William Williams (1771–1837)
| William Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1771-04-03 Shirley, London, England |
| Died | 1837-01-14 Brixton, London, England |
| Occupation | Governor, Hudson's Bay Company; ship's captain |
William Williams (3 April 1771 – 14 January 1837 (aged 65)) was an English mariner and fur-trade administrator who served as governor-in-chief of Rupert's Land for the Hudson's Bay Company from 1818, and later as governor of the company's Southern Department from 1822 to 1826, a territory that included Fort William.[1]
Early life and maritime career
Williams was born on 3 April 1771 in Shirley, London.[1] He entered the service of the East India Company, likely as a ship's captain, and made voyages to India between 1788 and 1799. Captain John Franklin later described him as "an expert sailor."[1]
Governor of Rupert's Land
On 20 May 1818 the Hudson's Bay Company engaged Williams as governor-in-chief of Rupert's Land at a salary of £1,000 per year, seeking, in the company's own words, "a man...whose talents & habits of life are calculated to command obedience & to insure strict Discipline."[1] He arrived at York Factory in August 1818 aboard the Prince of Wales and established his headquarters at Cumberland House in what is now Saskatchewan.
Williams was placed in charge of the Athabasca campaign against the North West Company during the fierce competition for the fur trade. In June 1819 he led a party that captured several Nor'Westers at Grand Rapids, executing warrants for the arrest of men including John George McTavish and Angus Shaw.[1]
Southern Department
Following the 1821 amalgamation of the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, Williams was appointed governor of the HBC's Southern Department at £1,200 annually.[1] This posting placed him in command of the territory east of Rainy Lake, encompassing Fort William and Moose Factory; George Simpson governed the larger Northern Department.
Williams arrived at Moose Factory on 10 July 1822 to take up his new command. He worked alongside council members including Thomas Vincent and Angus Bethune. The arrangement had been made by Nicholas Garry, who regarded Williams as "a disruptive force" best separated from the northern trade.[1]
Friction developed between Williams and Simpson over departmental boundaries and transport methods. Simpson, diplomatically more adept and favoured by Andrew Colvile of the London committee, steadily outmanoeuvred his more outspoken colleague. When Simpson travelled to London in the autumn of 1825, he used the opportunity to brief the committee on the underperformance of the Southern Department. He returned in early 1826 with a dispatch recalling Williams to London. Williams departed Moose Factory on 9 September 1826 with his family.[1]
Personal life
While in the fur trade, Williams took Sally, a daughter of the surveyor Peter Fidler, as a country wife; they had two children together. After his posting to the Southern Department his English wife joined him, arriving in 1822, and a son was born to them at Moose Factory.[1]
Later life
On his release from the company Williams received an annuity of £300 for six years. By August 1835, however, he was destitute: he had invested his retirement allowance with the banker Rowland Stephenson, whose financial failure wiped out his savings. Williams died in poverty at Brixton, London, on 14 January 1837.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Shirlee Anne Smith."Shirlee Anne Smith, "WILLIAMS, WILLIAM," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1988.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
Archival sources consulted by the DCB biographer include records at the British Library India Office Library (IOR, L/MAR series), the Public Archives of Canada (MG 19, E1), and the Hudson's Bay Company Archives at the Provincial Archives of Manitoba (HBCA, A and B and C and D series).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
External links
- ↑ "Hudson's Bay Company Archives."[record].A.1/51–55; A.5/7–8; A.6/19–21; A.8/1; A.10/3–4; B.22/a/21; B.39/a/14; B.49/a/34–37; B.51/a/2; B.135/k/1; C.1/229; C.1/787–788; D.1/1; D.1/4; D.1/7; D.1/c/1.Provincial Archives of Manitoba, Winnipeg.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "India Office Records, L/MAR/C series."[record].IOR, L/MAR/C/656: 207; L/MAR/C/657: 54, 209; L/MAR/C/669, no.293.British Library, India Office Library and Records, London.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Selkirk Papers."[record].MG 19, E1, ser.1: 8037–38.Library and Archives Canada (Public Archives of Canada), Ottawa.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Franklin, John."Narrative of a journey to the shores of the polar sea in the years 1819, 20, 21 and 22."[book].1824.2nd ed., 2 vols., London, 1824; vol. 1: 100.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Garry, Nicholas; ed. F. N. A. Garry."Diary of Nicholas Garry, deputy-governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1822–1835."[book].Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, 2nd ser., 6 (1900), sect. ii.pp. 155, 166.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Hudson's Bay Record Society publications."[book].HBRS, vols. 1–3 (ed. Rich; Rich and Fleming; Fleming).(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Morton, A. S.."A History of the Canadian West."[book].1939.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Rich, E. E.."History of the Hudson's Bay Company."[book].1960.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Van Kirk, Sylvia.""Many tender ties": Women in Fur-Trade Society in Western Canada, 1670–1870."[book].(Rights: unknown | Access: open)