William Fraser Tolmie ( "Dr. Tolmie") (February 3, 1812 – December 8, 1886) was a surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician. He was born in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, Scotland, in 1812, and by 1833 moved to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

in the service 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 ...

(HBC). He served for two years, 1832-33 at Fort McLoughlin. He served at

Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trade, fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a ...

, an HBC post at the southern end of

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

, from 1843 to 1859. In 1859 he moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where he continued serving the HBC as well as becoming active in politics. His written works include ''Comparative Vocabulary of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia'' (1884), and his journals, published in 1963 as ''The Journals of William Fraser Tolmie''.

Early career

At the age of 20, having spent 3 years attending medical classes at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, Tolmie qualified as a Licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, after which he joined the Hudson's Bay Company and soon sailed for the

.William Fraser Tolmie
, Leschi: Justice in Our Time. In the spring of 1833 he arrived at

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 ...

. Soon after arriving he was sent to the proposed site for Fort Nisqually, at the southern end of Puget Sound near the Nisqually River delta. The route was via canoe up the Cowlitz River then overland by horse. Tolmie's journal provides the first detailed account of this route, today essentially that of

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

. Tolmie stayed at the newly built Fort Nisqually for seven months, until December 1833. In June 1833 there was an earthquake at Fort Nisqually. Tolmie's journal entry about it is the first recorded eyewitness description of an earthquake in the Puget Sound region. While at Nisqually he wrote in his journal about nearby

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

and his desire to see it more closely. In August 1833 he arranged a "botanizing excursion" to the mountain, with Lachalet, a Nisqually, and Nuckalkat, a Puyallup, as guides. Three other Native Americans joined the party. They traveled through the thick forests, following the general course of the Puyallup River to the Mowich River and into what is today the northwest part of

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

. Wanting to reach the snow level, Tolmie chose the nearest snowy peak and climbed it with Lachalet and Nuckalkat. Tolmie Peak is named for this event, although it is not known exactly which peak was summited. During the expedition, Dr. Tolmie discovered a new species of plant which is now known as Tolmie's saxifrage ('' Micranthes tolmiei''). Due to this trip, Dr. Tolmie was the first European to explore the Puyallup River valley and Mount Rainier. Dr. Tolmie wanted to improve the area's relationship with the native Indians and couldn't agree with the prevailing point of view to convert the natives to Christianity. As a result of this crisis of conscience, he took a leave of absence to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he did postgraduate courses for two years. When he returned, he was appointed superintendent of the Puget Sound Agriculture Company's farm, a subsidiary of the Hudson Bay Company. At the end of 1833, Tolmie went to the HBC post of

Fort Simpson Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...

before returning to Europe. In 1834 and 1835 he served at the new HBC post of Fort McLoughlin.

Fort McLoughlin

Dr. Tolmie served at Fort McLoughlin, adjacent to Old Bella Bella during the early operation of the fort. Descriptions of his time at the fort include insights to

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', or ''Híɫzaqv'' are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Central Coast Regional District, Central Coast region in British Columbia, ...

and other First Nations at the time, including attendance at a potlatch among the Heiltsuk. In 1835, Dr. Tolmie spent 10 days with area natives, and with their help, discovered high-quality coal which, before the opening of mines soon after, needed to be imported from Britain.

Commander of Fort Nisqually

In 1843 Dr. Tolmie returned to

(also called "Nisqually House" and "Nisqually Station"). When he returned in 1843 he decided to relocate the fort closer to the Edmond Marsh and Sequalitchew creek in order to have better access to fresh water. He served at Nisqually from 1843 to 1859. In 1847 he was promoted to Chief Trader, and in 1855 to Chief Factor. He worked to achieve good relationships with the region's Native Americans and the growing number of United States settlers. While employed at

, Dr. Tolmie continued his study of botany. Many of the medicinal plants and other specimens he was taught about by locals as well as discovered in his own right were sent to William. J. Hooker, director of the

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

. Dr. Tolmie also studied

phrenology Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...

