At York Factory in 1824, Dr. Todd took Elizabeth Dennet, half-breed daughter of William Dennet, to wife by the 'custom of the country'. Together for seventeen years, until her death in 1845, they raised a family of twelve, nine of whom survived to adulthood. In 1849 Dr. Todd married Jane Johnstone, and at the ripe old age of sixty-five and at sixty-six, fathered two more children.

Dr. Todd had made an honorable commitment to his wife and family and maintained that commitment. E.E. Rich tells us in his edition of Simpsons Athabaska Journal:
...Dr. Todd took his children out of Reverend MaCallum's school because he was too harsh...(42) .  Despite this episode, he continued his children's education at other Anglican Church Schools at Red River. (44) In later years, five of his sons served as Company post masters and clerks.

The practice of maternal deprivation among mixed-blooded children going to school, was not without consequence for the Protestant church at Red River. How broad the ramifications of deprival may have been, we don't know. However, there must have been many others, who felt as did Dr. Todd's second son James when he married Josephine Deslauriers in 1852. Their wedding service took place in a Catholic church in St.Boniface, and while he retained his father's faith, he allowed his children to be brought up in the Catholic faith. His seven sons grew up in a bi-lingual household, with French the language of choice.

Note: My mother, Marie Costello, daughter of Peter and Mary Jane Todd, recalls that in 1909 when she was twelve years old, her mother decided English was to be the language of the household as it was the language of the future for Manitobans. However, many of the Todd family are bilingual today.

Under these growing pressures on his wife and children, with probable apprehension of their legal right to inherit, or of interference by others in that right, Dr. Todd consented to an Anglican wedding service. He and his second wife, Elizabeth, were united in holy matrimony on the 20th of August, 1839. (43)

Five sons, all trained in his district, followed in the Doctor's footsteps into Company service. His letter of 8 August 1842 to Governor Simpson demonstrates he took pride in his children. His oldest son. William. had been posted to the Columbia District:   ...he is no longer a boy, but a full grown man was among the strongest and without exception the most active man in the District last year he is a good Trader understands the business of 2 district. (D7/182/2).  A letter from his second son James at Fort Chipewyan, dated 1 July 1845, shows his love was returned. That letter reads:

My dear Father,
...I do not know how long I may be in Athabaska, but I long already to see you and mother and brothers and sisters, I cannot complain that I am badly off here, far from it, I only mention it to show that I do not forget you although distant from you,

My dear Father
Yr. ever effect 'n Son - James Todd.. (B159/c/1)

Dr. Todd's will, drafted with Donald Ross's help, provides documentary evidence of his care and concern for the uncertain future of his last wife and the children of all three families in Red River society

.

He requested three years leave of absence before retirement. Colville and Northern Council agreed this should be granted. Be went on indefinite sick leave, pending a decision on his last request, from London. (48) Although his request for this long a period of retirement leave sounds unreasonable, in actual fact it was not. Apparently entitlement for leave was one year in six. In Dr. Todd's 35 year service he should have been entitled to six years of leave. For whatever reason he took leave in 1821, 1843 and 1849 only. The Company owed him three years.

Dr. Todd's last letter to Governor Simpson at Lachine, dated 11 August 1851, faithfully reported conditions not to his liking at Red River. He was scathingly critical of Major Caldwell and "their Honors", presumably the Governor and Committee in London. He would be well aware the Major was Governor Simpson's appointee. He wrote:

The settlement has been quiet the last year, and am in hopes will continue so, altho Governor Caldwell is held in the most sovereign contempt by all classes certainly if ignorance, stupidity and consummate vanity are the parts that constitute a governor their Honors have been fortunate in their Selection.

 His last words were in the form of a postscript:

...You could probably send me some kind of Spectacles that would enable me to read my own writing, a thing I cannot do at present... (05/31)
To the last, he was concerned of his ability to let people know, spades were still spades.

In conclusion, it seems Dr. Todd's trading career hinged on a random chain of circumstances, alternating between medicine and trading, set in motion in the first case by himself, the others by Governor Simpson, which in themselves were good for the Company, but not altogether so for the Doctor.

