Memorable Manitobans: William Isbister (?-?)

Fur trader.

He first appears in the historical record as a sailor for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1739, and he became master of Henley House in 1743. He had trouble with the isolation of the Bay and turned increasingly to alcohol. By 1751 he returned to England, one step ahead of a recall for general “sottishness and ill conduct.”

See also:

William Isbister, Dictionary of Canadian Biography III, 300-301.

Sources:

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

This profile was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Profile revised: 12 August 2012

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