People who connect Red River and Chinook Jargon

85+ Red River Settlement connections with Chinook Wawa’s Métis homeland

red river expedition route

(Image credit: “Red River Metis: The First Large Settler Group in Oregon Territory“)

Notes:

  • This list is only partial. It’s from just one representative scholarly source, Bruce McIntyre Watson’s 3-volume “Lives Lived West of the Divide: A Biographical Dictionary of Fur Traders Working West of the Rockies, 1793-1858” (Kelowna, BC: UBC Okanagan, 2010). Many more Red River Settlement connections with the Pacific Northwest Métis language, Chinook Wawa, will certainly expand this list as research continues.
    I have left out:

    • Most non-furtraders, many more people who spent unspecified amounts of time at Red River, had unverified Red River ancestry, aren’t yet known for sure to have lived in the Chinook Wawa Zone, or were associated with other heartland Métis settlements such as Ile a la Crosse.
    • Because it is based on fur-trade employment records, it also leaves out almost all of the wives and children of the Red River men, many of whom researchers believe also spoke Chinook Wawa, sometimes as their first language.
  • The “Chinook Wawa Zone” here means the Chinook Jargon’s Pacific Northwest Métis homeland, as it existed at the time a given person was present. This area was ever-expanding:
    • Before 1825 it mainly means Fort George/Astoria, Oregon.
    • From 1825 it was centred on Fort Vancouver, Washington – the only major population centre in northern North America besides the Red River Settlement. Fort Vancouver was the centre of a Métis settlement zone extending from Oregon’s Willamette Valley north to Puget Sound.
    • From 1827 it includes Fort Langley, BC.
    • From 1843, add Fort Victoria, BC.
    • From 1858, also much of south and central interior BC.

A: BORN AT RED RIVER SETTLEMENT

  1. AZURE, Antoine Jr. (c. 1816-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1833-1855+; settled there.
  2. BEARDY, Henry (c. 1827-?) (Undetermined origin). Chinook Wawa Zone 1842-1849; remained on the coast.
  3. BEAULIEU, Joseph (c. 1802-c.1844) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1831-1844; settled there.
  4. BIRD, Charles J. (c.1837-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1855-1856+; settled there.
  5. BIRD, John (c. 1829-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1848-1851+; settled there.
  6. BIRD, Nicholas (c.1824-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1841-1848; settled there.
  7. BOTTINEAU, Basil (c.1819-?) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone (Victoria) 1850-1852+.
  8. DECHAMP, Antoine (c.1800-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1831-1850+; settled there.
  9. DESCHAMPS, Pierre (?-1866+) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1838-1846+; settled there.
  10. DESJARDINES, Jean Baptiste (c.1825-1856) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1842-1856.
  11. FAVEL, Charles (c.1826-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1842-1843+; retired at Fort St James, BC.
  12. FAVEL, JOHN [a] (c.1815-?) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1833-1839.
  13. FINLAY, Francois Benetsee (c.1805-c.1873) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone (Snake, Fort Colvile) 1828-1838.
  14. FLETT, Joseph (c.1825-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone (Victoria) 1852-1853+.
  15. GRANT, Peter (c.1806-c.1849) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone (Fort Colvile) 1842-1844.
  16. HENRY, Norman (c.1819-1845) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1835-1845; settled there.
  17. KIRTON, Peter (c.1840-?) (possibly Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone (Fort Alexandria, BC) 1860-1872+.
  18. KLYNE, Joseph (1816-c.1849) (Mixed descent). Member of Sinclair party of Red River settlers to the Columbia 1841. Chinook Wawa Zone 1829-c.1849; settled there.
  19. LAMPRANT, Antoine (1823-1909) (apparently Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone (Kamloops) c.1840-c.1870; settled there. Kamloops Wawa disusses him in Chinook Wawa.
  20. LEVIGNE, Augustin (c.1821-1841) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1839-1840.
  21. LOGAN, Kenneth (c.1825-1859) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1841-1849 & 1851-1852.
  22. MARTINEAU, Alexis (?-1841) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1838-1840.
  23. McGILLIVRAY, Napoleon Buonaparte (1825-1906) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1839-1906; settled there.
  24. McKENZIE, George (c.1820-1893) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1839-1893; settled Victoria area.
  25. McLOUGHLIN, Joseph (c.1810-1848) (Mixed descent). Son of Dr. John McLoughlin. Chinook Wawa Zone 1827-1848; settled there.
  26. MONTRET, Louis (c.1807-?) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1853-1854 (Fort Victoria); perhaps settled there.
  27. SIMPSON, George Stewart (1827-1894) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1836-1842 & 1847-1894; settled there (Fraser Valley and Victoria).
  28. ST. GRE, Gabriel (c.1817-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1839-1840 & 1843-1859+; settled there (Victoria).
  29. ST. GRE, Louis (c.1820-?) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1839-1842.
  30. TAPPAGE (REGNIER), Jean Baptiste (c.1799-1849) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1830-1831+.
  31. TAYLOR, Peter (?-1837) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1826-1831.
  32. TODD, William Jr. (?-1866) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1842-1843; settled in BC.
  33. VASSAL, Louis (c.1823-1896) (Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone 1835-1896; settled there, member of the creole Chinook Wawa-speaking Grand Ronde Reservation community. A signer of the 1885 Chinook Wawa letter from “Nsaika sauvage pi sitcom sauvage Kopa Grand Rond, Oregon” (‘We Indians and Half-Breeds from Grand Ronde, Oregon’) asking the pope to declare Kateri Tekakwitha a saint.
  34. VERSAILLES, Baptiste (?-1860) (probably Mixed descent). Chinook Wawa Zone ?-1860+ (Lac La Hache, BC).

