James Isham
James Isham (1716–1761) was chief factor (master) at both York Factory and Fort Prince of Wales in Canada during the mid-1700s.
His journals are important historical documents and he is well known to scholars of the fur trade in Canada during the early years of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).
[2] Isham left England in 1732 at the age of sixteen to work as a clerk/bookkeeper for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in North America.
Rich, concluded that he was "the most acute and careful observer, the most sympathetic administrator, and the most voluminous writer of the fifty years which he represents.
"[6] Isham was responsible for the well-being and discipline of his men, the efficient running of the fort, and good relations with the Cree and Assiniboine traders who brought furs from further inland.
Isham's attention then turned to repairing the fort, stockpiling food and firewood for the winter, and preparing trading goods for the spring season.
As soon as the ice disappeared on rivers, traders arrived and for several months Isham dealt with large flotillas of canoes loaded with furs.
[7] As chief factor, he had two challenges to deal with – two exploration ships planned to stay there for the winter; and the stone fort needed to be rebuilt.
The presence of one hundred additional men (Isham had only forty) put a strain on resources and created tension between him and Middleton.
Edwards acknowledged Isham's "commendable curiosity" and thanked him for providing "thirty different species of Birds, of which we have hitherto had little or no knowledge".
The value of the dictionaries nowadays is that they provide a comprehensive sample of English words and phrases used in trade negotiations and everyday life at the forts.
He was the first known person to bring certain Cree words into English – ne may cu sheeck (namaycush) for lake trout; shaganappi for rawhide thong; wa pis ka john (whiskey jack) for Canada jay; weywey (wavy) for Snow Goose.
The voyageurs made annual trips in large canoes, meeting the indigenous people in their own territories and returning in the fall to Montreal with a load of furs.
[22] The 1870 Manitoba Census shows that James Isham's great-grandchildren, Charles, Ann and Elizabeth Heywood, were all living in the Red River Settlement (Winnipeg).
