| 2. | William Robert Smith was born on 28 Jun 1797 in Lamberth,Surry,England (son of William Hart Smith and Hannah Woodman); died on 14 May 1869 in Headingly,Manitoba,Canada; was buried in St Paul (Middlechurch). Notes:
12 Apr 2020 - https://www.redriverancestry.ca/SMITH-WILLIAM-ROBERT-1797.php
- On June 1, 1813 William (age 16) sailed from London, England, aboard the Prince of Wales as an employee for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), arriving at York Factory on Hudson Bay on June 28 that year.
- On Oct 2, 1813 William left for the interior. He spent his first winter in Rupert's Land as a "Writer" at Oxford House along the Hayes River.
- In 1817, at York Factory, William married "a la facon du pays" to Mary Anne SWAIN, daughter of an Indian woman & Englishman James SWAIN (1775-1829), Chief Factor there. William was still assigned to the Lesser Slave Lake district at the time.
- In 1821 the HBC and the North West Company merged after many years of bitter rivalry. William was at Lesser Slave at the time, trading in opposition to William HENRY (1784-1864) of the NWC. News of the union reached them in August that year. After the two took inventories and SMITH was left in charge there.
- After the NWC-HBC merger, almost 1,300 employees lost their jobs due to cut-backs, including William who was retired in 1824 to Red River.
- On July 15, 1825 William and Mary Ann were church-wed at St John's (Winnipeg).
- In the Red River Census of 1827, William and his wife were recorded with two sons and a daughter. These would have been John Lee Lewis (age 7), Mary Anne (age 4) and baby Henry. They had a house and a stable; two horses, two cows, an ox and a calf; a cart, plough, harrow and a canoe. They had two acres under cultivation.
- Under the patronage and auspices of the Church Missionary Society William taught school at St. John's from 1828 to 1832. He had very strong ties to the Church, a one time Catechist at St Johns then, as a Precentor, he led the singing of the church choir at nearby churches.
- From 1832 to 1848 he taught at St. Paul's. In the Census of 1835 William and his family were recorded on Lot 15 in the Parish of St Paul (Middlechurch). He had three horses now, eight cattle, two farm implements, two carts and he had three acres under cultivation. There were 10 persons in his household. Excluding himself and his wife, that suggests they had eight children then. By 1843 Mary Anne had given birth to 13 children, but some had died in infancy.
- In 1848 William was invested with the offices of clerk of Court and Council. In 1849 he compiled the Red River census.
- William began his public life by becoming Secretary to the Quarterly Court and then Executive Officer of the Council of Assiniboia. Among his duties were Customs Collector, and issuing liquor and marriage licenses.
- More and more HBC retirees began to arrive and settlement progressed further down the river, all the way to The Rapids (now Lockport) and Mapleton; to the very edge of the Indian Settlement. This district became generally known as Little Britain and notable first families included William Robert SMITH as well as his brother-in-law, James SWAIN Jr. (1799-1887).
- In 1867 ill health forced his retirement as clerk of the Council of Assiniboia. He was then appointed president of one of the petty courts. For a number of years he also served as a collector of customs at Lower Fort Garry.
- Map of River Lot Occupants in 1870 (in BGLFG) shows William SMITH on Lot 102 (Along the Lockport Road). Daughter Sarah Hannah and son-in-law Robert MASSEY are shown to be on the same lot that year (in Sprague & Frye).
- Census of 1870 in Headingly Parish: Widow Ann SMITH (age 43) and her children: Joseph (age 17), Ann (16), Frances (12), Thomas (10), Alexander (7), Rupert (4) and Benjamin (age 1).
William married Ann Omand in 1817 in York Factory,Ruperts Land. Ann (daughter of James Omand and Jane Brown) was born in 1829; died in 1912. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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