William Clark (1840-1919)

Fur trader.

Born in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland on 27 November 1840, son of William and Eliza Mowat Aim Clark. He was educated at Sandwick, Orkney. Like so many Orkneymen, he entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. After working as a shipping clerk in Edinburgh, he came to Fort Garry in 1861, traveling to York Factory by ship and thence to the Red River by York boat. He was in charge of various Company posts including the one at Grand Forks, the last to be operated on American soil. He was in charge of the Company's cart train for several years, leading over three hundred Red River carts from Winnipeg to St. Paul and back again. While a clerk in charge of a post at Oak Point, he brought one of the Wolseley expedition boats overland, fitted it with a false keel, two lugsails and a jib, and became the first sailor on Lake Manitoba to tack against the wind, much to the astonishment of local natives.

In November 1882, he was married to Julia Murray (1862-?), the daughter of Donald Murray, one of the original Selkirk Settlers. Clark was promoted through the ranks to become Chief Factor in 1892, a position that he held while serving as President of the Manitoba Historical Society from 1897 to 1899.

He retired in 1908, and died on 9 January 1919 at the age of 78 years.

Sources:

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, 1911. C. W. Parker, editor. Canadian Press Association, Vancouver.

Profile revised: 31 July 2008

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