Patrick Bruce



Patrick Bruce (circa 1930)



The Bruce's came into our family around the late 1700s, when Benjamin Bruce (b 1770 d 1823) came to Canada from Okney Scotland and married Mathilda (a Métis/Cree woman). Unfortunately, I have not been able to find Mathilda's family name.

Mathilda and Benjamin had several children. (James, Jane, William, Nancy, Margaret and Matilda).

James (b. 1801 d 1878) married Mary McNab (b 1801 d 1897) (Red River Settlement) in 1828. Together they had 17 children (this number needs to be confirmed).

One of the children, Patrick Bruce (b 1848 d 1933) married Eliza Ann Garrioch (b 1850 d 1912) (her brother, Rev. Alfred Garrioch wrote many books - First Furrows, The Far and Furry North, A Hatchet Mark in Duplicate, The Correction Line).

Patrick and Eliza Ann had 6 children.

Their son John Edward Bruce (b 1871 d-) married Margaret Kennedy (B. 1873 d 1904). They had three children (Mildred, Charles, and Margaret).

Mildred Bruce (b 1890 d 1956) married John Wood (b 1883 d 1968 Manigotagan, Manitoba) and they had 13 children. One of those children was my grandmother Cecille May Wood.

Colin Campbell (1787-1853)

Colin Campbell (1787 - 1853) was born in  River Beaudette, Lake St. Francis, in Glengarry, Canada on November 25, 1787. He was the son of Alexander Campbell, a United Empire Loyalist, who represented Cornwall in the first legislature of Upper Canada, and his wife was Magdalena Van Sice.

Hudson's Bay Company archives indicate that Colin was a clerk in service with the North West Company from 1804-1821. His wife was Elizabeth McGillivray, daughter of the Hon. John McGillivray.

From 1806-1808, his is recorded as being a clerk and interpreter at English River, and between 1812-1813 he wintered at Fort Dunvegan, Peace River District. and has been noted as being an accountant.

In 1821, after many years of conflict, the two rival companies, The Hudson Bay Company and the North West Company merged and Colin was listed as working for the Hudson Bay Company.

From 1821-1826, he was a clerk at Fort Chipewyan, Athabasca.

From 1826-1828, he was the Clerk in charge at Vermilion, Athabasca. In 1828 he was promoted to be chief trade and to 1841, he was listed as a Chief trader in Fort Dunvegan, Vermilion.

From 1841-1847 - he was Chief Trader in charge of District at Fort Chipewyan, and later 1848-1852 at Matawagamingue. After several years in charge of the Kenogamissee district he retired from the fur trade on June 1, 1853  at the Red River Settlement and passed away a few months later. He is buried at St.Johns (Winnipeg, Manitoba).


Resources
 - Hudson's Bay Company Archives, Winnipeg. http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/biographical/
- Documents Relating to the North West Company edited by W. Stewart Wallace and published originally as Champlain Society Publication XXII, subsequently published by Greenwood Press, Publishers, NewYork 1968.

Farquahar McGillivary descendants

Mildred Gertrude Bruce - 16 years old (1906)

The Scottish in our family came to Canada in the 1770, as they were attracted to the fur trade industry. The McGillivary's were attached to the Northwest Company. Descendants of the McGillivary's are:

Farquahar McGillivary (Scotland) - Elizabeth Shaw (Scotland)
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John McGillivray (1770-1855) m. Elizabeth Smith (she is often referred to as "à la facon du pays an Indian woman). They had two children together (Elizabeth and John McGillivray).
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Elizabeth McGillivray (1801-1862) m. Colin Campbell (1787-1853). They had 6 children. (Eliza, Archibald, Richard, James, Catherine, Flora).
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Eliza Campbell (1824-1894) m. John Garrioch (1809-1891). They had 5 children (Alfred, Eliza Anne, William, James, Scott).
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Eliza Anne Garrioch (1850-unknown) m. James Bruce (1848-unknown) and later remarried to Patrick Bruce (1848-unknown). Their children were: John, David, Victor, Walter, Percival, Elsie.
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John Bruce (1871-unknown) m. Margaret Kennedy (1873-1904). They had three children (Mildred, Charles, Margaret).
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Mildred Gertrude Bruce (1890-1956) m. John Wood (1883-1968). They had 13 children, one of the daughters was my grandmother Cecille May Wood.

Alfred C. Garrioch

Alfred Campbell Garrioch was born in 1848 in the Red River Settlement of Middlechurch. He was of mixed Scottish and Cree ancestry. His father was John Garrioch, and his mother was Eliza Campbell. It is his sister Eliza Ann Garrioch who brings him into our family tree.

Historical records indicate that Alfred Campbell Garrioch studied theology at St. John’s College during the Red River Rebellion of 1869-70 and he was ordained as a priest of the Anglican Church in 1875. He served as a missionary in Peace River country. One of his first assignments was to establish a mission at Fort Vermilion, where he spent close to 10 years. In 1885, he visited England and returned with his wife, Agnes Bertha Crabbe. In 1886, he went Fort Dunegan, to serve at the St. Saviour's mission. He later returned to Manitoba, where he served at various churches until his retirement in 1905.

He became known for his linguistic skills, and as a writer. He translated religious texts into the Cree and Beaver languages. He also developed a reference guide for English, Cree and Beaver vocabulary. In addition to the translation work, he wrote a number of historical and autobiographical works, including First Furrows" (1923), The Far and Furry North (1925), Hatchet Mark in Duplicate (1929), and The Correction Line (1933).

Alfred Campbell Garrioch passed away in Winnipeg, on the 3rd of December, 1934 and he and his wife Agnes Bertha Crabbe rest in Winnipeg, Manitoba.


Resources
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography
Fur Trade and Mission History - http://www.abheritage.ca/alberta/en/fur_trade/bio_alfred_garrioch.html
Manitoba Cemetery Project - http://cemetery.canadagenweb.org/MB/index.html
Photos credit - First Furrows and The Correction Line.