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In
the company of adventurers Orkney
archivist Phil Astley recalls his six weeks spent in Winnipeg researching
the goldmine of information at the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives
During the summer months, the lilt of Canadian accents excitedly discussing the finer details of family histories is a familiar sound in the archive department of the Orkney Library. The majority of these transatlantic visitors are the legacy of a most remarkable historical connection between Orkney and the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). Incorporated by Royal Charter in 1670, the ‘Company of Adventurers of England Tradeing into Hudson’s Bay’ was born out of the demand in European markets for furs, especially that of the beaver, the fine undercoat of which was used in the manufacture of hats. In the course of its fur-trading activities, the company became a vast commercial enterprise, forging the nation of Canada in the process. At its height, its domain encompassed nearly three million square miles or one-twelfth of the earth’s landmass. With trading posts at one point stretching from the Arctic Ocean to Hawaii, it is the largest corporate landowner the world has ever known. Crucial Orkneymen were absolutely crucial to this success, being the mainstay of the company’s labour force during the 18th and 19th centuries. While this connection between such a small group of islands and such a massive commercial empire may at first glance appear a little idiosyncratic, it was born out of a happy combination of geography and the tough constitution of the Orkney male. Habit By 1700, HBC ships were already in the habit of stopping at Stromness on their way north from London in order to pick up last minute supplies before striking out across the Atlantic. In 1702 the company ship was instructed to hire a dozen or so young men for the bay on its stop here – thus began a relationship that was to last almost 200 years.
Orkneymen were favoured as employees because, in the words of a contemporary account of 1794, they were “more sober and tractable than the Irish, and they engage for lower wages than either the English or Irish.” By 1799, out of a total of 530 persons employed at the company’s fur trading posts in North America, a staggering 416 (or very nearly 80 per cent) hailed from these islands. Mercifully for the historian, the company was a stickler for record-keeping: ships' log books, maps, servants’ contracts and journals detailing daily life and events at its trading posts were among the documents generated. Interwoven These, along with many other series of records, now comprise the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (HBCA), part of the Provincial Archives of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Because the history of the company is so closely interwoven with that of Canada, the HBCA is a unique and priceless repository, chronicling the birth and infancy of a nation. With Orcadians having once played such a fundamental role in the company, it also tells their story. The aim of building on this historical connection and establishing a much stronger working relationship between the Orkney Library and Archives and the HBCA began to take shape a year ago. It seemed logical to me that by combining forces, our two repositories would be able to offer an enhanced level of service to family historians, academics and other researchers. Furthermore, it presented an ideal opportunity to build on the Friendship Agreement between Orkney and the Province of Manitoba, signed in 1999 during the ‘Orkney Homecoming’. By fostering and developing these links there exists a tremendous potential to benefit the wider economy of Orkney by boosting the number of ‘genealogical tourists’ coming here in the future. Arduous Two hundred years ago, the journey from Orkney to what is now the city of Winnipeg would have been a dangerous and arduous one. A six-week voyage across the Atlantic to York Factory on the western shore of Hudson’s Bay would have then been followed by a 1,000 mile trek up the meandering Hayes River by canoe or York boat to Lake Winnipeg, and thence up the Red River, at the lake’s southern end, to the final destination. For a young recruit to the Hudson’s Bay Company (and remember many were only 14 or 15 when they joined) it must have been like going to the moon. Yet it was a journey familiar to many of the hundreds of Orkneymen who signed five-year contracts with the company’s agent in Stromness as labourers, blacksmiths and coopers. Needless to say, when I set off for Winnipeg in July of this year I counted my blessings that I was flying, rather than sailing on an HBC vessel. Re-enacted Coincidentally, when I arrived in Winnipeg in mid-July, the latter part of this journey was being re-enacted for a forthcoming television series entitled “Quest for the Bay.” Eight hardy souls were braving the heat and mosquitoes, taking a fully laden York boat (which is based on an Orkney design) from Winnipeg to York Factory, using only the tools, clothes and food that the early 19th century fur traders would have been familiar with. The daily reports of their progress, or sometimes lack of it, in the local newspaper, The Winnipeg Free Press, were a frequent reminder to me of how incredibly tough the employees of the HBC must have been. The authenticity of this re-enactment depended heavily on records held in the HBCA. They were able to provide information regarding the route, clothing and diet, which consisted largely of pemmican, a vile but nutritious concoction of pounded dried buffalo meat mixed with fat and berries. Inquiries While such a project may be a little out of the ordinary, the 15 or so staff of the HBCA deal with a huge range of inquiries. These come not only from the occasional television company, but also from researchers as diverse as climatologists, aboriginal people wishing to establish land-right claims, authors and of course genealogists.
