John George McTavish

Personal controversies arose from his marriages, notably abandoning his common-law wife Matooskie, an Indigenous Canadian woman, for Catherine Aitken Turner, sparking condemnation and rumours.

[1] McTavish worked as a clerk at the NWC's headquarters in Montreal before taking part in an expedition to contest the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1803.

He often travelled to Hayes Island, near which he married Charlotte, who was the daughter of John Thomas, HBC's chief within Moose Factory.

However, the NWC decided to abandon its James Bay enterprise in 1806, forcing McTavish to return to Quebec, leaving his wife in distress.

[1] During his time at Fort Astoria in Oregon, McTavish faced managerial conflicts and tensions with local Indigenous groups.

After taking a short time on furlough, he continued his involvement in the fur trade over the following years, participating in expeditions and engaging in the conflict between the NWC and the HBC.

[1] However, the abandonment of Matooskie by McTavish was widely condemned, even by those who did not agree with marriage à la façon du pays.