John McLean (explorer)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John McLean (–1890) was a
Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who fou ...
who emigrated to
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestow ...
, where he became a fur-trapper, trader, explorer, grocer, banker, newspaperman, clerk, and author. He travelled by foot and
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...
from the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
to the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
and back, becoming one of the chief traders of 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 di ...
. He is remembered as the first person of European descent to discover Churchill Falls on Canada's Churchill River and sometimes mistakenly credited as the first to cross the
Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the so ...
. Long overlooked, his first-person accounts of early 19th-century fur trading in Canada are now valued by historians. Under the pen name Viator (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for "Traveler"), his letters to newspapers around Canada also helped shift public opinion away from yielding the western territories to the United States during the ''Alabama'' Claims dispute over damages for British involvement in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
.


Life


Early life

John McLean was born in
Dervaig Dervaig ( gd, Dearbhaig) is a small village on the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland ha ...
or beside the Loch Bà on the
Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering ...
in Scotland in 1797,. on 24 July 1798, in 1799, or on 14 December 1800.


With the North West Company

He joined the
North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...
in the winter of 1820, reaching
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
in January 1821. Before leaving for his three-year apprenticeship in May, he studied
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
for several months with two other trappers under the anglophile curate of St Michel d'Yamaska, Pierre Gibert. The same year, the NWC merged with its long-time rival 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 di ...
. McLean's apprenticeship transferred to the new company, but his memoirs show that he never abandoned his preference for the old one: "From 1674 to 1813 the Hudson's Bay Company slumbered at its posts along the shores of Hudson's Bay, never attempting to penetrate beyond the banks of the
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, until the North-Westers led and cleared the way"... "the chief advantages the Hudson's Bay Company now possess, they owe to the adventurous North-West traders; by these traders the whole interior of the savage wilds was first explored; by them the water communications were first discovered and opened up to commercial enterprise; by them the first trading posts were established in the interior; by them the
natives Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
were first reconciled with the
whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...
; and by them the trade was first reduced to the regular system which the Hudson's Bay Company still follows. When all this had been done by the North-West Company, and they had begun to reap the rewards of their toils, and hardships, and dangers, and expenditure,then did the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company, led on by a British peer, step forward and claim, as
British subjects The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
, an equal right to share the trade."


With the Hudson's Bay Company


Ottawa River

John McLean entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company at a most interesting and critical time in its history, during the suicidal strife between the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies. He worked on the
Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
the present-day border between
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
and
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
until 1833. During his apprenticeship, he moved progressively further upcountry, from Lake of Two Mountains, to
Chats Falls Chats Falls (in French: ''Chute des Chats'', meaning "Cat Falls") were a set of waterfalls on the Ottawa River, near Fitzroy Harbour, Ontario, and Quyon, Quebec, Canada. A hydroelectric generating station is now located here, owned and operate ...
in April 1822, to
Fort Coulonge Fort Coulonge is a village in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in western Quebec, Canada, at the mouth of the Coulonge River. It is the francophone centre of the otherwise largely (57%) anglophone Pontiac MRC, with 79.6% listing French a ...
in June 1823. He then directed a post at Lac de Sable on the Lièvre in the wilderness north of
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...
and
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. He spent nine years fending off company rivals, cultivating relations with indigenous trappers, and improving the post's profitability only to be removed to a new territory once things had become easy. He lamented that he "had now served the Hudson's Bay Company faithfully and zealously for a period of twelve years, leading a life of hardship and toil, of which no idea can be formed except by those whose hard lot it may be to know it by experience... what was my reward? I had no sooner succeeded in freeing my district from opposition, than I was ordered to resign my situation to another who would enjoy the results of my labour." McLean's account of his journey across the continent is another of those invaluable récit de voyage that enable us to piece together the history of the Canadian North-west in its earlier days.


