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1860s Sauvie Island
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“A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by future descendants”
Lord Macaulay
(a British Historian and Politician 1800-1859)
There is a series of books written by Gail Morin about the First Metis Families . I believe there are at least 70 volumes about the different families and several books about marriages, deaths, land grants. They are available at Amazon for reasonable prices. Many are available for the kindle.
Here is what is written on Amazon about Gail.
" Gail Morin's Metis Families research began with the gift of the October 1892 McCumber census from her husband's cousin. "I hear you are working on the family", he said. "We are related to everyone on this census," he also said. She took that last statement seriously and entered everyone on the census list. Thirty years and nearly one million citations later, her metis families research has resulted in over seventy books."
Children of the Fur Trade: Forgotten Metis of the Pacific Northwest
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During the first half of the 19th century, a unique subculture built around hunting and mobility existed quietly in the Pacific Northwest. Descendants of European or Canadian fathers and Native American mothers, these mixed-blood settlersacalled MA(c)tisawere pivotal to the development of the Oregon Country, but have been generally neglected in its written history. Today we know them by the names they left on the land and the waters: The Dalles, Deschutes, Grand Ronde, Portneuf, Payette; and on the peoples who lived there: Pend Oreille, Coeur daAlene, Nez Perce. John C. Jacksonas Children of the Fur Trade recovers a vital part of Northwest history and gives readers a vivid and memorable portrait of MA(c)tis life at the western edge of North America. This informal account shows the MA(c)tis as explorers and mapmakers, as fur trappers and traders, and as boatmen and travelers in a vanishing landscape. Because of their mixed race, they were forced into the margin between cultures in collision. Often disparaged as half-breeds, they became links between the dispossessed native peoples and the new order of pioneer settlement. Meet the independently minded Jacco Finlay, the beautiful Helene McDonald, fearsome Tom McKay and the bear-fighting Iroquois Ignace Hatchiorauquasha, whose MA(c)tisse wife, Madame Gray, charmed lonely fur traders. Here is the rawhide knot of the mountain men who brought their Indian wives to suffer the censure of missionaries while building a community where their mixed-blood children were no longer welcome. A riveting glimpse into a unique heritage, illustrated with historic maps, drawings, and photographs, this book will interest and inform both the scholar and the general reader. (less)
Red River Migration
In 1841 23 families left the Red River Settlement in Canada. Encouraged by the Hudson's Bay Company, they came to the Pacific Northwest. At that time the Hudson Bay Company felt they were losing control of the area.
These pioneers didn't come in the usual wagon trains. They came in a special type of cart which made horrible noises. That noise frightened the Indians and kept them a little safer. Someone said it was a Scottish or French design.
This is a partial list of the people on Sinclairs journey to Oregon in 1841. When we add more material we will underline the name.
Many of these families settled in Washington County, OR, South Prairie, Washington and Tacoma, Washington.
Henry Buxton 1w 1c ... Henry had 2 provisional land claims on Twality Plains, 6 May 1847 (Vol 4, pg 286) 20 May 1847 (Vol 4, pg 303). He is listed in settler accts at Fort Nisqually, Washington. His naturalization records are in the courthouse in Hillsboro, Oregon (Circuit Court Journal, No O, pg 46, 19 June 1851).
James Birston 1w 3c ... He was a neighbor of Charles McKay of Washington County, Oregon. He is listed in Fort Nisqually settler accts. His naturalization papers can be found in an index at the Clerks office in Washington County, Oregon (District Court Territorial Records, pg 20, Nov 21, 1853).
John Cunningham 1w 1c
John Tait dc dc
John Bernier 1w 2 boys
Horatio Calder 1w 7c ...Listed in Settler records Fort Nisqually, Washington
Wm Flett 1w 4c ...William had a homestead in South Prairie, Washington (T 19 N, R 5 E, Sec 12) Living near him was Thomas McKay of Scappoose, Oregon (T 19 N, R 5E. Sec 14) William was one of the 4 brothers who came together in 1841 with Sinclair.
John Spence 1w 4c ... At one time John was the neighbor of David Munroe of Twality County in Oregon (Tuality)
James Flett 1w 4c
John Flett ... John first settled in Forest Grove, Washington County, Oregon. He left Forest Grove in 1859, driving 100 head of cattle. He had chosen a new farm in South Prairie, Washington. His family consisted of his second wife Ellen, widow of William Cooper (an early DLC on Sauvie Island) and children ...Eliza 18, Arilla 16, Letitia 14, Daniel 10. William 8, Mary 12 and baby Ellen. Also an older daughter Elizabeth, her husband John Gale (of Gales Creek) and their daughter Georgiana.
David Flett ... one of the four Flett brothers (John, David, William and James). They were the sons of George Flett and Margaret Whitford. George was an Orkney Island Scott as were many of the pioneers. The Hudson Bay Company preferred the Orkney men because of their strong work ethic and their strength.