Page 167 - Fortier Family History

Joseph Finlayson Bio (1830-1901) Joseph FINLAYSON was born on Apr 30, 1830 at Fort Albany, son of Ann (nee HODGSON) DAVIS and Nicol FINLAYSON (1794-1877). On Dec 28, 1835 Joseph was baptized at Red River. From 1840 to 1848 Joseph’s father (Nicol) was the Chief Trader in charge of the Lac la Pluie District and resided at both Fort Alexander and Fort Frances. The Davis family was posted at various fur trade posts until the death of John Davis in 1824. At that point, Nancy Hodgson Davis likely relocated her young family to Albany, where her brother John Hodgson Jr. worked for the HBC as a cooper. At Albany she formed a relationship with Nicol Finlayson around 1828, possibly in between the birth of his last son (Benjamin, who may actually be Ann Davis’ son) by his first wife Ka-na-ka-shi-waite, and before his 1829 marriage to Elizabeth Kennedy, the half breed daughter of Chief Factor Alexander Kennedy and his Cree “wife” Agatha Bear. Joseph Finlayson reported in his scrip affidavit that he lived “6 years at James Bay \[Albany\], 12 years at Winnipeg,” indicating that Nancy Hodgson Davis had likely relocated her family to Red River by 1835-36. Given that George Davis and half-brother Joseph Finlayson were both educated, it is likely that at least some of the Davis and Finlayson children of Nancy Hodgson Davis attended school at Red River. On June 22, 1847 Joseph was recruited by the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), and for the next 14 years he was posted to the Saskatchewan District where he first apprenticed as a millwright and carpenter later as a boat builder. From 1853 to 1861 Joseph served in the English River District as a Post Master at Green Lake in the winter, and Ile a la Crosse in the summer. On Aug 7, 1857 Joseph married Flora BELL, daughter of Half-breed Ann DEASE and John BELL (1799-1868) from Scotland. From 1861 through to his retirement in 1872 Joseph served in the Swan River District as a clerk in charge of posts at Egg Lake, Fort Pelly and Touchwood Hills. Canadian Confederation - Red River Metis Rebellion - Manitoba becomes a Province, 1867-1870 On July 1, 1867 the British colonies in North America were united under the British North American Act to become the Dominion of Canada. Sir John A MacDonald (1815-1891) was appointed as Canada’s first Prime Minister. William McDougal (1822-1905) became the Minister of Public Works, and he began negotiations to acquire Rupert’s Land from the HBC, sending out surveyors to prepare the way for an expected influx of settlers. In 1867 Joseph was a clerk at Touchwood Hills (south of the Quill Lakes and Wynyard). On Oct 11, 1869, Louis RIEL (1844-1885) placed his foot on the surveyors’ chain to tell them their work was finished. This marked the beginning of a Red River Metis Rebellion. On July 15, 1870 Manitoba