B: LIVED AT RED RIVER SETTLEMENT

  1. BALLENDEN, John (1810-1856) (Orkney Scottish). Red River 1836-? & 1854-1856. Chinook Wawa Zone 1850-1853.
  2. BARNSTON, George (c. 1800-1882) (Scottish). Red River c.1820-1826. Chinook Wawa Zone 1826-1831.
  3. BERNIER, Julian (1794-c.1849) (French Canadian). Red River c.1830-c.1849. His family (he+wife+2 boys) were sponsored Red River settlers (Sinclair party) to Chinook Wawa Zone in 1841; settled there.
  4. BONAMIS (L’Esperance), Alexis (c.1798-?) (French Canadian). Red River c.1816-1823 & c.1825-1835. Chinook Wawa Zone 1823-1825.
  5. BRISBOIS, Augustin (c.1769-?) (French Canadian). Red River 1830-1836+. Chinook Wawa Zone 1823-1825.
  6. BRISSOTTE, Hypolite (c.1792-?) (French Canadian). Red River 1836-1838. Chinook Wawa Zone (Fort Colvile) 1832-1835.
  7. CALDER, John (c.1819-?) (Mixed descent). Red River 1842-1843. Chinook Wawa Zone 1829-1846+; settled there.
  8. CHAUSEE, Bonaventure (?-?) (French Canadian). Red River 1814-1817. Chinook Wawa Zone ?-1821.
  9. CRATE, William Frederick (c.1812-c.1871) (English). Red River 1834-1835. Chinook Wawa Zone 1835-1843, 1850-1860+; settled there.
  10. CUMMING, Cuthbert Jr. (?-1844) (Mixed descent). Red River 1844. Chinook Wawa Zone 1840-1844.
  11. CUMMING, John (c.1820-?) (Mixed descent). Red River 1844+. Chinook Wawa Zone (Fort Nez Perce) 1843-1844.
  12. CUNNINGHAM, John (1818-1870) (Mixed descent). Red River 1845-1855. Chinook Wawa Zone 1834-1836).
  13. DESMARAIS, Goddy (?-1861) (possibly Mixed descent). Red River 1845-c.1847. Chinook Wawa Zone 1842-1843+.
  14. ERMATINGER, Edward (1797-1876) (Swiss German & Italian). Red River c.1818-1825. Chinook Wawa Zone 1826-1828.
  15. FINLAYSON, Duncan (c.1796-1862) (Scottish). Red River 1826-1831 & (as governor) 1839-1844. Fort Vancouver 1831-1837.
  16. FORREST, Charles (1810-1851) (English). Red River 1835-1836. Chinook Wawa Zone 1838-1851; settled there.
  17. GERVAIS, Jean Baptiste (c.1798-1870) (French Canadian). Red River 1815-c.1819. Chinook Wawa Zone 1823-1870; settled there.
  18. GRIFFIN, Charles John (?-1874) (English). Red River c.1863-c.1874. Chinook Wawa Zone 1849-1862.
  19. HACKLAND, Gilbert Spence (1828-1901) (Orkney Scottish). Red River 1876-1890. Chinook Wawa Zone 1852-1854.
  20. HAMLYN, Dr. Richard Julian (?-1832) (English). Red River 1824-1827 & 1830-1831. Chinook Wawa Zone 1828-1830.
  21. HARRIOT, John Edward (c.1797-1866) (English). Red River 1855-c.1866. Chinook Wawa Zone c.1828-c.1830. See him in the list below.
  22. HOGUE, Amable (c.1796-1858) (French Canadian). Red River 1830-1858. Chinook Wawa Zone 1823-1825 & 1828-1829.
  23. JEAUDOINS, Charles (c.1799-1848) (French Canadian). Red River 1831. Chinook Wawa Zone 1821-1848; settled there.
  24. KENNEDY, Alexander (c.1781-1832) (Orkney Scottish). Red River c.1831. Chinook Wawa Zone 1823-1825.
  25. LAMBERT, Augustin (c.1811-1881) (French Canadian). Red River c.1836. Chinook Wawa Zone 1831-1881; settled there.