Dr. Todd's first problem, if we may call it that, was of his own making. Strictly speaking, it would have been Elizabeth's, had he not chosen to stand by her and their three sons. The necessity of providing for a family forced him to become a trader and at the same time limited the scope of his trading career. The Company placed the highest value on bold, unencumbered traders to man their expanding trading frontiers. Dr. Todd's choice of family life obviated this possibility.

We have ample evidence that Company treatment of contract physicians drove many to seek greener fields. Unfortunately for Dr. Todd, this created a shortage at Red River at the time he was establishing himself as a trader, which led to his emergency medical trips to Red River in 1833, and York Factory in 1836. There is no doubt he was badly used in both of these instances. Despite injury in the first case, near death in the second, he had no choice but to carry on to his destination. He was then obliged to pass up a furlough in 1837 (his last furlough had been in 1820) and resume the charge of Swan River. These two medical incidents, plus that of 1831 with the Governor and his wife, set the course of Dr. Todd's trading career and the tone of his thinking for the rest of his life.

As we have seen, Governor Simpson’s highest ethic was the good of the Company.' In pursuing this ethic he used a broad sword. After 1821 and amalgamation, being in a monopoly position in the fur-trade, he slashed servant numbers, that is, canoe men, tradesmen and laborers, and their wages by 50%. In 1834 he slashed the number of Chief Factors to sixteen and replaced them with Chief Traders at one half the cost to the Company. We can safely assume continuance of this policy, particularly at district command level, where the savings would be greatest. This assumption is born out by the fact Dr. Todd was placed in charge of Upper Red River in 1831, Swan River in 1833 as a Chief Trader and on retirement in 1851 was replaced by a Chief Trader.

Given a continuance of this staffing policy, an abundance of Chief Factors still in command of Districts in 1834, is it likely the Governor would make any new Chief Factors for at least ten years ? Unfortunately for Dr. Todd, the waiting period turned out to be too long.

We cannot plead that Governor Simpson's personal animosity toward Dr. Todd in 1831 had any bearings on the final outcome of his career. The Governor did promote him to Chief Trader in that same year. Whatever else the Governor may have been, he was a businessman. Be promoted useful people to the best advantage of the Company. William Sinclair is a case in point.

Therefore, we must look for other factors that could have had a bearing on Northern Council's negative vote on Dr. Todd's recommendation for promotion in 1845. We must remember in 1845 Dr. Todd was sixty-one or sixty-two years of age and had a history of intermittent illness since 1833. Be had been ill during his furlough in England in 1843-44, and had returned to York Factory before full recovery, because of two deaths in his family. He had asked permission to recuperate at Red River that winter, and against his will had been posted to Fort Severn. As they are both on Hudson Bay, the unhealthy winter conditions that prevailed at York would also prevail at Severn. Edmond Smith's letter describes the condition of some of the people at York in the spring as being “more like ghosts than men”. (D4/126) Had Dr. Todd been ill again that winter?

Taking these factors into account, it would seem age and uncertain health are the only reasonable explanations for Northern Councils negative vote. The men on Council, and particularly the Governor, were looking to the best interests of the Company. The fact that Dr. Todd was an educated man and an experienced trader, or that his uncertain health could be attributed to hard service, would not be taken into account. Company service in itself was hard and there is little room for sentimentality in any profit oriented organization.

At his death, Dr. Todd had eleven living children. His three oldest children, one son born of Marianne, two sons by Elizabeth, were grown men working for the Company so no longer needed his protection. The remaining eight, three sons between the ages of eighteen and ten, three daughters between sixteen and eight, all by Elizabeth, two sons four and two by Jane were living on his property near Sturgeon Creek under Jane's care. A son ten years old may have been physically defective, although he lived to age thirty-four, he did not participate in his father's estate.

His chief cause for concern when he drafted his will would have to be how to protect his dependent family. Without his protective presence, bereft of the acceptance Hudson's Bay Company society might have provided, denied acceptance in Red River society because of mixed blood, they would be at risk, unless protected by law.

The normal procedure of willing a landed estate to his oldest son, or dividing his estate among his sons would not serve his purpose. He had too many sons, the older sons who had been brought up as trappers and traders were not familiar with farming. Who would be responsible for Jane during her lifetime, or for the younger children till each reached the age of majority ? The youngest child was two years old.

