James Murray Yale

James Murray Yale
Born	c. 1798 Lachine, Quebec, Lower Canada
Died	7 May 1871(1871-05-07) (aged 72–73) Saanich, Colony of British Columbia
Nationality	Canadian, Anglophone Quebec
Occupation(s)	Chief trader, Clerk
Spouse	Unknown
Children	3

James Murray Yale (c. 1798 – 7 May 1871) was a clerk, and later, a Chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company, during the late North American fur trade, as they were competing with the Montreal based Northwest Company and the American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor. He gave his name to Fort Yale, British Columbia, which became the city of Yale, and then, the Yaletown district of Downtown Vancouver.

Biography

Fort Langley, British Columbia, main trading post of Yale's merchant-trader career

Yale was born in Lachine, Lower Canada in 1798. He joined the HBC in 1815, and served first at Fort Wedderburn on Lake Athabasca. This post had just been built by John Clarke in an effort to secure a foothold for the HBC in Athabasca, the great stronghold of the North West Company. In April 1817, Yale was kidnapped by the North West Company men during the trade war and taken to Tideè lake for five months. In 1821, Yale was moved to New Caledonia and put in charge of Fort Astoria (renamed Fort George) until 1824. During his tenure there, he would narrowly escape death, as during his absence, the Fort was attacked and his men were murdered. He then served at Fort Alexandria and Fort St. James.

When he was unwell in 1827, he was sent to Fort Vancouver where medical care was provided to him. Later in that year, he accompanied Governor George Simpson on his exploratory trip down the Fraser River. At the end of the journey, Yale remained in Fort Langley, where he worked as a clerk until he replaced Deputy Governor Archibald McDonald, husband of Princess Raven and daughter of King Comcomly, as Chief trader on February 20, 1833. As a Chief trader, after the merger of the HBC and the Montreal based Northwest Company, he now had a share of the profits of the Hudson Bay company during the monopoly years, which were distributed among the 25 Chief factors, the 28 Chief traders and the shareholders in London.

He achieved great success at Fort Langley, dealing in furs with the Indians, manufacturing wood barrels, and exporting cured salmons, which commanded high prices during the Crimean War of Napoleon III. During his tenure, Yale would be saved by his postmaster from a murder attempt on his life by Tzouhalem, chief of the Cowichan tribes. An accident caused the Fort to burn down, but was later rebuilt by Yale and his men, with the help of Sir James Douglas. It became one of the largest forts ever built by the Hudson's Bay Company and Yale became its commander. While Yale was building his new fort, Sir George Simpson was at Hamburg, Germany, discussing with Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel, the Governor of Russian America. The Baron was representing the Russian-American Company, a fur trading enterprise chartered by Tsar Paul I of Russia.

The discussions evolved into an agreement for the HBC, and they obainted a lease for a part of Alaska, which belonged to Russia at the time. The aim of that lease was to block the American fur traders from dealing with the Russian trading posts in Alaskan territory and have them deal with the Hudson's Bay Company instead, thus increasing the trade volume at Fort Langley for Yale. They started making caviar, as the recipe for making this delicacy was part of the deal obtained from Russia. The salmon trade would eventually become a world-trade industry for the Fort and the area, developped by him and chief trader Archibald McDonald.

Disputes with the Chief Factor of Fort Vancouver, John McLoughlin, a French-Canadian, were frequent, as Fort Langley was second only in importance after his Fort, and resources were scarce. Eventually, the fur returns were on the decline and the shareholders in London were alerted, as a new technology made its apparition, the Beaver (steamship), which was a mobile trading post rather than a fixed Fort. They suffered even more with the erection of Fort Victoria (British Columbia) in 1843, which would displace them as one of the main headquarters of the HBC. Governor Simpson didn't see Fort Langley as suitable enough for a main depot, but aknowledge the impact it had on blocking the American fur traders from Boston and take their market shares. For the first ten years, the Fort produced 14,651 beaver skins, including 10,330 who were large prime pelts.

Gold rush

Fort Yale, gold rush era Fort that evolved into a city named Yale

During the gold rush era, gold reserves were found near the area of Fort Langley, of which he was the commander. Yale sent his associate Allard to build a new fort that he named Fort Yale. A wagon road was built named Old Yale Road to move men and supplies to the gold mines. The city of Yale, British Columbia, became one of the biggest city in the region west of Chicago and all the way to the north of San Francisco, due to its positioning. They initially didn't want to participate in the gold rush as they anticipated future conflicts and wars with the Indians. With thousands unwelcomed foreigners and speculators coming in for the gold rush, the relationships established with the Indians and the supply chains were seriously disturbed.

With the arrival of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, the Fraser Canyon War and the McGowan's War were started. It didn't take long for a white woman to be captured and held prisoner by the Indians. Yale sent 45 men with muskets and revolvers to rescue her. Royal Engineers troops of the British Army were sent, and a need for a new colony with a better legal structure was felt by the HBC and others. It would be made at Fort Langley, and would make the Fort, for a time, the provisional colonial capital of the Royal colony of British Columbia. Chief factor Douglas would announce the formation of the colony to Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Colonial Secretary, in company of Admiral Robert Lambert Baynes, David Cameron, Chief Justice of Vancouver's Island, and Matthew Baillie Begbie, Judge of British Columbia. Many administrative positions were created to better handle the gold rush and the monopoly agreement with the Hudson's Bay Company was revoked. Having worked so hard at building the trading operations at Fort Langley, and seeing the HBC being displaced by the British, Yale decided he had enough and took his retirement. He bought land near his old friends of the HBC in Victoria, British Columbia and resided there thereafter.

Legacy

Yale had three daughters, one of which married one of the sons of Sir George Simpson, the Canadian Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and later, the Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land.

When the city of Yale (British Columbia) was founded in 1848, it was named after him. First as Fort Yale, then as Yale, which eventually gave its name to the Yaletown district of Downtown Vancouver. James Murray Yale was also distantly related to Governor Elihu Yale, being a descendant of his uncle, Thomas Yale (stepson of Governor Theophilus Eaton), who was a landowner and one of the founders of New Haven Colony, Connecticut.

Yale was known as “Little Yale” because of his short stature about which he was sensitive. Chief Factor Sir James Douglas, Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, his superior in the HBC, a big man, took a quiet delight in standing near Yale and observing his discomfiture. In his famous “Character Book”, Governor Simpson devoted an entry to Yale: “A sharp active well conducted very little man but full of fire with the courage of a Lion. Deficient in Education, but has a good deal of address & Management with Indians and notwithstanding his diminutive size is more feared and respected than some of our 6 feet men.”

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Fort Astoria 1792-1845 (Early Exploration, Fur Trade, Missionaries, and Settlement)