Isobel Graham Finlayson (January 20, 1811 – August 22, 1890) was an English-born diarist and artist. Her diary is one of the few accounts written by a European woman about travel associated with the North American

fur trade 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 ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

. The daughter of Geddes Mackenzie Simpson, a London merchant with close ties to 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 Frances Hume Hawkins, she was born Isobel Graham Simpson in

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 ...

. In 1838, she married Duncan Finlayson, the governor of

Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distric ...

which was also known as the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

. Her husband left for

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 the spring of 1839 but, because of her health, she did not follow him until the summer of that year. She described her journey in a diary, which also included sketches of

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 ...

people. In 1844, her husband was transferred to Lachine. After her sister

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

died in Lachine in 1853, she helped look after her brother-in-law's family. When her husband retired in 1859, the couple settled in London. Finlayson died at home in London at the age of 79. Her brother Wemyss was a Canadian fur trader and politician. Her sister Frances was the wife of Governor George Simpson. Excerpts from her journal were published in '' The Beaver'' in 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:FInlayson, Isobel Graham 1811 births 1890 deaths Writers from London Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian diarists Canadian women artists 19th-century Canadian women writers British women diarists 19th-century English diarists