New Caledonia

Ordered to the Western Department on the Pacific, he travelledmostly by
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...
from Montreal up the Ottawa, crossed
Lake Nipissing Lake Nipissing (; french: lac Nipissing, oj, Gichi-nibiinsing-zaaga’igan) is a lake in the Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay ...
to the French River and the sheltered northern bays of
Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Mack ...
, passed Sault Ste Marie into
Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
and Fort William on
Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populati ...
, stopped on the north shore of
Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Its southern end is about north of ...
at
Norway House Norway House is a population centre of over 5,000 people, some north of Lake Winnipeg, on the bank of the eastern channel of Nelson River, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The population centre shares the name ''Norway House'' with the north ...
in Rupert's Land (now
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
) for further orders, and finally followed thempast
Cumberland House Cumberland House was a mansion on the south side of Pall Mall in London, England. It was built in the 1760s by Matthew Brettingham for Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany and was originally called York House. The Duke of York died in 176 ...
in present-day
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
and Athabasca and
Fort Dunvegan Dunvegan Provincial Park and Historic Dunvegan ( ) are a provincial park and a provincial historic site of Alberta located together on one site. They are located in Dunvegan, at the crossing of Peace River and Highway 2, between Rycroft and Fa ...
in present-day
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
and down the
Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in ...
to
New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
(present-day
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
), where he expected "to fare like a dog". Reaching Fort St James on Stuart Lake on 28 October 1833,. however, he had nothing but praise"I do not know that I have seen anything to compare with this charming prospect in any other part of the country; its beauties struck me even at this season of the year, when nature having partially assumed her hybernal dress, everything appeared to so much greater advantage." He also complemented
Fort Alexandria Alexandria or Fort Alexandria is a National Historic Site of Canada on the Fraser River in British Columbia, and was the end of the Old Cariboo Road and the Cariboo Wagon Road. It is located on Highway 97, north of 100 Mile House and south of ...
on the
Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...
, his post from March to May the next year, for its scenery, friendly indigenous neighbours, and good food. In September 1834 or 1835, he went to Prince George, then known as Fort George, whose former trader's servants had all been massacred by the locals a few years earlier but which McLean reported as peaceable and prosperous during his time there. Having received permission from the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company to return to headquarters, McLean departed Stuart Lake on 22 February 1837. He passed Fort Alexandria on 8 March,
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...
on 18 March, Onkanagan on 28 March, and Colville on 12 April. Reaching Norway House in June, he found Governor George Simpson holding the council for the company's Northern Department. McLean, although eligible, was passed over for promotion to chief trader in favour of two other agents. He took this as a personal slight from Gov. Simpson, but Simpson's personal records seem to be complimentary and indicate he was simply following
seniority Seniority is the state of being older or placed in a higher position of status relative to another individual, group, or organization. For example, one employee may be senior to another either by role or rank (such as a CEO vice a manager), or by ...
. While at Norway House, McLean married the
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United State ...
Margaret Charles; they had one child together, John McLean Junior, before she died the following year. He reached the company headquarters at
York Factory York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. ...
in July, eventually receiving instructions to replace Erland Erlandson as the factor of the Ungava District, recently established based on the praise of the area by the Moravian missionaries Kohlmeister and Kmoch following their 1811 visit.