Accordingly, Dr. Todd drew up a will entailing his properties plus income to his wife for her lifetime. Only at her death could the properties be sold. Thereby he provided a secure home environment in which his children could grow to adulthood in safety. (Please see Appendix II for full detail and analysis of Dr. Todd's will.)

In the spring of 1851, Dr. Todd made his final trip from Fort Pelly to Red River. His eyesight was failing, he was too ill to continue. His third son, nineteen year old Robert, proceeded to York Factory in command of his father's brigade of boats. On the 2nd of June Dr. Todd wrote to Donald Ross at Norway House:

...my health has suffered so much last Winter ana spring, that I think it more prudent to submit to injustice than continue longer in the service.... (M967 ABC, App. I)
Later that summer, at a meeting with Eden Colville, Governor of the Northern Department and Deputy to Governor Simpson, he again pressed his claims for promotion and compensation, again without success.

PART IV
FAMILY RECORDS

This last section deals with Dr. Todd's three marriages, the archival record of his children and those of his sons who served the Hudson's Bay Company, record of 'scrip' claims made by some of his children and grandchildren the last supplied by Lorraine Woods from Public Archives Canada.

The first 'wife' Marianne, so recorded in A.J. Ray's biography on William Todd, died between 1830 and 1835 at York Factory. C.D. Denney, genealogist, Edmonton, (Denney Papers, Glenbow Archives Calgary) provides supporting evidence of this union. A daughter named Marianne, sired by Dr. Todd, died 16 March 1823 at the age of four months at York Factory. (St. John's Registry). Marianne was almost certainly the mother of Dr. Todd's first son William. When William II's son William applied for 'scrip' at St. Clements in 1876, (east of Selkirk, Man.) he said his grandmother's last name was Ballentyne. This should make the lady Marianne Ballentyne.

Dr. Todd married his second wife, Elizabeth Dennet 'a la facon au pays' in 1824. She was born in 1804 at York Factory, daughter of William Dennet, a Company servant, and Sophia Ballentyne. In 1839 Dr. Todd and Elizabeth were remarried under Church of England canon rite at Red River, by the Reverend William Cochrane. Elizabeth was the mother of ten of Dr. Todd's children between 1824 and 1845. In all probability, Marianne and Elizabeth were the daughters of Sophia Ballentyne, Elizabeth being the daughter of William Dennet.

Dr. Todd married his third wife Jane Johnstone at Red River in 1849. She bore his last two children.  Of the fifteen children Dr. Todd sired, eleven survived.

APPENDIX II

The text of Dr. Todd's Will, which follows, was transcribed from a photo-copy held by Hudson's Bay Company Archives, of the hand written original held by the Chancery Court at Canterbury England. In some part the writing was illegible, hence the blanks.

At the outset, the Will presents us with a mystery, and an oddity. Firstly, the bequests "to my sister Anne Ballentyne" and "my niece Isabel Ballentyne,  presumably Anne's daughter. Surely, if she was his sister and had been living with him, or at Red River, (according to the Will she was visiting in Upper Canada), he would have mentioned her in his correspondence. Furthermore, we know Elizabeth Dennet's mother's name was Sophia Ballentyne, and when William Todd III applied for 'scrip' he said his grandmother's name was Ballentyne, probably Marianne Ballentyne. Secondly, Dr. Todd terms his three oldest offspring, all sons, his "children" and his four younger sons he terms "the oldest of my four sons. There doesn't seem to be any reasonable explanation for either of these anomalies.

What would or could happen to the family; in a Red River society that had already rejected people of mixed blood, without Dr. Todd's unifying presence. Without something to hold it together it would probably disintegrate into family components, to the detriment of Jane and the dependent children. Who should be held responsible for safekeeping and educating the minor children. Dr. Todd wisely left this responsibility to Jane, under the protection of a legal instrument, administered by two non-family executors.

Let us deal briefly with the essence of the Will, in order of importance to the survivors...

Executors: William Gregory Smith, Secy. of the Company in London, and Eden Colville, Deputy Governor of the Company in Rupert's Land. The former to take care of legal details in England, the latter based at Red River, to take care of local administration. Both powerful Company men - the estate is in good hands.

Spouse: protected by entailment of home and properties at Sturgeon Creek, with income for her lifetime. Her task, to provide a central home for all three families, and to see to the care and education of the minor children.

