John McLoughlin Jr. (1812–1842) was a

Metis Metis or Métis may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and America whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peoples and early European settlers, primar ...

Chief Trader Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

employed by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

Early life

He was the son of longtime Chief Factor of the

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur trading 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 ...

John McLoughlin John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, (October 19, 1784 – September 3, 1857) was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver fro ...

and Marguerite Waddens MacKay.

Fort Stikine

He was appointed to Fort Stikine though was unpopular with some of the

among the staff.

Murder

Several staff members killed him on 21 April 1842, in what they alleged was self-defense at his drunken rage. Hawaiian Kanaka employees who witnessed the killing were to testify otherwise. They alleged that the rebel staff, led by one

Urbain Héroux Urbain Héroux (September 11, 1811 - October 20, 1853) was a French-Canadian employee of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), stationed primarily in the Pacific Northwest in the 1830s and 1840s. Héroux was born in Pointe-du-LacCanada East Census 1851 ...

, had conspired with the local Tlingits to seize the post. The usual laws governing the Company and its staff were those of the Colony of Canada. However, because the murder had happened on ostensibly

Russian soil Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, these laws did not apply in this case. George Simpson arrived five days after the murder and held a short investigation. He found the murder "justifiable homicide", and took Heroux and the others to the Russian American capital of Novoarkhangelsk for trial. While still at Novoarkhangelsk Simpson was surprised to encounter Heroux at liberty on the streets. Unlike British colonial law, the accused were free until convicted under Russian law. They were ultimately not prosecuted by Governor of Russian Colonies in America Ferdinand von Wrangel and released by the spring of 1844 for lack of evidence. The official handling of John Jr.'s death was a major factor in embittering his father against Simpson and the HBC:

"But the hastiness of the Sitka investigation, Simspon's unqualified condemnation of Fort Stikine as a "sink of corruption:, and his refusal to punish the son's murderers as McLoughlin demanded, or even send them to Canada for trial were facts which the father never forgave."

Legacy

His body was interred at Fort Vancouver on 12 October 1843. Author Debra Komar wrote an investigative history into the death of McLoughlin Jr. named ''The Bastard of Fort Stikine'' ( Goose Lane Editions 2015). In it, Komar uses both forensic science and historical research to create a narrative of both Fort Stikine and the Canadian North.

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, John Jr. Fur traders 1812 births 1842 deaths Hudson's Bay Company people