John Work (fur trader) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Work
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Fur trader and Pacific Northwest explorer
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| Born |
John Wark
~1792 Taughboyne parish, St Johnstown, County Donegal, Ireland
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| Died | 22 December 1861 (aged 68–69) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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| Occupation | Fur trader |
| Employer | Hudson's Bay Company |
| Known for | Exploring the Oregon Country |
| Title | Chief Factor |
| Board member of | Legislative Council of Vancouver Island |
| Spouse(s) | Josette Legacé |
| Children | 11 |
John Work (born around 1792 – died 1861) was an important leader in the Hudson's Bay Company. He was also one of the first people to start a family in Victoria, British Columbia. John Work joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1814. He worked in many different roles until he passed away in 1861.
He became a top manager for the company's Western Department. He also served on Vancouver Island’s Legislative Council, which was like a local government. When he died, John Work owned the most private land on Vancouver Island. He left behind 16 journals. These journals tell the story of his trading trips from 1823 to 1851. They give us a detailed look at the land, native peoples, and fur trading business in the Pacific Northwest during the early 1800s.
Contents
John Work's Early Life
John Work was born in a place called Taughboyne parish, St Johnstown, in County Donegal, Ireland. He was probably born in 1792. He was the oldest of six children. His birth name was John Wark, but he changed it to "Work" when he joined the Hudson's Bay Company. We don't have records of his schooling. However, people later thought his writing showed he didn't get much education. John Work joined the Hudson's Bay Company on June 15, 1814. This happened in Stromness in the Orkney Islands. This was the start of his long career with the company.
John Work's Career as a Fur Trader
John Work started his work in North America at two posts on Hudson Bay. First, he was a steward at York Factory in 1814 and 1815. Then, he moved to a junior trader job at Severn House. He became the district master there in 1818. In 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company joined with the North West Company. Work stayed on as a senior clerk. He was put in charge of the Island Lake District until 1823.
In 1823, Work was sent to the Columbia District. He traveled west with a group led by Peter Skene Ogden. On this trip, Work started writing a travel journal. It was a detailed record of his journey to the Columbia River. He traveled by way of the Athabasca River and Athabasca Pass. His group reached a place called Boat Encampment on the Columbia on October 13. They continued down the river with a Hudson's Bay Company trading group. The party reached the Spokane River on October 21. From there, Ogden and Work traveled over land to their winter home. This was Spokane House in what is now eastern Washington state.
During the 1824 trapping season, Work helped Finan McDonald. They expanded the company's fur trade into the Flathead country of Montana. In the fall of 1824, Work went with Governor George Simpson and Chief Factor John McLoughlin. They traveled down the Columbia River to the company's main office. This was Fort George (now Astoria, Oregon). In November 1824, Work joined an expedition. It was led by Chief Trader James McMillan. They explored the lower Fraser River to find a good spot for a big trading post. On the way back, his group found the Cowlitz Portage. This became an important route between the Columbia River and Puget Sound. In the spring of 1825, Work helped move the company's main office. It moved from Fort George to the new Fort Vancouver. This fort was on the north bank of the Columbia, facing the Willamette River.
Later that year, Work was put in charge of Spokane House. Work spent the 1825–26 trapping season trading furs in Montana. He reopened Flathead House there. But his most important job was to build a new post on the Columbia. This was near Kettle Falls and was named Fort Colvile. After finishing Fort Colvile, Work closed Spokane House in April 1826. Work ran his trading operations from Fort Colvile until the summer of 1829. He often made short trading trips into British Columbia. He also went with fur shipments to Fort Vancouver.
In 1830, Work was promoted to Chief Trader. John McLoughlin put Work in charge of the Snake country trading group. This group had been led by Peter Skene Ogden. The next year, Work traveled over 2,000 miles. He went across Oregon into what is now eastern Idaho, western Montana, and northwestern Utah. He also traveled along the Humboldt River in Nevada. His trips made money for the company. However, Ogden had already explored and trapped many furs in these areas. Because of this, Work suggested stopping the yearly Snake country trips. The next year, Work was sent to the Salmon River area of Idaho and Montana's Flathead country. The land was rough, and the Blackfeet Indians were sometimes unfriendly. There was also competition from American trappers. These things made the trips hard. Work was promoted to Chief Trader at the end of the 1831 season.
In 1832, the Hudson's Bay Company sent Work to the Sacramento Valley in Mexican California. Trapping furs in the valley was very difficult. Two earlier Hudson's Bay Company trips had already been through the valley in 1829 and 1830. These were led by Ogden and Alexander Roderick McLeod. There was also another Hudson's Bay Company group led by Michel Laframboise. An American trapping group was also in the same area during the 1832 season. Unfriendly Indians forced Work and Laframboise to join their groups. Their combined group explored the coast from San Francisco to Cape Mendocino. Work returned to Fort Vancouver in October 1833.
In 1834, Work was sent to Fort Simpson. He was put in charge of the company's trade along the British Columbia coast. He oversaw building the fort, which was moved from the Nass River to McLoughlin Bay. In 1840, during a trading trip, Work fell out of a tree. He was badly hurt, tearing open his stomach. After pushing his insides back into his body, he was close to death for several days. But he managed to continue his journey.
