b. 1817-08-10
d. 1871-05-24
Dugald MacTavish, fur trader, was born in Argyllshire, Scotland, on 10 August 1817.
He joined the Hudson's Bay Company as an apprentice clerk on 2 January 1833, travelling
first to Moose Factory, then to Michipicoten on
Lake Superior in 1835, and to Lachine in 1838.
In June 1839, he was posted to
Fort Vancouver and became a clerk first class in June 1841. He regularly travelled east with the
annual express brigades from the Columbia Department. MacTavish was promoted to chief
trader on 1 June 1846 and placed in charge of the company's agency in
Hawaii. Promoted to chief factor in 1851, he returned to
Fort Vancouver in September 1853 to manage the company's new Oregon Department, remaining there
until June 1858, when he moved to
Fort Victoria and replaced
Douglas, who resigned to accept the governorship of
British Columbia.
While there he and
John Work prepared a report on Hudson's Bay Company claims to land in
British Columbia. MacTavish returned to England on sick leave in February 1859, returning to
British Columbia in June 1860; he returned to England in November 1863. On 28 October 1864, MacTavish
left
London for
Washington, DC, to present the Hudson's Bay Company's claims to the joint Anglo-American commission
to settle the company claims in Oregon. He returned to
London when the commissions' work was completed in 1867, only to be called back to Montreal
to fill the position vacated by Chief Factor Donald A. Smith. MacTavish died in Montreal
on 24 May 1871.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1966-) Vol. 10, pp. 485-87. BCDES 58.2.