A Look-Back at James Birnie’s life

So, in 1846, James Birnie retired, a disappointed man, after 28 years of working in the fur trade of the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. How did…
Read moreSo, in 1846, James Birnie retired, a disappointed man, after 28 years of working in the fur trade of the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. How did…
Read moreJames Birnie was a big man; a broad-shouldered and deep-chested man who stood six feet tall, according to Irene Martin, who wrote the book Beach of Heaven. He spoke in…
Read moreBetsy was the eldest daughter of James and Charlot Birnie, born in 1822 at the North West Company’s Spokane House. She was a toddler at Fort Okanogan. When she was…
Read moreRobert Birnie was the son of James Birnie, of the NWC and HBC. He was born in “Oregon [Territory] in the year 1824, 7th February, place now called Astoria, it…
Read moreIn this section of the James and Charlot Birnie thread, we left Birnie’s story as he and his family were sailing south from his posting at Fort Simpson in 1836.…
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