Alexander Henry
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- Not to be confused with Alexander Henry (the younger) d. 22 May 1814, who was also a fur-trader, and the nephew of this Alexander Henry.
- For Alexander Henry, Scottish gunsmith, see Alexander Henry (gunsmith)
Alexander Henry (August 1739–April 4, 1824) was a fur trader and entrepreneur.
Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in what was then British North America, he became a fur-trader at Fort Michilimackinac (Mackinaw City, Michigan) in 1761. Captured by Native Americans in 1763 in connection with the operations unleashed by Pontiac, he was rescued by Wawatam, an Ojibwa, who had adopted him as a brother.
Henry was invited to join Wawatam's extended family during the winter of 1763-64, spent hunting in what is now western lower Michigan. Henry's experiences during this winter, described in his memoirs, are a valuable primary source into Native American life during the fur trade era.
In 1764 he took part in Colonel John Bradstreet's expedition and in 1770, with Sir William Johnson, the duke of Gloucester and others, he formed a company to mine copper in the Lake Superior region. Henry was a fur-trader again until 1796 and then became a merchant in Montreal, Quebec in Canada where he lived until his passing in 1824.
His Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories between the Years 1760 and 1776 (1809; reprinted 1901) is a valuable account of the fur trade and of his adventures at Michilimackinac.
He should not be confused with his nephew of the same name, also a fur-trader, whose journal was published in 1897 in 3 vols., as New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest.
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Henry's story of capture at Fort Michilimackinac
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