Minor children: protected to maturity in the spousal home. Income provided for each, from the sale of "goods moveable and immovable" to pay for keep and education. The females cowered from this source. The males to share in the eventual sale of the spousal property.

Major Children: All male and independent of the spousal home, not expected to be involved in the care of the younger children. Immediate income provided, with a future share in the 400 pounds left to provide Jane with an income, on her death.

This rather complicated and long term legal document, with its unequal distribution of proceeds, on analysis provides equitably for each participant according to age and need of long or short term protection. Not forgetting Charles, who did not participate. As to how long it took to discharge the final provisions, we do not know.

Dr. Todd's will was proved in Surrogate Court in Canterbury, England. The executors appointed were, William Gregory Smith, Secretary to the Hudson's Bay Company in London and Eden Colville, Governor of Rupertsland.

"I William Todd, now working at Red River Settlement Rupertsland, North America, do make this my last Will and testament thereby revoking and annulling all other Wills by me at any time heretofore made and do bequeath all my property as follows. Firstly I give and bequeath to my sister Anne Ballantyne, now visiting in _______ district, Upper Canada, the sum of two hundred pounds sterling. Secondly I give and bequeath to my wife Jane Johnstone the annual interest of four hundred pounds sterling during her lifetime, and at her death my will and desire is that the said sum of four hundred pounds sterling be divided among my then surviving children in equal portions, share and share alike. Thirdly I also desire that my said wife Jane Johnstone shall have permission to occupy my houses and land at Sturgeon Creek, Red River Settlement. Should she remain unmarried or until the oldest of my four sons, John, Donald, Albert and Samuel shall my said houses and lands are to be valued and divided between my said four sons, share and share alike. Fourthly I give and bequeath to my children that is to say, William, James, Robert, the sum of one hundred pounds sterling. Fifthly to Margaret, John, Donald Mary, Elizabeth, Albert and Samuel the rest of my property movable and immovable now remaining in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Co., and with the firm of Albert Pelly and Co. Finally I give and bequeath to my niece Isobel Ballantyne, the sum of fifty pounds sterling. Sixthly after all the above legacies and annuities are deducted and in the event of the death of one or more of my children above mentioned before the age of twenty-one years and not having children of their own, I desire that their portion or portions to be equally divided among the survivors. And I do hereby nominate and appoint William Gregory Smith Esquire of the Hudson's Bay House London and Eden Colville, Esquire, Governor of Rupertsland, the Executors of this my last Will and testament and it is my further desire and request the before mentioned legacies and annuities be paid as early after my death as the arrangement of my affairs will permit. In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand and seal at Red River Settlement this twenty-fourth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.

"William Todd"

Signed and sealed, Published and delivered in presence of W. McDermot and A.G.B. Bannatyne.
 
 

Small Pox - The Epidemic of 1837-38
The Beaver  Autumn 1975 by Arthur J. Ray

WILLIAM TODD

Author of ‘Indian in the Early Fur Trade’
Arthur J. Ray is Associate Profession of Geography at York University
He gratefully acknowledges the assistance of C.A. Godfrey, M.D. in the preparation of this article.
Quotations from the H.B.C. Archives are made with permission of the Company

Early in the Summer of 1837 the American Fur Company dispatched the steamboat St. Peter from St. Louis to its post of Fort Union with the annual outfit of trade goods.  By the time the steamboat reached the Blacksnake Hills, only sixty miles upstream from the city of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, a deckhand had become ill with smallpox.  This was the first ominous sign of the virulent epidemic that was to sweep the northern plains that summer and the following winter. As the St. Peter proceeded upstream, Jacob Halsey who was to take command at Fort Union contract the disease.  Apparently he was the only passenger still suffering from it when the steamboat reached its destination.

In an effort to protect the company men and Indians who were at the post, an inoculation program was begun immediately.  Smallpox virus was taken from Halsey and administered to all who were willing to receive it. Until the early nineteenth century, inoculation was the accepted preventative measure against this dread disease.  As a medical procedure it was effective in that it served to reduce substantially the mortality rate in the inoculated population.  However, because a live virus was used, the side effects could not be controlled and the recipients ran considerable risk of developing a moderately severe case of smallpox.  More important from the perspective of disease control, those who were inoculated became carriers of the disease.  Thus, one of the great drawbacks of any inoculation program was that it could serve to spread the contagion. Unfortunately, the inoculation campaign at Fort Union had this effect and the epidemic spread rapidly.  Nearly everyone at the post contracted the disease, including the well-known American trader Edwin T. Denig.

