Michel Klyne
Encyclopedia
Michel Klyne was an employee of the North West Company
and later the Hudson's Bay Company
, serving as postmaster at Jasper House
in the Rocky Mountains
.
, and his French Canadian wife, Marie-Geneviève (née Bisson). He had one sister, also named Marie-Geneviève, and several half-siblings through his father.
. He served as postmaster for 11 years, from 1824 to 1835. Alberta's Cline River
and Mount Cline
were named in his honor (using a variant spelling of his surname), as well as "Old Klyne's Trail", a trail running along the Cline river valley from the Kootenay Plains to the Athabasca River
.
family
. They had ten children, including Jane Klyne McDonald, wife of Archibald McDonald
of the Hudson's Bay Company, and George Klyne
, MLA
(1871-74) for Ste. Agathe, Manitoba
.
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 later the 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...
, serving as postmaster at Jasper House
Jasper House
Jasper House National Historic Site, in Jasper National Park, Alberta, is the site of a trading post on the Athabasca River that functioned in two different locations from 1813 to 1884 as a major staging and supply post for travel through the Canadian Rockies.The post was originally named Rocky...
in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Early life
Klyne was born in the Province of Quebec in 1781, son of a Hessian soldier, Johan Adam Klein (or Jean Adam Klyne) who fought in the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, and his French Canadian wife, Marie-Geneviève (née Bisson). He had one sister, also named Marie-Geneviève, and several half-siblings through his father.
The North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company
Klyne entered the employ of the North West Company in the late 1790s as a fur trader. Following the 1821 merger of the NWC and the HBC, he was put in charge of Jasper House, near modern Jasper, AlbertaJasper, Alberta
Jasper is a specialized municipality in western Alberta, Canada. It is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park, located in the Canadian Rockies in the Athabasca River valley....
. He served as postmaster for 11 years, from 1824 to 1835. Alberta's Cline River
Cline River
The Cline River is a short river in western Alberta, Canada. It flows from Pinto Lake in northern Banff National Park, and joins the North Saskatchewan River at Lake Abraham in west-central Alberta....
and Mount Cline
Mount Cline
Mount Cline is a mountain in western Alberta, Canada, north of Saskatchewan Crossing, southwest of Nordegg.The mountain is located in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, west of Resolute Mountain. It was named in 1898 by J. Norman Collie, after Michel Klyne , French Canadian postmaster of...
were named in his honor (using a variant spelling of his surname), as well as "Old Klyne's Trail", a trail running along the Cline river valley from the Kootenay Plains to the Athabasca River
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada...
.
Personal life
In 1807, Klyne married Suzanne Lafrance, daughter of a prominent MétisMétis 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...
family
Joseph La France
Joseph La France, , was a Metis fur trader in Canada, and an explorer of the inland route from Montreal to Hudson Bay....
. They had ten children, including Jane Klyne McDonald, wife of 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:...
of the Hudson's Bay Company, and George Klyne
George Klyne
George Klyne was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba .-Early life:Klyne was born in 1828, son of French Canadian Michel Klyne, the HBC postmaster at Jasper House, and his Métis wife, Suzanne . He had thirteen siblings, including Jane Klyne, later wife of Archibald McDonald of the...
, MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
(1871-74) for Ste. Agathe, Manitoba
Ste. Agathe, Manitoba
Ste. Agathe is a primarily francophone community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located along the Red River in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot....
.