  26. LANE, Richard (c.1816-1877) (English). Red River 1838-1845. Chinook Wawa Zone 1845-1877; settled there. See him in the list below.
  27. LARANCE, Bazil (c.1799-?) (undetermined origin). Red River 1847-?. Chinook Wawa Zone 1826-1827.
  28. LAURENT, Francois (?-1823) (possibly Mixed descent). Red River 1823. Chinook Wawa Zone c.1811-1823.
  29. LECUYER, Francois (c.1798-?) (French Canadian). Red River c.1825-1827. Chinook Wawa Zone 1829-1869+; settled there (Fort Vancouver/Willamette Valley & later Victoria).
  30. MATHESON, Peter (?-1848) (Scottish). Red River 1845-1846 & 1847-1848. Chinook Wawa Zone 1841-1845.
  31. McDONALD, Archibald [a] (1790-1853) (Scottish). Red River 1813-1815 & 1835. Chinook Wawa Zone 1821-1844. See him in the list below. Father of Ranald McDonald.
  32. McDONALD, Ranald (1824-1894) (Mixed descent). Red River 1834-1839. Born in Chinook Wawa Zone, a native speaker of creole Chinook Wawa. Son of Archibald McDonald.
  33. McGILLIVRAY, Montrose (1822-1850) (Mixed descent). Red River ?-1835, 1846-1847. Chinook Wawa Zone 1838-1842.
  34. McKAY, Joseph William (1829-1900) (Mixed descent). Red River ?-1844. Chinook Wawa Zone 1844-1900; settled in Victoria area.
  35. McLEAN, Donald (c.1805-1864) (Scottish). Red River 1812-1817. Chinook Wawa Zone 1833-1839; settled in BC.
  36. McMILLAN, James (c.1783-1858) (Scottish). Red River 1830-1835 as head of the experimental farm. Chinook Wawa Zone 1808-1812 & 1817-1819 & 1824-1830. Known for speaking many “native” languages.
  37. NORN, Samuel (c.1807-?) (Orkney Scottish). Red River 1844-c.1858. Chinook Wawa Zone 1830-1844 & 1859-1881+ (Victoria); settled there.
  38. OGDEN Jr., Peter (1817-1870) (Mixed descent). Red River ?-1835. Chinook Wawa Zone (1841)-1870 (interior BC).
  39. OUAMTANY, Thomas (c.1824-?) (Mixed descent). Red River ?-1843. Chinook Wawa Zone 1843-1867+ (Victoria); settled there.
  40. PAMBRUN, Andrew Dominique (c.1822-1895) (Mixed descent). Red River 1831-?. Chinook Wawa Zone 1851-1895; settled there.
  41. PARISIEN, Charles (c.1823-?) (probably Mixed descent). Red River 1845. Chinook Wawa Zone 1841-1844.
  42. PETIT, Thomas (1797-?) (French Canadian). Red River 1835+. Chinook Wawa Zone 1828-1830.
  43. ROSS, Alexander (1783-1856) (Scottish). Red River 1825-1856. Chinook Wawa Zone 1810-1825.
  44. ROWAND, Dr. Alexander (?-1889) (Mixed descent). Red River 1841. Chinook Wawa Zone 1841.
  45. SINCLAIR, James (c.1806-1856) (Mixed descent). Red River 1827-1841 (leader of the Red River Métis migrations to Chinook Wawa Zone in 1841 & 1854, +wife+7 children); Chinook Wawa Zone also 1850 & 1854-1856. See him also in the list below.
  46. SWANSON, Joseph (1821-?) (Mixed descent). Red River ?-1835. Chinook Wawa Zone 1840-1841 & 1843-1845.
  47. TOD, James (c.1818-1904) (Mixed descent). Red River ?-1839. Chinook Wawa Zone 1839-1840+; settled there (Victoria).
  48. TODD, William (c.1794-1851) (Irish). Red River c.1829-1851. Chinook Wawa Zone 1827-1829.

