Urbain Héroux facts for kids

Urbain Héroux (September 11, 1811 - October 20, 1853) was a French-Canadian man who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). He spent most of the 1830s and 1840s in the Pacific Northwest, a region in western North America.

Early Life and Joining the HBC

Urbain Héroux was born in Pointe-du-Lac, a place in what was then called Lower Canada. He was baptized in nearby Trois-Rivières. When he was about 20 years old, he began working for the Hudson's Bay Company in the spring of 1833. The HBC was a very important company that traded furs across North America. Urbain was sent to work at several trading posts located far from cities.

Life and Work in the Pacific Northwest

In 1837, Urbain Héroux was sent to Fort Vancouver. This was a major trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company. While there, he met a Chinookan woman, and they had at least one child together.

From Fort Vancouver, Urbain worked at different posts. He served at Fort Vancouver, Fort Taku, and finally Fort Stikine. He arrived at Fort Stikine in 1841. Fort Stikine was in a special area called the Stikine lisière. This land belonged to Russian America but was rented by the HBC from the Russian-American Company. Urbain Héroux had many duties at these posts. He might have also helped by translating languages.

Challenges at Fort Stikine

During his time at Fort Stikine, Urbain Héroux faced some difficult situations. He had disagreements with William Glen Rae. Later, he also had serious conflicts with John McLoughlin Jr.. These problems led to a very unfortunate event. John Jr. died on April 21, 1842, during a confrontation.

Just five days after this event, George Simpson arrived. He was a very important leader in the Hudson's Bay Company. Simpson was on a trip to check on the Columbia Department. After looking into what happened, Simpson decided that Urbain Héroux had acted in self-defense. Instead of sending him to a court in Canada or the United Kingdom, Simpson sent him to Novoarkhangelsk. Other people later said that John Jr. had acted aggressively towards Urbain Héroux.

After the Incident

Urbain Héroux was released in 1843. The leader of Russian America, Arvid Adolf Etholén, decided that the Russians were not interested in the case. Urbain traveled back by ship, first on the Cadboro and then on the Beaver. He went to Fort Victoria and then back to Fort Vancouver. From there, he traveled overland using the York Factory Express route to Norway House.

In 1846, legal officials in Canada decided not to pursue the case further. They thought it would cost too much money to send Urbain and all the people who saw what happened to the United Kingdom for a trial. George Simpson's decision not to get more involved in the matter upset Chief Factor John McLoughlin. John McLoughlin was the father of John Jr. This disagreement was one reason why John McLoughlin eventually retired from the company.

Urbain Héroux returned to Trois-Rivières in Canada. He passed away there in 1853.