Page 97 - Fortier Family History

Nicol Finlayson’s “Wives” & Children Nicol Finlayson had two “country marriages” (without clergy) with Native women. Nicol’s first partner has been identified as Nancy Ka-na-ka-shi-waite, probably Cree or Oji-Cree. This relationship lasted from approximately 1818- 1828. Nicol likely met her while stationed at various posts in the Albany District, which is further north and mostly Cree territory at the time. Children from this union were Anne “Nancy” Finlayson born circa 1819 (married Narcisse Chastellaine), Hector (1820), John (1823) and possibly Benjamin (1828). His second “country wife” was Anne “Nancy” Davis, nee Hodgson. This relationship began sometime after the 1824 drowning death of her first husband, HBC man John Davis (Nicol’s supervisor). We know for certainty that they had at least one son, Joseph (1830), born at Fort Albany. This is verified in Joseph’s Métis Scrip Application, including his DOB. I believe that Benjamin, who died at Grand Rapids (Red River Settlement) in 1835, was more likely the son of Anne Davis, not Nancy Ka-na-ka-shi-waite. He was the only one born in Ungava during Nicol’s first eastern expedition to Ungava in 1828 and how else can we account for the wide gap of 5 years since the previous child (John) was born? The other possible scenario is that Nicol was, for a short period, maintaining both relationships simultaneously. Ah those frigid Rupert’s Land winter nights. The period between 1828 and 1830 is a very murky one in regards to Nicol’s “wives” and offspring. On August 10, 1829 he legally married Elizabeth “Betsie” Kennedy. The marriage was performed by none other than Sir George Simpson himself at Moose Factory (Fort) in the Albany District. Three children were born from this marriage beginning exactly nine months later with Roderick (1830), followed by Kenneth (1833), and then Mary (1839). More on them later, but the first obvious conflicting fact is that Joseph and Roderick were both born in the spring of 1830. So clearly Nicol was maintaining both his “country wife” relationship with Anne Davis and his new legal marriage with Elizabeth Kennedy nine months prior to the spring of 1830. Elizabeth died at Red River Settlement at age 31 in 1842 while Nicol was stationed at Lac la Pluie (Fort Frances). Prior to this, between 1837-1838 Nicol was on leave back in Scotland where he took the two sons, Roderick and Kenneth, and placed them in the care of his sister Anne McKenzie Finlayson who married her cousin Hector MacKenzie (MacKenzie and McKenzie spellings are both found in the records for both Hector and as Anne’s middle name from her mother’s maiden name MacKenzie). Roderick and Kenneth both were soon enrolled in school at Inverness and appear in the Scottish census of 1841 residing at Hector and Anne’s home in Ross/Cromarty. In 1844, Nicol again was on leave for a health furlough and this time brought his daughter Mary from the Red River Settlement to Scotland where she was also put in the care of his sister Anne and her husband Hector MacKenzie. Of the three children, the fate of Kenneth is still in doubt. Some Scottish family oral history indicates that he returned to Canada and then drowned near or in Lake Superior. But no concrete evidence of this has been found and he was still listed in Nicol’s will dated 1846. So it is safe to say that Kenneth lived at least until 1846, which would have put him at about 13 years-old, still attending school in Inverness, Scotland. It appears that Nicol’s will was first amended in 1864 and again in 1872. In these later amended wills, Kenneth does not appear at all. Therefore, I think it is logical to assume that Kenneth was dead by at least 1864. He would have been about 31 years old by then. Also note, the Scotland Census of 1841 indicates that Kenneth was born in Scotland. He was not. He was most likely born in Red River Settlement and I have a document signed by Nicol correcting his birthdate as July 6, 1833. It was previously reported and can be found in the records as August 10, 1834. This has led to a lot of confusion. Likewise, the same document corrects Roderick’s DOB as May 11, 1830, also probably born at Red River or Ungava (not in Scotland) and not on August 6, 1830 as previously recorded in some HBC records. Nicol Finlayson - Retired HBC Chief Factor