Henry John Moberly (1835 - 1931)

Born 2 Aug 1835 in Penetanguishine, Upper Canada

Ancestors

Husband of Suzanne (Karakonti) Moberly — married 9 Oct 1861 in Lac Ste. Anne, North-Western Territory, British North America

Husband of Francoise (Guilbeault) Moberly — married 1871 in Fort McMurray, North-West Territories, Canada

Descendants

Died 9 Jul 1931 at age 95 in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada

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Biography

Henry John Moberly was a fur trader who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company in the Canadian North-West.

Moberly was born on August 2, 1835, probably in Penetanguishine, Upper Canada.

Moberly was educated at the Barrie Grammar School and at Upper Canada College, but was too restless to complete his studies. When he was sixteen years old, his father got him a job with Lloyds of London, which posted him to St. Petersburg, Russia for two years. Soon after returning to Canada in 1853, he found work with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), beginning as an apprentice clerk in Fort La Cloche on Lake Huron.

From 1853 to 1858, he worked in a succession of HBC posts in the North West Territories, in what is now Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1858, he was sent to re-open Jasper House, which had become run down. There he had two sons with Suzanne Karakonti.

His next post was Fraser Lake, in what is now British Columbia. During this period he worked with his brother Walter, assistant surveyor of British Columbia, and visited the gold fields at Barkerville.

In 1864, he resigned to become a free trader. During this period he built a cabin and ran a trap line at what is now Moberly Lake, British Columbia.

In 1870, he came back to the HBC and worked for the company throughout the region for another 24 years. He married Frances La Fleure in Fort McMurray in 1871 and she bore him six children. He also had a son with Philomene Rat in 1875.

He retired from the HBC in 1894. He was offered a land grant in Banff, but his new wife did not care for the mountains. As a result, he took a grant at MacDowall, Saskatchewan where he homesteaded. Later, the family moved to Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, where Henry wrote a book about his adventures in Jasper.

Sources

• Moberly, Henry John. When fur was king. 1929. open.library.ubc.ca. [1]
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_John_Moberly
• Hudson's Bay Company Biographical Sheet for Henry John Moberly[2]
• Simcoe County Pioneer and Historical Society. Pioneer Papers --- No. 6. 1917. Chapter XII. Pg. 106-10. : pg. 310-16
• Simcoe County Pioneer and Historical Society. Pioneer Papers --- No. 3. 1910. Pg. 37. : pg. 157
• “Canadiana Online Heritage”. (http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c14991/77?r=0&s=2), Department of the Interior, Dominion Lands Branch: North-West Territories Metis Script Applications: C-14991; 1900 to 1906; Library and Archives Canada Image 77 to 154.
• Quellet, Richard Andre. Tales of Empowerment: Cultural Continuity within an Evolving Identity in the Upper Athebasca. Master of Arts Thesis, Simon Fraser University. 2006. Pg. 22. [3]
• http://www.gmoberly.ca/MoberlyHistory/MoberlyHistory_HenryJohn.htm
• "Canada Census, 1881," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MV6N-VJG : accessed 2 January 2016), Henery John Moberly, Athabaska, Territories, Northwest Territories, Canada; citing p. 15; Library and Archives Canada film number C-13286, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 1,375,922.
• "Canada Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KHRL-H6M : accessed 1 January 2016), Harry J. Moberly, P2, Saskatchewan, The Territories, Canada; citing p. 4, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa.
• "Recensement du Canada de 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9P-F7Y7 : accessed 1 January 2016), Henery Moberly, 1911; citing Census, Prince Albert Sub-Districts 1-24, Saskatchewan, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,418,577.
• "Canada Census, 1916," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMPY-4LK : accessed 1 January 2016), Harry J Moberly, Saskatchewan, Canada; citing p. 15, line 1; Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,434,957.
• “Canada Census, 1931”. database online. (https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/index1931). Saskatchewan, Prince Albert, Duck Lake (Town); pg. 9, dwelling 101, family 102, lines 40-41; n.d.; Library and Archives Canada.