In 1841, Governor Simpson decided to close most of the coastal posts. Only Fort Simpson and Fort Stikine stayed open. His plan was to use the company's ship Beaver for most of the coastal trade. In 1842, John McLoughlin's son was in charge of Fort Stikine. Work felt he needed more help. So, he arranged for a junior clerk at Fort Stikine to move to Fort Simpson. This left young McLoughlin without any company support at his post. A few months later, McLoughlin was murdered. His powerful father blamed Work for moving his son's only helper away from Fort Stikine. Also, it took Work over a year to catch the three men involved in the murder. He then sent them south to Fort Vancouver. Work's relationship with McLoughlin never got better. Luckily for Work, McLoughlin left the company in 1846. A month later, Work was promoted to Chief Factor.
In 1845, the Hudson's Bay Company decided to have three Chief Factors run the Columbia Department. In 1846, Work, Ogden, and James Douglas were chosen to lead the department. Work was put in charge of the coastal trade. This included Forts Simpson, Fort Stikine, Fort Langley, and the ship Beaver. Work's new job meant a lot of travel up and down the coast. In 1849, Work decided to close Fort Stikine. He chose to build Fort Rupert instead. This was to use the coal found on the northern part of Vancouver Island. When the miners went on strike in 1850, Work traveled by canoe from Fort Simpson to Fort Victoria. He went to talk with Douglas. Then he went by canoe to Fort Rupert. He successfully convinced the miners to go back to work. In 1849, Work moved his large family to Fort Victoria. This was so his children could get an education. However, Fort Simpson remained his main office until 1851.
In 1852, Work bought 823 acres of farmland north of Fort Victoria. He built a nice home there. A year later, Governor James Douglas appointed Work to the Legislative Council of Vancouver Island. This council helped govern the area. Work supported Douglas when there was an argument about David Cameron becoming the chief justice of Vancouver Island. Work was against creating an assembly for the colony. He thought there were "so few people to govern" and "nobody to pay taxes to cover expenses." Work also continued his duties as Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company. He acted as a trustee for its Fur Trade Branch. This branch bought land for settlers who couldn't afford the required 20-acre lots, which cost £1 per acre. For two months in 1861, Work was acting governor while Douglas was away. Work remained both a Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company and a member of the Legislative Council until he died in December 1861.
John Work's Family Life
In 1825, Governor Simpson suggested that Work marry the daughter of a Cayuse Indian chief. This was to help keep good relations with the Native Americans living along the Columbia River. Work did not follow the governor's advice. Instead, he married Josette Legace in 1826. She was a mixed-blood woman from the Spokane tribe.
Work's wife went with him on many of his trading trips. Also, she and their younger children lived with him at Fort Simpson from 1836 until 1849. Their older children went to school at Fort Vancouver. Then they went to the Methodist mission school on the Willamette River. This is near what is now Salem, Oregon. After finishing school in 1841, the older girls joined the family at Fort Simpson.
In 1849, Work moved his family to Fort Victoria. This was so the younger children could get an education. Work settled his family on an 823-acre farm north of the fort. He built a large home there, which he called Hillside. By 1859, he owned over 1,800 acres. This made him the largest private landowner on Vancouver Island.
Because of his faraway jobs and constant travel, Work and his wife could not have a formal wedding until 1849. The couple finally married in a church ceremony on November 6, 1849, at Fort Victoria.
Work was the father of eleven children: three boys and eight girls.
- Jane, born at Fort Colvile in 1827, married William Fraser Tolmie in 1850.
- Sarah, born at Fort Colvile in 1829, married Roderick Finlayson in 1849.
- Leticia, born in Idaho in 1831, married Edward Huggins in 1857.
- Margaret, born at Fort Vancouver in 1836, married E. Jackson in 1861.
- Mary, born at Fort Simpson in 1837, married J. Grahame in 1860.
- John, born at Fort Simpson in 1839.
- Catherine, born at Fort Simpson between 1840 and 1842, married C. Wallace in 1861.
- Suzette, born at Fort Victoria in 1843, married Edward Gawler Prior in 1878.
- Henry, born at Fort Simpson in 1844 or 1845 (died young in an accident).
- David, born at Fort Simpson in 1846.
- Cecilia, born at Fort Simpson in 1849, married C. Jones in 1870.
Several of Work's sons-in-law were also well-known Hudson's Bay Company employees. These included Doctor William Fraser Tolmie, Roderick Finlayson, Edward Huggins, and James Allan Grahame.
John Work's Legacy and Impact
John Work wrote about his trading trips in 16 detailed journals. These journals cover the time from July 1823 to October 1835, plus one extra trip in 1851. Even though his journals are written like business letters, they give a detailed look at the Oregon Country in the early 1800s. His journals have survived completely. This makes them some of the oldest firsthand accounts of the land, native peoples, and the Hudson's Bay Company fur trading operations in the Pacific Northwest. Because of this, they are very important historical records.
Many places in the Pacific Northwest are named after John Work. Mount Work, in the Gowlland Range, is named for him. This mountain is near Victoria. Most of this mountain range is now part of Mount Work Regional Park. Also named for him is Work Point. This is at the west end of the peninsula, which is now a cruise ship terminal. Other places named after him include Work Channel. This is near Prince Rupert and Fort Simpson, where he was a Chief Factor. There is also Work Bay in Finlayson Channel, and Work Island near Butedale.