Ungava Bay

At his base at Fort Chimo (present-day
Kuujjuaq Kuujjuaq (; iu, ᑰᑦᔪᐊᖅ, i=no or iu, ᑰᔾᔪᐊᖅ, i=no, label=none, "Great River"), formerly known as and by other names, is a former Hudson's Bay Company outpost at the mouth of the Koksoak River on Ungava Bay that has become ...
, Quebec) up the South River (present-day Koksoak River) from South ( Ungava) Bay, McLean was only contacted and resupplied from the outside world by
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
. once a year. "Surrounded by a country that presents as complete a picture of desolation as can be imagined", he avoided lingering there and instead personally led expeditions southeast across the
Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the so ...
in an attempt to establish overland contact with Fort Smith (present-day North West River,
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
) at the mouth of the Naskaupi River on
Lake Melville Lake Melville is an estuary of Hamilton Inlet (itself an extension of Groswater Bay) on the Labrador coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprising and stretching inland to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, it forms part of the ...
, the furthest extent of Esquimaux Bay (now Hamilton Inlet). He expected discovering such a route would lead to his promotion within the company, and his predecessor Erlandson had already accidentally demonstrated its feasibility in 1834 when his attempt to reach Mingan on the
St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...
had been redirected to Lake Melville by his five
Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
guides... On 2 January 1838, he and his men headed out on dogsleds. to take a route up the Koksoak from Erlandson's maps and reports, following the
Caniapiscau Caniapiscau () is a vast unorganized territory in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, part of Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality. The territory is home to the huge Caniapiscau Reservoir, the largest body of water in Quebec. The res ...
and Swampy Bay Rivers to Lake Michikamau and the Naskaupi, reaching Fort Smith on 16 February, having taken 46 days to cover . On the way back, their guides fell sick with severe flu and became delirious with fever; game became scarce; and McLean divided his party, taking few provisions and running ahead with a clerk to send supplies back to the rest. Meeting no food on the way, one sled dog starved to death and the two were obliged to eat the other"what we considered, in present circumstances, 'food for the gods'"to make it back to Fort Chimo. The first party sent south from the fort returned with only one of the missing men, and McLean was obliged to send a second group who returned with the rest of them on 26 April. Having established that the known routes to Hamilton Inlet were impractical, he learned from the locals about the George River to the east. He founded Fort Siveright (present-day
Kangiqsualujjuaq Kangiqsualujjuaq (; ) is an Inuit village located at the mouth of the George River on the east coast of Ungava Bay in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. Its population was 956 as of the 2021 census. Names The settlement's original name, Fort Sev ...
) on the eastern shore of its mouth to serve as a
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...
and
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
fishery... He sent a team under Erlandson to Indian Head Lake to establish Fort Trial as a waystation and depot for the supply route to for outposts further south. After the Koksoak cleared of ice on 25 June 1839,. McLean travelled up Ungava Bay to the George River, which they followed despite its low water until its head of navigation. They then passed overland to where Erlandson had established Fort Nascopie on Petitsikapau Lake. Attempting to complete the route without Innu guides, they got lost and reached the upper
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, discovering the Grand Falls (now Churchill Falls). McLean considered it "stupendous" and "one of the grandest spectacles in the world", although a hydroelectric project subsequently almost eliminated its flow after 1970. Compelled to return, they reached Fort Chimo on 20 September. He attempted a different route the next year, while William Henry Allen Davies of the company's Esquimaux Bay District led an expedition up the Churchill from Fort Smith. Realizing that Davies had reached almost as far as Churchill Falls, McLean was able to use his report and friendly advice from indigenous locals. to find a route up the George, through a series of lakes around the falls, and along the Naskaupi to Lake Melville in 1841. The company immediately adopted this final route and promoted McLean to chief trader. (Further exploration from Fort Smith eventually showed that the route sought by Finlayson and Erlandson leading directly from Ungava Bay to the St Lawrence was completely impracticable, the forests southwest of Lake Melville being too boggy for travel and their lakes too shallow for the large trading canoes used by the HBC.) Although a more efficient route had now been established, the Hudson's Bay Company still found the Ungava District unprofitable and Gov. Simpson ordered that its ships be sent only every other year. The company opted against giving the district a proper cartographer and contented itself with rough sketch maps, like that compiled under McLean's direction in 1840. McLean's inland route continued to be used, but to supply Fort Nascopie from the south. Feeling isolated and abandoned, McLean took the first
furlough A furlough (; from nl, verlof, " leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be ...
in his career, leaving Fort Chimo in 1842 to visit his mother in Scotland, passing York Factory, New York, and Montreal on his route.. The forts he had established were abandoned. The entire Ungava District was eliminated in 1843, while from May to June McLean led a team including a royal magnetic survey under
John Henry Lefroy Sir John Henry Lefroy (28 January 1817 – 11 April 1890) was an English military man and later colonial administrator who also distinguished himself with his scientific studies of the Earth's magnetism. Biography Lefroy was a son of the Rev ...
from Lachine (in present-day Quebec) to Norway House. Lefroy reported him "a person of intelligence and information beyond what one might expect from a man who has all his life been scraping beaver skins together at remote stations" and complimented his flute playing.


Mackenzie River

The poor conditions at Fort Chimo had so damaged McLean's health that he threatened Governor Simpson with his resignation if he were appointed to "a ''second'' Ungava". With the company refusing to buy back his
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a compan ...
, however, he was forced to remain working and was sent to Fort Simpson (in the present-day
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
) on the
Mackenzie Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to: People * Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Clan Mackenzie, a S ...
above the
Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake (french: Grand lac des Esclaves), known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé (Dogrib / Chipewyan), Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé (Chi ...
. He headed the Mackenzie River District from there until June 1844, when Gov. Simpson informed him that he had been only an acting director, that the more senior agent Murdoch McPherson would be assuming permanent command of the district, and that McLean would be obliged to serve under him as a deputy. After a fruitless two years of appeal to the company's governor and board in London, he retired on 1 June 1846. After twenty-five years spent almost continually in the fur-trade, McLean quit the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. Gov. Simpson denied his request for a pension.


