d. 1876-01-13
In 1836, William Mitchell left Aberdeenshire to join the Hudson’s Bay Company.1 He started as a first officer aboard the Sumatra and worked on various vessels over the next 24 years.2
Before moving on to command the
Recovery, Mitchell was in command of the
Una during the wreck at
Neah Bay in July 1852.
3 In
this letter from
Staines to
Boys,
Staines discusses how
poor Mitchell had nearly lost his life,
and
never got over
the loss of the
Una and its cargo.
Mitchell was master of the
Recovery from 1852 until 1859, when he spent a year in charge at
Fort Rupert. He retired in 1862 and died in
Victoria on January 13, 1876.
4 His obituary remembers him as
popular in [the] community with both young and old
and for having
always a kind word for everybody.
5
- 1. Hudson's Bay Archives, Mitchell, Captain William [PDF], HBC Archives: Biographical Sheets.
- 2. Ibid.
- 3. Ibid.
- 4. Ibid.
- 5. Death of Captain W. Mitchell, British Colonist, January 14, 1876.