Umfreville, Edward, approximately 1755-

Edward Umfreville was born around 1755 and nothing else is known about his life prior to 1771, when he began his work as a writer for the Hudson’s Bay Company. He worked in Fort Severn Ontario in 1772 and 1773, and in 1775, was transferred back to York Factory where he became second in command until 1782 when the fort was captured by the French, led by Jean-François de Galaup. The personell and the staff of the fort were sent back to France as prisoners. Umfreville was freed by the Treaty of Paris and travelled to London in 1783. Disputes between him and the Hudson’s Bay Company ended his tenure, however, he returned to Quebec in 1784 and was employed by the North West Company, to search for an alternate route from Lake Superior to Lake Winnipeg. In 1788, Umfreville quit working with the North West Company and tried to join the Hudson’s Bay Company again, though unsuccessful. Umfreville was widely critical of the company in his book titled The Present State of Hudson’s Bay that he wrote in 1790.

Revised on June 11, 2024, by Leah Louttit-Bunker

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/umfreville_edward_4E.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Umfreville