Talk:David Thompson (explorer)
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[edit] Mackenzie and Thompson
Is there a source for this statement: "Alexander Mackenzie despised Thompson and wrote a letter to the king denouncing him for marrying a Métis." I haven't been able to find anything on the Internet that supports it. Sunray 07:09, 2004 Dec 9 (UTC)
- I've done extensive reading from primary and secondary documents on both Thompson and Mackenzie, and have found absolutely nothing about their relationship. Furthermore, it would be unusual for someone in the fur trade to be "despised" for marrying a Metis as this was a common practice. On the other hand, according to George Nelson's journal, Mackenzie did not like it when Nelson, his XY Company employee, took a Native wife (see Peers & Schenk's edition of Nelson's memoirs, _My first years in the fur trade: The journals of 1802-1804_.) But I would very much like to see documentation on this specific claim about Thompson and Mackenzie. Country Wife 15:25, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
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- Thanks for your comment. Given the strong wording and lack of a source, I have removed the statement from the text. If we find evidence that Mackenzie made such a statement we can put it back in the article. Sunray 15:58, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Should Thompson be considered Welsh?
On 8 July 2006, Ccscott removed Thompson from the Welsh Canadian category on the grounds that Thompson was born in London, not Wales. This is true. However, his claim to being Welsh rests on the fact that his father was Welsh. Is this sufficient? --Country Wife 01:15, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
- It seems to me that that since he was born in London, and that there is no record (that I know of) that he ever lived in, or even visited Wales, he would not be considered a Welsh explorer. I have no problem with it being noted in the article that he was born to Welsh parents but the category listing of 'Welsh Explorer' is a little misleading/confusing in my opinion. --Thylark 15:14, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] New Caption on Image
It should be noted that this is a very speculative artistic impression of Thompson, as no historic image of him exists. Also, why include the reference to Charlotte Small as 'the Woman of the Paddle Song'. This moniker only comes from a FICTIONAL book written in recent years. I have also removed the reference to Charlotte being Métis. She would most likely not have been familiar with the term 'Métis', which was not yet in common usage at that time, nor did she ever belong to an established Métis community.
[edit] Edit to "NorthWest Company"
I removed the statement "In 1797, Thompson was sent south by his employers to survey of much of the Canada-U.S. boundary along the 49th parallel in the west, and from the St. Lawrence River to Lake of the Woods to satisfy unresolved questions of territory arrising from the Jay Treaty between Great Britain and the United States." Jul/Aug 2007 Canadian Geographic says that he completed this survey in 1817 (exact phrase used is "1817: Surveys the Canada/U.S. border from Lake of the Woods to the Eastern Townships in Quebec"). Since he just joined the NWC in 1797 I think it was right to remove it. I included reference to this expedition in the "Later Years" section. I haven't done a lot of reading on the subject (just this magazine article) but I find it hard to believe he would have completed the same expedition in 1797 and 1817, especially since he didn't move to Eastern Canada till 1812. If anyone can find a citation to reverse this then by all means. Zatoichi26 02:24, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
- My understanding that In 1817 he was indeed employed to survey the borders set up after the War of 1812. However, previously in 1797-98, he was sent by the NWC to determine the border with the US as set by a earlier treaty in order to ensure the company was collecting furs from allowed territories. I've added back in the previous info and worked in your edits. (see: here, Paragraph 12). Ccscott 06:19, 28 June 2007 (UTC)
- ok - thanks! my bad.. Zatoichi26 22:53, 12 July 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Thompson's Broken Leg
I removed the statement that Thompson's leg was broken "in a sledding accident". Thompson describes his fracture as follows: "on coming down a rude steep bank I fell and broke the large bone of my right leg and had to be hauled home". (Narrative, Glover ed., p.55 http://link.library.utoronto.ca/champlain/DigObj.cfm?Idno=9_96867&lang=eng&Page=0158&Size=3&query=william%20tomison&searchtype=Fulltext&startrow=1&Limit=All) ) He does not state that he was sledding; he could have been walking or snowshoeing. The bank may have been the steep bank of the North Saskatchewan River, near the fur post. Country Wife 14:52, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Thompson's Children
Although Thompson had 13 children with Charlotte (and, it has been suggested, another child with another woman during his fur trade years), only the first five were born during his time in the fur trade. Thompson's children were: Fanny, born 10 Jun 1801, Rocky Mountain House; Samuel, born 5 Mar 1804, Peace River Forks; Emma, born March 1806, Reed Lake House, died 22 Feb 1814 (Montreal?); John, born 25 Aug 1808, Boggy Hall, Saskatchewan, died 15 Jan 1814, Terrebonne village; Joshua, born 28 Mar 1811, Fort Augustus; Henry, born 30 July 1813, Terrebonne village, died 23 Oct 1855; Charlotte, born 7 July 1815, Terrebonne village; Elizabeth, born 25 April 1817, Williamstown; William, born 9 Nov 1819, Williamstown; Thomas, born 10 July 1822, Williamstown; George, born 13 July 1824, Williamstown; Mary, born 2 April 1827, Williamstown; Eliza, born 4 March 1829, Williamstown. Country Wife 15:17, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
As for Thompson's family always accompanying him on all his travels, that is also incorrect; for example, Fanny was in a Montreal boarding school in 1810. Also, in July 1810, Thompson was expecting the North West Company to send him on a year's furlough to Montreal, so he leaves his family at Lake Winnipeg. See: Nisbet, Jack. _Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America_, pp. 165,174 Thompson also gave a detailed list of the men and canoes accompanying him to the mouth of the Columbia in 1811; none of his family were listed. Country Wife 15:33, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Spelling of Ile-a-la-Crosse
This word is almost certainly misspelled in the main article. The accent on the letter 'a' probably should be grave (rather than acute). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.105.157.5 (talk) 15:58, 31 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:1957 Thompson Stamp.jpg
Image:1957 Thompson Stamp.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
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BetacommandBot 08:30, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
