploration party of 40 men from Fort George to Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
and on to Mud Bay, just east of present day Point Roberts. On local advice of a shortcut, McMillan's party proceeded east up the Nicomekl River
Nicomekl River
The Nicomekl River springs from the ground in Langley, British Columbia and travels west through the city to Surrey's Crescent Beach, where it empties into Mud Bay, the northernmost section of the Boundary Bay of the Georgia Strait. It has a total length of 34 km, with a drainage area of...
through what is now South Surrey
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the governing body of the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
where they then portaged to the Fraser River. The expedition traveled and surveyed up the Fraser River as far as Hatzic Slough, before returning to Fort George.
he was killed in 1875
Founding of Fort Langley
On June 27, 1827, McMillan was again dispatched north from the Columbia River by Simpson, this time to establish a Hudson's Bay Company presence on the lower Fraser River. After leaving Fort VancouverFort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
, McMillan, his 25-man party and two small boats arrived at Port Orchard
Port Orchard, Washington
Port Orchard is a city in and the county seat of Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located 13 miles due west of West Seattle and connected to Seattle and Vashon Island via the Washington State Ferries run to Southworth...
on Puget Sound on July 4. There they camped, awaiting the newly acquired HBC sailing vessel the Cadboro, loaded with horses and supplies, which had departed Fort Vancouver on June 24 to rendezvous with McMillan's party via the open Pacific Ocean. After waiting six days, the Cadboro finally arrived at Port Orchard on July 10.
When the ship approached the mouth of the Fraser River, McMillan set out looking for suitable locations for the establishment of the Fort. He found none in the immediate vicinity of the river's mouth and the Cadboro was unable to gain navigable access to the Fraser River for several days until a channel was discovered. Meanwhile, in the smaller boats, and proceeding further up river, McMillan surveyed several potential locations for the new fort on July 27-28. It was around this time that McMillan Island
McMillan Island
McMillan Island is an island in the Fraser River. Located to the north of Fort Langley and south of Maple Ridge.-Overview:McMillan Island is located in the lower Fraser River, north of Fort Langley and south of Maple Ridge...
was named for him. Other islands named during this survey of the river were Barnston Island (for clerk George Barnston
George Barnston
George Barnston was a fur trader and a naturalist born in Edinburgh, Scotland.Barnston was trained as a surveyor and army engineer. He joined the North West Company in 1820 and was retained by the Hudson’s Bay Company after the 1821 amalgamation...
) and Annacis Island
Annacis Island
Annacis Island is an island located in the South Arm of the Fraser River in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. The island is now mostly industrial, and it contains one of the Metro Vancouver's secondary wastewater treatment plants...
(for Clerk Francois Noel Annance).
Unfortunately, the Cadboro was unable to weigh anchor close enough to shore to safely unload cargo at the site McMillan had preferred to establish the Fort. The next day it sailed downriver to another spot on the south side of the Fraser, which McMillan had remarked upon earlier. This location was just west of the Salmon River's confluence with the Fraser in an area later to be known as Derby. On Monday July 30, McMillan's party unloaded horses at the site and the laborious clearance of the forest commenced. The first post of the Fort was cut on August 1, 1827. On August 13, the first bastion of the fort—deemed to be the priority as a consequence of rumours of a pending massacre by Indians—was completed.
Chief Factor of Fort Langley (1827-1828)
In the weeks and months immediately following the erection of the Fort, McMillan watched as the horses perished in the wilderness conditions, noted a minor earthquake, and described the scene around the Fort once as "dull and monotonous."However, on Christmas Eve, 1827, a surprise visit was paid by HBC Chief Trader Alexander Mackenzie from Fort Vancouver. His party having been pinned in by ice at the mouth of the Fraser River, and apparently robbed and threatened by the Musqueam, Mackenzie dispatched a sympathetic Kwantlen
Kwantlen
Kwantlen may refer to one of the following:*Kwantlen people, an indigenous Coast Salish people in British Columbia*Kwantlen First Nation, the band government of the Kwantlen people...
to convey a distress message to McMillan at Fort Langley. Upon receiving the message, McMillan sent an armed party to recover Mackenzie who was later greeted at the fort by a beaming McMillan.
Following a celebratory holiday fueled by liquor recently delivered to the Fort, McMillan opted to return to Fort Vancouver with Mackenzie and show off Fort Langley's haul of 1,200 furs. However, stranded at Point Roberts in stormy weather for 10 days, McMillan returned to Fort Langley with the furs, while Mackenzie and his group continued onto Fort Vancouver.
Rumour soon reached McMillan that Mackenzie's party had been massacred on the shores of Puget Sound en route back to the Columbia River, which later proved true.
In October 1828, McMillan was transferred out of Fort Langley by Sir George Simpson. It is unclear whether he requested the transfer or was assigned elsewhere. He was replaced by Archibald McDonald
Archibald McDonald
Archibald McDonald was Chief Trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Langley, Fort Nisqually and Fort Colville and one-time deputy governor of the Red River Settlement.-Early life:...
.
Red River Colony, personal life and final years
McMillan went on to become a Chief Factor at the HBC's Red River ColonyRed River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
, and he was brought in to manage a failed experimental farm at St. James on the Assiniboine River
Assiniboine River
The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...
. In his efforts, he even enlisted a cousin, Robert Campbell from Scotland to assist on the farm with such endeavours as trying to raise sheep from Kentucky.
Later, he was transferred to the Montreal area out of frustration with the farm's failure and his dislike of Red River Colony society.
In 1839, McMillan retired to Scotland where he lived with his Scottish wife, Eleanor McKinley, with whom he had eight children.
He also fathered at least four North American children stemming from relations with native women from the Columbia Region, Saskatchewan and Fort George. One of whom, William McMillan, was a co-signatory to the Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
petition for special status, 1845.
In his final years, McMillan contributed to Simpson's Narrative of a journey round the world, during the years 1841 and 1842, and kept apprised of events in the fur trade through Simpson and others. He died in 1858 in Perth, Scotland
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
.