James Keith (1782–1851)
| James Keith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1782-03-12 Netherthird, parish of Auchterless, Scotland |
| Died | 1851-01-27 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Occupation | Fur trader; chief factor |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
James Keith (12 March 1782 – 27 January 1851 (aged 68)) was a Scottish-born fur trader who rose to become a partner in the North West Company and later a chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, with career postings spanning the Pacific Coast, Athabasca country, and the Montreal department.
Early life
Keith was born on 12 March 1782 at Netherthird in the parish of Auchterless, Scotland, the son of James Keith and Isabella Bruce.[1] In 1799 he was brought to North America by Forsyth, Richardson and Company as an apprentice clerk, travelling with Edward Smith and A. Wilkie.[1] He proceeded to Grand Portage in 1800 and to the English River department the following year.[1]
Career in the fur trade
North West Company
Following the 1804 amalgamation of the New North West Company and the North West Company, Keith continued in NWC service at various interior posts.[1] In 1813 he was sent to the Columbia River district alongside Alexander Henry the Younger and Alexander Stewart to reinforce Pacific operations, arriving at Fort George in November of that year.[1] At the annual company meeting held at Fort William in July 1814, he was elevated to NWC partner together with Angus Bethune, Alexander Greenfield Macdonell, John McLoughlin, and Edward Smith.[1] He returned to the Columbia department before year's end and managed NWC Pacific business from 1816 to 1821. His superior William McGillivray, the NWC chief director, judged him free of blame for trade difficulties attributed to poor relations with Indigenous peoples, dissension among officers, unsuitable staff, and weak markets in China.[1]
During his time in the Columbia department, Keith entered into a country marriage — customary among fur traders — with the second daughter of Jean-Baptiste Cadot.[1] Two children were born of this union: Helen (born 1811) and Mary (born 1814), both of whom were raised under the supervision of Keith's brother George Keith.[1]
Hudson's Bay Company
When the NWC merged with the HBC in March 1821, Keith was among the 25 men appointed chief factor.[1] He accepted his commission on 11 July 1821 at Fort William.[1][2] After a period of recuperation in England, he was assigned to the Severn district at Fort Severn, and subsequently transferred to Fort Chipewyan in Athabasca country.[1]
Keith's district reports reflected concern about the social effects of the trade on Indigenous communities. He issued regulations aimed at the "more effectual civilization and moral improvement" of company families and Indigenous peoples, and sought to reform Indigenous economic practices by raising fur prices, reducing gifts and credit advances, and restricting the distribution of alcohol.[1]
Montreal department
Administrative reforms in 1826 placed all HBC North American operations under the tightened authority of Governor George Simpson, and in 1827 Keith was posted to Montreal as superintendent of the Montreal department.[1] He managed the Lachine office from early 1827 to September 1835 and again from April 1837 to September 1843.[1] His duties encompassed the unprofitable trading operations in the Ottawa valley and the king's posts, the hiring of wintering traders, and oversight of lower St. Lawrence and Labrador fisheries and the fur trade.[1] He negotiated HBC king's post leases in 1830–31 and 1841–42, handled government correspondence, and provided informal investment and business management services to isolated inland officers.[1]
Keith resigned from the HBC effective 31 May 1845 and returned to Scotland.[1] His estate, valued at approximately £15,000 in secured shares and debentures in English, Canadian, and Scottish corporations, was distributed among Scottish relatives and his North American descendants.[1][3]
Character assessments
Governor Simpson's 1832 character assessment described Keith as "a scrupulously correct honourable man" who refused to compromise his principles.[4] His assistant Thomas Simpson, writing in 1829–30, offered the less flattering verdict of "a dried spider."[1] Keith himself acknowledged suffering from "low spirits and certain nervous affections" throughout his years in Indian Country.[1] Despite what colleagues described as an acerbic manner, he was widely regarded as discreet and generous both to his Scottish family and to his children from his country marriage.[1]
Personal life
On 8 July 1845, following his resignation from the HBC, Keith married his second cousin Susan Angus in Scotland, and the couple settled in Aberdeen.[1]
References
[1] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 Philip Goldring."Philip Goldring, "KEITH, JAMES," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1985.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ "Nicholas Garry journal, 1821."[record].Parks Canada, National Historical Parks and Sites Branch, Ottawa.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "James Keith's estate trust papers."[record].Aberdeen University Library, Aberdeen, Scotland.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Glyndwr Williams, ed.."Simpson's "Character Book"."[book].Hudson's Bay Record Society, vol. 30.1975.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Davidson and Garden manuscripts."[record].AUM, P 58.Aberdeen University Library, Aberdeen, Scotland.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Auchterless, Register of births and baptisms."[record].1782-03-20.General Register Office, Edinburgh.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "MG 19, A7; A41 (microfilm); B1; C1."[record].Public Archives of Canada.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "HBCA: A.11/28: ff.18–171; A.36/8: ff.36–61d; B.134/b/1–9; B.198/e/6."[record].Provincial Archives of Manitoba, Hudson's Bay Company Archives.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ W. Stewart Wallace, ed.."Documents Relating to the North West Company."[book].The Champlain Society.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ E. E. Rich and Harvey Fleming, eds.."Hudson's Bay Record Society, vols. 2, 3."[book].Hudson's Bay Record Society.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Alexander Ross."The Fur Hunters of the Far West: A Narrative of Adventures in the Oregon and Rocky Mountains."[book].1855.vol. 1, London.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ H. H. Bancroft and H. L. Oak."History of the Northwest Coast."[book].1884.vol. 2, San Francisco.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)