Jean-Étienne Waddens (also Vuadens, Wadin) was born in 1738 to Adam Samuel Waddens (Vaudin) and Bernardine Ermon. He was killed during an argument with

Peter Pond Peter Pond (January 18, 1739 – 1807) was an American explorer, cartographer, merchant and soldier who was a founding member of the North West Company and the Beaver Club. Though he was born and died in Milford, Connecticut, most of his li ...

in 1782 at Lac La Ronge. He came to Canada as a soldier then worked in the fur trade until his death. Jean-Étienne Waddens remained in Switzerland until at least 1755, however by 1757, he was serving in the colonial regular troops of New France. In May of that year, he renounced Calvinism. He remained in the Montreal area after the city's surrender in 1760. Jean-Etienne Waddens married Marie Josephe De Guire on November 23, 1761, in St Laurent near

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Their children were Josepha Waddens and Veronique Waddens. In 1763, he became a property holder in Montreal. Another daughter, from a marriage "à la façon du pays" (in the style of the country), Marguerite Waddens married Alexander MacKay, a prominent fur trader. When MacKay was killed on the Tonquin, Marguerite married

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 from 1 ...

, who is best known for serving as Chief Factor and Superintendent of the

Columbia District The Columbia District was a fur-trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, in both the United States and British North America in the 19th century. Much of its territory overlapped with the temporarily jointly occupi ...

of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

from 1824 to 1845. Waddens first appeared in fur-trading records as a small independent trader. Beginning in 1772, he was at

Grand Portage Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. The area became on ...

with eight traders of his traders, who he accompanied. In 1773, he had a licence for two canoes, and an outfit valued at £750, a considerable amount. Between 1773 and 1778, he moved from

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

to the Saskatchewan valley; by 1779 he was on the southern edge of the

Athabasca country In fur trade days the term Athabasca Country was used for the fur-producing region around Lake Athabasca. The area was important for two reasons. The cold climate produced some of the densest and thickest beaver fur in North America. The nu ...

. In 1779, to counter the idea that separate interests were the bane of the trade, firms trading in the far

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

, including Waddens' joined into one association, known as the “nine parties’ agreement,” a temporary combination usually regarded as the forerunner of the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

. At Lac La Rouge, he had a lucrative trade with “the Northward Indians” coming from

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( ; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , " herethere are plants one after another") is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is ...

. In late 1781, he was joined by Peter Pond, a man who too represented the company's interests. However, they were on bad terms. In March 1782, Waddens was fatally wounded in a fight, which has been described as murder. In 1783, Mrs Waddens requested Governor of Quebec,

Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand, KB (born François Louis Frédéric Haldimand; 11 August 1718 – 5 June 1791) was a Swiss military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the America ...

to arrest Pond, submitting an affidavit of one of Waddens’ men. Pond was examined in 1785 but was not brought to trial, most likely because Lac La Ronge lay in the territories of the

, beyond the jurisdiction of the

Province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. Not much is known of Waddens’ character. Alexander Mackenzie's described him as a man of “strict probity and known sobriety”, however it is possibly a formal phrase. Yet, Waddens succeeded in moving up the social ladder from a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in 1757 to a member of the bourgeois of 1782, although not to the rank of the trader-capitalists, like

James McGill James McGill (6 October 1744 – 19 December 1813) was a Scottish-born businessman, politician, slaveholder, and philanthropist best known for being the founder of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He was elected to the Legislative Assembl ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waddens, Jean-Etienne Canadian fur traders 1738 births 1782 deaths

See also

References

External links