Isaac Cowie
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Isaac Cowie (November 18, 1848 – May 18, 1917) was a Scottish-born Canadian pioneer, fur trader, and politician. He served on the
town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...
of
Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
. His published memoirs reveal the lifestyle of fur traders and pioneers of the western Canada.


Biography

Cowie was born in
Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...
,
Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
on November 18, 1848. He spent two years volunteering with the 1st Edinburgh and Shetland Rifles. He attended the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
for one session, studying medicine, but did not complete his education before taking a position with 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 ...
and moving to
Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...
in Canada. His first posting was in
Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan Fort Qu'Appelle () is a town in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan located in the Qu'Appelle River valley north-east of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina, between Echo Lake (Saskatchewan), Echo and Mission L ...
, where he stayed until 1874, acting as manager of the post from 1872. In 1873, he dissuaded disgruntled
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
from raiding the fort by meeting an armed band of them at the fort with two other men, revolvers in hand. For this he was made a justice of the peace. He was later stationed at Oak Point on Lake Manitoba ,
Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significa ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
,
Manitoba House Manitoba House is the name of a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post as well as a separate settlement adjacent to the post. The site is in the present-day Rural Municipality of Alonsa. Trading post The first trading post at or near the Manitob ...
, and Isle à la Crosse. In 1891, he moved to Edmonton to become the first secretary of its Board of Trade. While there, working under Dr Franz Boas, he sent a collection of
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
artifacts to the
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
; this collection later went to the
Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. In
1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...
, Cowie ran for Edmonton's
town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...
as an alderman. He was elected, finishing fourth of eight candidates (the top six were elected). However, he resigned on July 7 of the same year. In 1901, Cowie moved to
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
, where he commenced writing some memoirs; these were published in 1913 under the name ''The Company of Adventurers : A Narrative of Seven Years in the Service of the Hudson's Bay Company during 1867-1874''. He was active with the Pioneers of Rupert's Land, a group devoted to the rights of white settlers in Rupert's Land at the time of its transfer to Canada. He was concerned that many of these pioneers did not receive land grants from Canada, and made numerous trips to
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
to fight this. Barbara Johnstone, writing in the Manitoba Pageant in 1959,stated that Prime Minister
Sir Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World ...
agreed to change the relevant legislation but was defeated by Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals before doing so. (However, this was in error since Arthur Meighen was prime minister after Borden, or she was referring to Tupper who was succeeded by Laurier in 1896.) Isaac Cowie died of cancer in Winnipeg May 18, 1917.


References


City of Edmonton biography of Isaac CowieManitoba Historical Society biography of Isaac CowieJanuary 1959 article from the Manitoba Pageant on Isaac Cowie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowie, Isaac 1848 births 1917 deaths Edmonton city councillors Canadian fur traders Scottish emigrants to Canada People from Lerwick Deaths from cancer in Manitoba Alumni of the University of Edinburgh