Later life

He had married Clarissa Eugenia Evans, daughter of the missionary and linguist James Evans, in 1845 or 1846 and settled with her in
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
,
Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
(in present-day
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
). He built for himself a stone house in Guelph in 1847, which is still standing, at No. 21 Nottingham Street. While there, he managed a grocery store on Market Square for four years, wrote his memoirs, and sired five children. (Two died in infancy, leaving his son Archibald and Eugenia and another daughter to succeed him.) He opened and managed a branch office of the
Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...
from his house and hired his old companion Erlandson to work there. He helped set up the ''Guelph Herald'', a Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative newspaper. He was well-read in English, French, and Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic and could speak several of the major languages of Canada's indigenous peoples, such that the native traders who visited the town "invariably" called upon him.. He became an important member of the town and in 1856 laid the cornerstone for the Norfolk Street Wesleyan Methodist Church (the present Lakeside Hope House). By then, however, his financial position had been ruined when he was obliged to repay £1300 stolen from the bank in two incidents in September 1855. (McLean's wife and historians have tended to finger Erlandson for the theft as he left an unexpectedly large estate at his death, but at the time McLean supported his friend and employee and accepted responsibility for the loss.) With what he had left, he moved to nearby Elora, Ontario, Elora, where he served as court clerk for the next 25 years. His wife died 6 May 1858, at the age of 32.. For some years his mother-in-law, Mrs. Evans, lived with him, and cared for his children. Following the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, when United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain had United Kingdom and the American Civil War, assisted the Confederate States of America, Confederacy with Blockade runner#American Civil War, blockade running and Commerce raiding#American Civil War, commerce raiding because of Textile manufacture during the British Industrial Revolution, its textile mills' reliance on Cotton production in the United States#History, American cotton, the victorious United States had cancelled Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty, its Canadian free trade agreement and demanded enormous war reparations, reparations. For a time, Manifest Destiny, American expansionists, Canadian Confederation#Influences leading to Confederation, Canadian separatists, and British anti-imperialists all seemed to support the transfer of the western wilderness of British North America rather than resolving the issue monetarily. It was largely unpopulated and the Hudson's Bay Company had long portrayed it as frozen wastes useless for settlement, mostly to dissuade competitors and the encroachment of farmers and civilization into its trapping grounds. Alarmed by this possibility and unwilling to accept the territories' loss to the Americans (inter alia, he considered the War of 1812 to have been an act of unprovoked aggression), he wrote to newspapers across Canada under the name "Viator", vividly detailing the beauty and resources of the Canadian west and advocating the purchase of Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company. His letters to his hometown Elora ''Lightning Express'' were reworked into a short book under the name ''Remarks on the Great Nor'-West''. His accounts have been credited with shifting Canadian public opinion against the land transfer, increasing political pressure to find a separate resolution to the dispute. (In the end, the HBC surrendered Rupert's Land to the British Crown, which granted it to the Canadian Confederation; the Confederation assumed Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871), British Columbia's debts and promised Canadian transcontinental railroad, a transcontinental railroad to secure its consent to admission; and Britain paid off the United States with $15.5 million, more than twice what the US had spent on the Alaska Purchase.) McLean left Elora in 1883 for Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia. After revealing his identity as "Viator" in 1889, he died there at the home of his youngest daughter Eugenia O'Brian on 8 March or 8 September 1890. John McLean was buried in the Presbyterian Plot in Ross Bay Cemetery.


Works

* , considered a major source on Canada's Canadian fur trade, fur trade.. 2nd ed. in 1932 edited by William Stewart Wallace, W.S. Wallace as ''John McLean's Notes of a Twenty-Five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Territory'', Toronto: Champlain Society. * , first published as articles for the Elora ''Lightning Express''.


Legacy

McLean was the inspiration for one of the characters. in Robert Michael Ballantyne, R.M. Ballantyne's ''Ungava'', a fictionalized retelling of that station's establishment and operation. He was briefly the namesake of what is now Churchill Falls.. After fitful returns and abandonments, the fort he established at the mouth of the George River in 1838 eventually became the permanent settlement of
Kangiqsualujjuaq Kangiqsualujjuaq (; ) is an Inuit village located at the mouth of the George River on the east coast of Ungava Bay in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. Its population was 956 as of the 2021 census. Names The settlement's original name, Fort Sev ...
. Following inquiries by Hugh Templin of the Fergus, Ontario, Fergus ''News-Record'',, held by the Wellington County Museum & Archives, Fergus, Ontario, Fergus. a historical plaque, plaque commemorating McLeanincluding the mistaken belief that he was the first to cross the Labrador Peninsulawas erected at 21 Nottingham Street,
Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
, Ontario, by the former Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board. The building had been McLean's residence in Guelph between 1847 and 1857..


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * .


External links

* Photos of John McLean's tomb in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, hosted at Flickr
12
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclean, John 1790s births 1890 deaths People from the Isle of Mull Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Canadian fur traders North West Company people Hudson's Bay Company people Canadian explorers Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Canadian grocers Canadian bankers Canadian newspaper founders Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)