John Askin Jr. (c1765–1820) was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

in the Great Lakes

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

, officer in the

British Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...

, and government

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. He and his wife, Madelaine, are remembered as being instrumental in the invention of the Mackinaw jacket in 1811.

Early life

Born in early 1762 in L'Arbre Croche, he was the son of fur trader

John Askin John Askin (1739–1815) was an Irish fur trader, merchant, and colonial official. He was instrumental in the establishment of British rule in Upper Canada. Early years He was born in Aughnacloy, Ireland in 1739; his ancestors are believed to ...

and Monette, a Native American/ First Nations person. Like his father, John Askin Jr. was loyal to the British crown during a twenty-year period, from 1794 until 1815, as the allegiance of the Upper Great Lakes was being strongly contested between Great Britain and the young United States. Many Native Americans/First Nations people were allied with the English, and the junior Askin joined them and fought against the U.S. Army at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Askin tried to rally and advise the beaten Native Americans, but was subjected by the victorious American commander, Anthony Wayne, to

administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

. While Askin was detained, General Wayne and the defeated Native Americans signed the Treaty of Greenville, relinquishing to the Euro-Americans much of the future state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Removal to Canada

In line with the diminished status of the British on the Upper Great Lakes after the Treaty of Greenville and Jay's Treaty, young Askin retired to the Canadian side of what was becoming an international boundary. He accepted the King's appointment as collector of customs at Amherstburg, Upper Canada in 1801, and accepted further appointment as storekeeper for the Indian Department at Fort St. Joseph on St. Joseph Island in 1807. In the latter post, he took the substantial career risk of issuing more than forty heavyweight point blankets in November 1811 to the fort's impecunious commander, Charles Roberts, accepting a scrip warrant in payment. John's wife, Madelaine, and the other women of the fort sewed the blankets into the first Mackinaw jackets, which the British soldiers used as

greatcoat A greatcoat, also known as a watchcoat, is a large overcoat that is typically made of wool designed for warmth and protection against the weather. Its collar and cuffs can be turned out to protect the face and hands from cold and rain, and the ...

s for winter fatigue duty.

War of 1812

John Askin Jr. redoubled his connection to Roberts and the British cause in the following year upon the outbreak of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. As a key fur trader at Fort St. Joseph with kinship connections to local First Nations peoples, he led the recruitment of approximately 300 tribal warriors to join the much smaller Fort St. Joseph British garrison in its expedition against a United States strong point, Fort Mackinac. As a civilian interpreter, Askin accompanied Roberts' expedition to British Landing. The warriors recruited by Askin helped to sharply outnumber the 61 Americans present for duty, who were forced to surrender the fort without a shot. To Askin's disappointment, the British home country did not follow up on this victory. Its government signed a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...

in 1814 to restore the pre-1812 border. John Askin Jr. died in British Canada on January 1, 1820. His son, John Baptist Askin, born in 1788, became a prominent resident and community leader in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Ontario.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Askin Jr., John 1762 births 1820 deaths British Indian Department Canadian fur traders Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople