Joe Burke
In his outgoing York Factory Express journal of 1847, Thomas Lowe lists the passengers who are travelling up the Columbia River with him. A mysterious “Joe Burke” was among…
Read moreGeorge Traill Allan
In 1841, George Traill Allan took out the York Factory Express to Hudson Bay, ten years after he had come into the territory in the 1831 Columbia Express. He is…
Read moreRobert Birnie
Robert 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 morePeter Skene Ogden reports on the California gold rush
Peter Skene Ogden, Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver in 1848, was definitely a character — and his private letters prove that. However, the hard part of reading Ogden’s letters is…
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