James Sinclair (abt.1811-abt.1856) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

James Sinclair

Born about 1811 in Oxford House, Manitoba

Ancestors

Son of William Sinclair and Margaret (Nahovway) Sinclair

Brother of Henry Sinclair [half], Phoebe (Sinclair) Bunn, William Sinclair, Alexander Sinclair, Ann (Sinclair) Spencer, Catherine (Sinclair) Cook, Jean (Sinclair) Kirkness, Betsy (Sinclair) Simpson, Mary (Sinclair) Inkster, John Sinclair, Elizabeth Sinclair, Thomas Sinclair, Colin Robertson Sinclair and Frances (Sinclair) Isbister

Husband of Elizabeth Maria (Bird) Sinclair — married 3 Dec 1829 in Red River, Manitoba, Canada

Husband of Mary (Campbell) Sinclair — married 20 Apr 1848 in St-Johns, Red River, Manitoba, Canada

Descendants

Father of Elizabeth Sinclair, Harriet Goldsmith (Sinclair) Cowan, Maria Sinclair, James Curtis Sinclair, Jessie Sinclair, Alexander Christie Sinclair and Colin James Sinclair

Died about 26 Mar 1856 at about age 45 in Cascade Locks, Wasco, Oregon, United States

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Profile last modified 10 Aug 2022 | Created 9 Jun 2011

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Biography

James Sinclair is Notable.

James Sinclair was a Canadian First Peoples and member of the Metis Nation.

Wikipedia:James_Sinclair_(fur_trader)

Genealogical Proof Standard - I believe this profile satisfies the 5 proof elements

James was born in 1811. There is some debate over when he was born. Although Wikipedia and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography give 1811 and Lent 1806, he was according to Sutherland and an 1821 Census born circa 1809 most likely at Oxford House

In 1818, on death of his father, James and his brother went to Orkneys to the Stromness school under the care of his uncle Thomas and aunts Ann and Mary Sinclair. In 1822 he went to the University of Edinburgh and studied the arts and law.

James signed on as an apprentice for a year with the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) and sailed on the Camden in 1826 to Moose Factory. He served out his year under Chief Trader Jacob CORRIGAL (1772-1844) at Albany Post and then headed for Red River. Somewhere along the way he became acquainted with Andrew McDERMOT (1791-1881), a retired HBC employee who had established himself north of Lower Fort Garry (Red River Settlement) as a leading merchant and private trader. Like McDERMOT, James disliked the slow advancement offered by the fur trade and wanted to be his own master. In the summer of 1827 James the HBC and began a partnership with McDERMOT.

By 1838 James had become a member of the inner circle of the Red River Metis (sometimes called half or mixed breeds) but this role put him at odds with the HBC Governor Alexander Christie who was trying to restrict any trading of furs outside the control of HBC

Although Alexander Ross was first asked to lead the expedition, when he refused James Sinclair agreed to the mission. On June 3, 1841, Sinclair left Fort Garry for the 1,700 mile, 134-day journey guiding a large group of Red River Settlers aimed at retaining the Columbia District in Rupert’s Land as part of British North America. Sinclair lead twenty-three families with 121 persons from Fort Garry toward Fort Edmonton, the Kootenay River, and Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River.

James returned to Red River in 1842 Sinclair went back to work with McDermott, travelling to York Factory with a fleet of York boats

An influenza epidemic took the lives of children Emma and Louisa in 1843. James’s wife Elizabeth died in February 1945, leaving him with small children. Harriet, Maria, and Alexander were sent to boarding school and Colin James was in the care of relatives.

he married Mary Campbell (1826-1856) on April 20th, 1848 and they had four children. Mary Campbell was the daughter of Chief Trader Colin Campbell of Fort Dunvegan Tensions between his children and their stepmother led to his placing his daughter, Harriet and Maria, in boarding school, Knox College in Galesboro, Illinois. Sinclair took his daughters there and then moved on to St. Louis. He struck up a friendship there with a young army lieutenant, Ulysses S. Grant, and assisted him financially and in his courtship of Julia Dent. He was a honored guest at their wedding in August 1848 and seems to have remained in America that winter and taken steps to become an American citizen

In early 1848 James had a brief relation with Jane Whitford which resulted in a daughter Mary. Later that year he married Mary Campbell (1826-1856) on April 20th, and they had four more children. Of all James children, at least seven went to Oregon with the settlers’ expedition.

. In order to rid Fort Garry of James SINCLAIR and others who clashed with the HBC ideas, Governor George SIMPSON (1786-1860) proposed to lead another party to Oregon. In return, SINCLAIR would be put in charge of one of the Oregon posts. Simpson had set May 1, 1854 as the date of departure, but they were only ready to leave at the end of May. There were one hundred people in the party; most were from families well known to Sinclair – Gibsons, Birds, Sutherlands, and Whitfords.The group set out from Ft Garry and arrived at Walla Walla, Washington in November where SINCLAIR took over as Chief Trader

On March 26, 1856 James SINCLAIR was shot and killed at the Cascades (north of Portland on the Columbia River) during an attack by Yakimas Indians Chief Factor MacTavish brought his body back for a full Masonic funeral.

As the dependent of a deceased American citizen who had suffered loss at the hands of the Indians, his widow was compensated for the $30,000 worth of cattle and possessions lost at Walla Walla. Sinclair’s old friend Ulysses S. Grant, by a special Act of Congress, granted her a land claim of six hundred and forty acres in the Walla Walla valley.

OF INTEREST: Sinclair Mouintain Pass, and Sinclair Mountain near what is now Golden, BC, named in his honor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Pass).