The building that houses the HBCA and the Provincial Archives of Manitoba is situated in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, and is a Mecca for these researchers. Originally built in 1932 as a civic auditorium it was converted to its present function, opening to the public in 1975. Incidentally, while it no longer has any connections to the fur-trade, the Hudson’s Bay Company is still operating after 331 years. The Winnipeg department store is barely a minute’s walk away from the archive, lending an almost surreal sense of continuity. Privilege With the rare privilege of having a free rein to rummage around in the vaults of this, one of the world’s most prestigious archives, I quickly became aware that during this six-week stint I would barely have time to scratch the surface of the 2km worth of records, so saturated are they with references to Orkney and Orcadians. The staff of the HBCA are acutely aware of the significance of the Orkney connection, although the interpretation of some of the personal and place-names which we take for granted, naturally present problems for them. Consequently, the opportunity for them to tap my local knowledge was enthusiastically accepted, helping enormously with work on a number of different series of records, most notably the contracts signed between the company and the employees. Incidentally, many of these contain the farm name where the employee hailed from, making it possible to pinpoint their exact origins, something of inestimable value to the genealogist. Sons While records such as the contracts and the abstracts of servants' accounts often provide the only information that can be gleaned about the rank and file employees of the company, the HBCA also holds details of some of Orkney’s more famous sons, such as William Tomison and the Arctic explorer John Rae. Tomison joined the company in 1760, and rose to the position of “Chief Inland from York Factory.” The journals he wrote in around 1800 at Cumberland House (in what is now northern Saskatchewan) convey a very vivid impression of what life was like for the pioneers of the Canadian west. Not only do they detail daily life and events, but provide fascinating insights into Tomison’s relationship with the Indian population for example, and how alcohol was an ever-present lubricant for the wheels of the fur trade. Experience The experience of interacting with these journals and other items, such as a map of the Northern Hemisphere on which John Rae himself had drawn the routes of his Arctic journeys, is one that I will not forget.
Gaining an overview of the records was only one aspect of my work at the HBCA however, which also included a number of promotional activities to raise awareness of the Orkney-HBC connection. Though not in the habit of reading telephone directories, a quick flick through the one covering Winnipeg provided a graphic illustration of just how many Cloustons, Fletts, Isbisters, Rendalls and Sinclairs were out there as a potential audience. The ‘Red River Rendezvous’ is an event that takes place in early August every year at Lower Fort Garry, the oldest intact stone fur-trading post in North America, located some 20km north of Winnipeg. Members of groups such as the Manitoba Living History Society congregate here for the weekend to re-enact scenes and events similar to those that may have taken place 150 years ago. It is an event that attracts a lot of public interest, and one at which the HBCA always has a static display which this year had a distinct Orkney theme to it. The one proviso for Judith Beattie (Keeper of the HBCA) and me staffing this display at the rendezvous was that we, too, had to dress in period costume. We received an excellent response from the 300 or so members of the public that we spoke to, with at least one woman being fooled by my clothes, asking me whether I was “for real”! At the same event I also fell into conversation with a reporter from The Winnipeg Free Press, which later that week ran a large article about the Orcadian employees of the HBC and my work at the archives. On the strength of this article, the media exposure snowballed to include interviews on two radio stations in Winnipeg, one on a station broadcasting to northern Manitoba and finally a 25-minute slot on national Canadian radio. Surge This excellent coverage certainly achieved the desired effect of publicising the work of the HBCA and the Orkney Library and Archives, resulting in a surge of inquiries from those interested in their Orkney roots. Successful though it was, this project was never envisaged as an end in itself, rather the start of much greater co-operation between our two archives. The Orkney Library and Archives is deeply indebted to Orkney Heritage Society, The Robertson Ness Trust, Kirkwall Community Council and Orkney Islands Council whose assistance allowed it to be realised. Future Looking to the future, our plans include writing an Orkney section for the excellent HBCA website (www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/index.html) the pages of which receive an incredible 40,000 hits per month, while efforts are already under way to share relevant resources. Just as I benefited both professionally and personally from the opportunity to work in Canada and to experience some of the landscape and places which dominate the history of the fur-trade, so it is hoped that a future reciprocal work experience opportunity can be provided for one or more of the HBCA staff here in Orkney. Memories One of my abiding memories of this visit is that of standing in the graveyard of St. Andrew’s Church, set in a beautiful location on the banks of the Red River, surrounded by the tombstones of Corrigalls, Fletts, Taits and other Orcadians, many of whom had served with the HBC during the 19th century. Despite the fact that it was 35 degrees centigrade and there was not a breath of wind, I had to pinch myself to remind me that I was not standing in the kirkyard of an Orkney parish. By building on the momentum generated by this project, this is one historical connection that has a very bright future. |
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©
The Orcadian Limited, Hell's Half Acre, Hatston, Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland
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