, a pseudoscientific study of the skull. In 1846 Tolmie served as a legislator in the Provisional Legislature of Oregon representing Lewis County and HBC interests.Oregon Legislative Assembly 1845-1849 Sessions, (2nd Provisional) 1846 Regular Session
/ref>Gray, William H. A History of Oregon, 1792-1849, Drawn from personal observation and authentic information. Harris & Holman: Portland, OR. 1870.

Further Interactions with Native Americans

In 1857, Dr. Tolmie supported Chief Leschi, who was being tried for murders related to the

Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muck ...

of 1855-1856. Tolmie visited the sites where Leschi was alleged to have been, measured distances, and determined it was impossible for Leschi to have made the trip to the murder site in the time required. Nonetheless, Leschi was executed in 1858. Later, the trial was judged to have been unlawfully conducted, the execution wrong, and Leschi innocent. Dr. Tolmie was credited with saving the American

settlement from a war among the natives. In a testimonial letter, William W. Miller, superintendent of Indian affairs for Washington Territory, wrote: "We are indebted to him for saving life and property, and for his influence on the Indians of Puget Sound. In our Indian wars of 1855/56, he laboured successfully to divert the horrors." Another testimonial, printed in the ''Victoria Daily Standard'' stated, "Dr. Tolmie did much to mollify savage dispositions by his able management of the Indians some quarter of a century, thus paving the way for peaceful occupation of the west." In 1884, Dr. Tolmie collaborated with G.M. Dawson in the research and production of an exhaustive vocabulary of Pacific coast Indian dialects. In 1885, Dr. Tolmie Published ''Utilization of the Indians of British Columbia.'' It stands as a work of advocacy towards the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. In it he condemned the national government for its neglect of an entire group of people.

Vancouver Island

In 1859 the Hudson's Bay Company transferred Tolmie to Fort Victoria on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

. He served on the HBC Board of Management from 1861 to 1870, retiring from the company in 1871. In addition to working for the HBC, Tolmie became active in politics. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island from 1860 to 1866 and a member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

from 1874 to 1878. He continued to study indigenous languages until his death on December 8, 1886.

Family

In 1850, Tolmie married Jane Work when she was 23 years old, and he 38. She was a daughter of John Work and Josette Legacée, a Metis whose mother was from the Spokane tribe. They had twelve children, seven boys and five girls. They lived first at Fort Nisqually, then at Victoria, where their farm home adjoined the Work family's

Hillside Farm Hillside may refer to the side of a hill. Places Australia * Hillside mine, a proposed mine on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia * Hillside, New South Wales *Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada * Hillside, Nova Scotia United Ki ...

. The Work and Tolmie cousins grew up together. Tolmie's son, Simon Fraser Tolmie, was the twenty-first

Premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

Legacy

William Fraser Tolmie's name is associated with Tolmie Peak near Mount Rainier and Tolmie's saxifrage (''Micranthes tolmiei''), which he discovered there. Tolmie State Park in Washington is named for him, as are Mount Tolmie, Tolmie Channel, and Tolmie Point in British Columbia. Tolmie Street in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

is also named for him. Other plants bearing his name include Tolmie's star-tulip (''Calochortus tolmiei'') and Tolmie's onion (''Allium tolmiei''). The scientific name of MacGillivray's warbler is also named for him: ''Oporornis tolmiei''.MacGillivray's Warbler
Birds of the Rocky Mountains

References

External links

* * *
Works by William Fraser Tolmie
at

The Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several fe ...

''Comparative vocabularies of the Indian tribes of British Columbia with a map illustrating distribution''
Principal Author: Tolmie, W. Fraser (William Fraser), 1812–1886, Author: Dawson, George M., 1849–1901, Geological and Natural History Survey of Canada, Montreal : Dawson, 1884. "Published by the authority of Parliament." {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolmie, William Frazer 1812 births 1886 deaths People of North-Western Territory Hudson's Bay Company people Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia Canadian fur traders Chief factors Explorers of Canada Canadian explorers Canadian naturalists Members of the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Canadian diarists Linguistics writers Members of the Provisional Government of Oregon Mount Rainier 19th-century Canadian physicians 19th-century Scottish diarists