Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1859-1976, predominant 1859-1914 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
50 cm of textual records.
172 photographs.
2 sound recordings
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
William Edward Traill, 1844-1917, was born in Ontario, the son of Thomas and Catherine Parr Traill. He joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1864, became a junior trader in 1878, and chief trader in 1883. In 1869, he married Harriet McKay, 1847-1920, eldest daughter of Chief Trader William McKay. They had twelve children, nine of whom lived. He served with the HBC at Fort Ellice, Egg Lake, Fort Pitt, Carlton House, Lac La Biche, Lesser Slave Lake, Fort Vermilion and Fort St. James. In 1893, he left the HBC to farm near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
His brother, Walter J.S. Traill, 1847-1932, joined the HBC in 1866. He served in the Swan River district and at various USA posts before resigning in 1878. In 1881, he married Mary Gilbert, a widow with two children. He subsequently farmed near Pembina, then in Kalispell, Montana and finally in the Okanagan, British Columbia. Mary Traill, 1883-1984, the daughter of William E. Traill, was born in Lesser Slave Lake. She was a trained nurse, and ran a nursing home in Meskanaw, Saskatchewan for many years.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gifts of T.R. McCloy, A.P. Drever, and C.H. West, 1957-1988.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of photocopies of: William's correspondence (1863-1893), HBC records (1886-1892), land documents, financial records (1864-1912) and reminiscences (1911); Harriet's diaries (1889-1893); and Walter's correspondence (1866-1914). Includes two recorded interviews with Mary Traill (1970s) and extensive family photographs.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
The original textual records are held by the British Columbia Archives and Records Service, Library and Archives Canada and the Hudson's Bay Company Archives.
Existence and location of copies
Digital content is available of interviews with Mary Traill.
Many of the Willie Traill letters are published in Fur Trade Letters of Willie Traill, 1864-1893 / edited by K. Douglas Munro. -- Edmonton : University of Alberta Press, 2006.
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.
Note
NA 1010 is copy negatives of PD 232 and PA 498. NA 2617-77 is a copy negative of a PA 1540 print.
Note
Other McKay family photos are in the Pat McCloy fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Name access points
- Traill, Harriet (Subject)
- Traill, William E. (Subject)
- Traill, Walter J.S. (Subject)
- Traill, Mary (Subject)
- Campbell, Robert Eldo (Subject)
- Christie, William (Subject)
- Custer, George Armstrong (Subject)
- Hamilton, Gavin (Subject)
- Ingraham, Jack (Subject)
- Kittson, Norman (Subject)
- McBeath, Roderick (Subject)
- Macdonald, Donald A. (Subject)
- Macfarlane, Roderick (Subject)
- McKay, William "Scotty" (Subject)
- Norquay, John (Subject)
- North West Company (Subject)
- Red River Colony (Subject)
- Riel, Louis (Subject)
- Smith, Donald Alexander, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal (Subject)
- Steinhauer, Henry Bird (Subject)
- Wrigley, Joseph (Subject)
- Young, Richard (Subject)