C: RELATED BY MARRIAGE TO RED RIVER SETTLEMENT FAMILIES

  1. BIRNIE, James (c.1799-1864) (Scottish). Married Charlotte Beaulieu of Red River in 1838. Chinook Wawa Zone 1818-1864; settled there.

  2. CLOUSTON, Robert (?-1858) (Orkney Scottish). Married Adelaide Lapierre of Red River (she died 1849). Chinook Wawa Zone 1850-1851; settled there (Victoria).

  3. HARRIOT, John Edward (c.1797-1866) (English). Red River 1855-c.1866. Chinook Wawa Zone c.1828-c.1830. Married Francis Bunn of Red River 1851. See him in the list above.

  4. LANE, Richard (c.1816-1877) (English). Red River 1838-1845. Chinook Wawa Zone 1845-1877; settled there. Married Metis Mary McDermott of Red River. See him in the list above.

  5. McDONALD, Archibald [a] (1790-1853) (Scottish). Red River 1813-1815 & 1835. Chinook Wawa Zone 1821-1844. Married Jane Klyne of Red River 1825 (formalized at Red River 1835). See him in the list above.

  6. McLOUGHLIN, Dr. John (1784-1857) (Scottish, Irish). Married an unnamed Chippewa native of Red River descent.

  7. SINCLAIR, James (c.1806-1856) (Mixed descent). Red River 1827-1841 (leader of the Red River Métis migrations to Chinook Wawa Zone in 1841 & 1854); Chinook Wawa Zone also 1850 & 1854-1856. Married Elizabeth Bird at Red River 1829. See him also in the list above.

D: FURTHER NOTES

The 1841 Sinclair emigration party from Red River included 116 people; the 1854 party, 65 people. The majority of these were young women and children. This adds at least 96 presumed Red River speakers of Chinook Wawa, for a total of 181+. This again is only a start, and many more will be added to the list as research goes on.

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