Duncan McDougall was a native of Scotland who first appears in history as a clerk with the North West Company (NWC) in 1801.
This position was likely as a result of his uncles, Angus Shaw and Alexander McDougall,[1] who were both partners in the NWC.
By 1810, Duncan had gone to work for John Jacob Astor and the Pacific Fur Company.
He led the party that established Fort Astoria in Oregon, married Ilchee Moon Woman, daughter of Chief Comcomly of the Chinook Confederacy, and left her in 1813.
He agreed to take charge of the Winnipeg River district of the NWC and travelled there later in the year.