To check further spread of the contagion, the Americans tried to quarantine the area by closing the gates of the post and sending men out to warn incoming Indian trading parties to stay away.  These precautions failed.  The Indians, intent to trade, ignored the warnings and a party of over 1,000 men, women and children proceeded to Fort Union.  Nearly all of them became sick and only 150 survived.

By the end of June, the epidemic was out of control in the Fort Union area.Meanwhile, a longboat loaded with supplied had been sent from Fort Union to Fort McKenzie on the Marias River in the upper Missouri River region.  During the voyage smallpox erupted among the boat crew.  Alexander Harvey, in charge of the longboat, sent word to Alexander Culbertson, commander of Fort McKenzie, cautioning him of the disease.  Harvey attempted to quarantine the boat and its crew near the Judith River.  Once again a quarantine could not be maintained.  Some 500 lodges of Blackfoot and Piegan (perhaps as many as 5,500 people) were camped near Fort McKenzie and were eager to trade.  In spite of Culbertson’s warnings, the Indians insisted that Harvey continue his journey.  Trade began as soon as the boat arrived, and shortly thereafter the Blood and Piegan began to fall victim to the epidemic.

In this way smallpox quickly spread throughout the Missouri River valley in the summer of 1837.  It was carried northward into Hudson’s Bay Company territory by Assiniboine, Cree, Blood, Blackfoot and Piegan who fled north in the misguided belief that they could run away from the contagion.  Their flight served only to hasten the spread of the dread disease.

William Todd who was chief trader of the Swan River district appears too have been one of the first of the Hudson’s Bay Company traders to learn of the epidemic and to take measure to protect the health of his men and the local Indians.

Todd was an experienced physician in his early fifties.  He began his service with the Company in 1816 when he was engaged as a surgeon and posted to Cumberland House.  He served in that capacity in the York Factory, Columbia, Athabasca and Upper Red River Districts and at the Red River Colony, before being assigned to the Swan River district in 1834.  By that time he had acquired a considerable reputation as a surgeon among the Indians, especially the Chipewyan.

Todd obtained his first fragmentary account of the smallpox outbreak from a band of Qu’Appelle River Cree who visited his headquarters at Fort Pelly on the 20th September.  The Cree were unable to identify the disorder positively, but informed Todd that ‘bad disease had got into the American Fort in Consequence of which their gates are kept constantly Shut and no Indian Allowed to enter’.

Subsequent reports from Indian sources were conflicting.  A month later, on the 18th of October, Todd wrote: ‘an Indian arrived from the plains for Tobacco for a Band of Crees and Assiniboins that are coming in with provisions he contradicts the report of any bad disease being at the American Fort but that they shut their gates against the Assiniboins in consequence of having a Band Blackfeet in the Fort at the time’.  Nine days later, an Assiniboine arrived at the fort and said that a disease similar to smallpox had killed eighteen people in his camp.  Todd noted in his journal that ‘this news is truly Alarming and tends to confirm the hitherto contradictory reports....of that fatal Malady.’  On 6 November William McKay sent word to Todd from Beaver Creek, informing him that the disease spreading among the Assiniboine was not smallpox.

Page 10

Fortunately for the Indians of Rupert’s Land, the Hudson’s Bay Company directors had previously sent cowpox vaccine to the posts in Canada and ordered the factors to use it in the interests of humanity and business.  To the distress of all concerned, few of the traders had followed these orders by the time the epidemic broke out.  But in the case of Fort Pelly, the action of the directors meant that vaccine was on hand enabling Todd to launch that appears to have been the first extensive vaccine program among the Indians of western Canada.   Throughout the autumn and winter Todd vaccinated all of the Indians who visited the post, with the exception of a very few Cree and Assiniboine who refused treatment.

