George Simpson

George Simpson (Manitoba Museum)

Sir George Simpson (1787 – 7 September 1860) was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwestern Territory and Columbia Department in British North America (now Canada) from 1821 to 1860.

Early years

George Simpson was born in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland, the only son of George Simpson, Sr., a writer in Dingwall. He was raised by his father, assisted by Sir George's grandmother Isobel Mackenzie and her two daughters Jean and Mary, in Dingwall in Ross-shire. He was most likely born in early 1792, as he was a schoolfellow of his "relative," Aemilius Simpson, also born in 1792.

Career

At age sixteen, in 1808, he went to London and was trained in business at his uncle Geddes Mackenzie Simpson's sugar company, Graham and Simpson. His skills interested partner Andrew Colville (also known as Andrew Wedderburn Colvile), who was also a high ranking HBC executive. Colvile encouraged Simpson to join the London office of the HBC, and by 1821, Simpson became the Governor of the Northern Department of the Hudson's Bay Company. Simpson oversaw the merging of the HBC and the North West Company in 1821, and sought to streamline the company by closing competing fur trade posts. He was instrumental in establishing Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, the headquarters of HBC's Columbia District.^[1] Not willing to remain in London to oversee operations, he maintained homes during his tenure in Montreal and the Red River Settlement. He was an avid traveler and visited fur trade posts across North America. A stern taskmaster, he pushed his traveling crewmen to extremes in order to travel as quickly as possible from post to post.

In recognition of his tireless work with the HBC, Simpson was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1841. The Simpson River in British Columbia and Simpson Pass in what is now the Sunshine Village area of Banff National Park were named in his honour as he was one of the first Europeans to travel through the region on his around the world journey in 1841.

He set off from London on May 3, 1841, and was traveling fifty miles a day on horseback and up to one hundred miles a day by canoe. Along the way, in the Red Deer Hills of present day Alberta, Simpson caught up with the Sinclair expedition of settlers he had ordered to the Columbia District. Simpson told Sinclair that instructions had been left at Fort Edmonton as to how he was to cross the Rockies. Simpson wrote in his diary, "Each family had two or three carts, together with bands of horses, cattle and dogs. As they marched in single file their cavalcade extended above a mile long. The emigrants were all healthy and happy; living with the greatest abundance and enjoying the journey with great relish."

From Fort Vancouver, his journey across the Pacific led him to the Kingdom of Hawaii. In 1842, Simpson served as an envoy of the Kingdom of Hawaii to Europe, to gain international recognition of the Kingdom. Along with Timoteo Haalilio and William Richards were commissioned as joint Ministers Plenipotentiary on April 8, 1842. Simpson, shortly thereafter, left for England, via Alaska and Siberia, while Mr. Ha'alilio and Mr. Richards departed for the United States, via Mexico, on July 8, 1842. The Hawaiian delegation, while in the United States, secured the assurance of U.S. President John Tyler on December 19, 1842 of its recognition of Hawaiian independence, and then proceeded to meet Simpson in Europe and secure formal recognition by Great Britain and France. On March 17, 1843, King Louis-Philippe of France recognizes Hawaiian independence at the urging of King Leopold I of Belgium, and on April 1, 1843, Lord Aberdeen on behalf of Her Britannic Majesty Queen Victoria, assured the Hawaiian delegation that:

"Her Majesty's Government was willing and had determined to recognize the independence of the Sandwich Islands under their present sovereign."

Personal life

Simpson fathered two sons, George Stewart 1827 and John Mackenzie 1829, with Margaret (Marguerite) Taylor. Soon after the birth of John Mackenzie, Simpson abandoned Margaret to marry his cousin, Geddes Mackenzie Simpson's daughter in 1830. Simpson shocked peers by neglecting to notify Margaret of his marriage or make any arrangements for the future of his two sons.^[2] Simpson fathered five children with Frances Ramsay Simpson: George Geddes 1832, Frances Webster 1833, Augusta D'Este 1841; Margaret Mackenzie 1843, and John Henry Pelly 1850 (named after his friend, Sir John Henry Pelly). By other women he had five more children: Maria Louisa 1815, Isabella 1817, Maria 1822, and James Keith 1823. Descendants of these children have distinguished themselves in Canada in the fields of the fur trade, agriculture, medicine, politics, and the military._{Needs reference.}

Simpson died in Montreal in 1860 and is buried at Mount Royal Cemetery.

Present Day

A junior high school in St. Albert, Alberta, has been named after Simpson.

References

• Cranny, Michael (1999). Horizons: Canada Moves West. Prentice Hall Gin Canada, p. 148-149. ISBN 0-13-012367-
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Hudson's Bay Company Biography