Besides attempting to protecting the Indians who visited Fort Pelly, Todd made very effort to reach those in his district who did not come to the fort that autumn.  On the 28th of October he sent vaccine and instructions as to how it should be administered to William McKay who was stationed at Beaver Creek.  Todd ordered McKay to use it immediately even though the cause of sickness among the Indians was still unknown.  McKay complied with the order and had vaccinated all of the Indians in the vicinity of his post by the end of November.  Similar vaccination programs were carried on at other outposts.

In addition to having Company employees administer the vaccine, Todd also taught the procedure to the Indians.  He began his instructions with the first group of Indians who were vaccinated o the 21st of September when this band was preparing to leave Fort Pelly on the 25th of September, Todd recorded that he fitted out the Indians and sent them off to the Strong Wood with particular instructions for them in case the reported Sickness should turn out to be the Small Pox.  I likewise gave them a lassuch (lancet) and too great pains in instructing them how to use it in vaccinating others.

The Indians apparently learned the technique well and played an important role in bringing the epidemic in check.  On the 8th of December, Todd reported that “Chocah Chief of the Qu’Appelle Crees arrived to get vaccinated...he had already undergone the operation but without the desired effect’.  Two days later Todd continued: Chocah and the few that accompanied him took their departure, this is a very sensible Strong Indian whom I have long know.  I have given him every instructions how to proceed with the rest of the Indians to which he paid the most marked attention.  When vaccinating him he pointed out the error of the person vaccinating himself.  I have subsequently learned he was most industrious and successful with the other Indians...

By mid-winter the disease was rampant in the grasslands and had reached as far to the northwest as Fort Edmonton.  The death toll among the unvaccinated Indians was staggering.  Those traders who lacked Todd’s medical training and vaccine felt helpless and feared for their own safety.  On 28 December 1837, John Rowand, the son of a physician, wrote to Governor George Simpson from Edmonton House telling him that: our principal Chiefs....informed me that more than half of all the slave tribes are no more.  When I mention the slave tribes

.

page 11 missing

page 12

Since it was clear that Todd’s vaccine was effective, unlike the supplies at Carlton House which were apparently dormant, he was called upon to supply other threatened districts.  On the 8th of January Todd sent fresh vaccine to Rowand at Edmonton House and to Roderick MacKenzie, Sr. at Ile a la Crosse.  Vaccine matter was also forwarded to Small at Carlton House so that he could re-vaccinate his people and the local Indians.  To make sure that Small’s program would be effective this time, Todd sent along one of his men to teach Small the proper vaccine procedure.

Thanks to the efforts of Todd and other Hudson’s Bay Company traders, the further spread of the disease was checked by late winter and the Woodland Indians were spared from its ravages.  In the plains area, the Indians suffered terrible losses and up to three quarters of the population of some groups perished. In the spring survivors began to drift into Fort Pelly for their spring trade.  Nearly all of these Indians had been vaccinated by Todd or his men.  Concerning these encounters he wrote: it is however gratifying to learn that none of them caught the disease.  I have of course had many complementary speeches delivered on the Occasion, to which I have no doubt I am fully entitled from the great pains I took with them last fall...

Although his success brought him a great deal of well-earned satisfaction, it also proved to be the source of some embarrassment.  In his efforts to persuade the Indians to submit to vaccination in the preceding Autumn, he had told them that all who refused would perish before spring.  His prognosis proved to be correct, and as Todd, a man of science wrote in his journal: having then predicted what was likely to take place, the Indians now think I can dive into futurity and have in consequence put questions rather difficult to solve not being an astrologer.

Letter written by Dr. William from the BC Archives (handwritten in his script)

BIO/ADMIN HIST: Edward Ermatinger was a fur trader and businessman with the Hudson's Bay Company.
SCOPE/CONTENT: The fonds consists of letters received from friends and associates. Fonds includes Ermatinger's correspondence inward from Archibald McDonald, William Todd and John Work.
TITLE SOURCE: Title based on the contents of the fonds.
RECORD NUMBERS: MS 2716 ; A/B/40/M142 ; A/B/40/T56 ; A/B/40/W89
REPOSITORY: British Columbia Archives
PROVENANCE: Ermatinger, Edward, 1797-1876
SUBJECTS: Ermatinger, Edward, 1797-1876
                   McDonald, Archibald
                   Todd, William
                   Work, John, 1792-1861
Hudson's Bay Company