Alexander Henry
183931
210319100
2008-05-05T13:26:14Z
ConicProjection
6703932
:''Not to be confused with [[Alexander Henry (the younger)]] d. [[22 May]] [[1814]], who was also a fur-trader, and the nephew of this Alexander Henry.''
:''For Alexander Henry, [[Scotland|Scottish]] gunsmith, see [[Alexander Henry (gunsmith)]]''
'''Alexander Henry''' (August [[1739]]–[[April 4]], [[1824]]) was a fur trader and entrepreneur.
Born in [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]] in what was then [[British North America]], he became a fur-trader at [[Fort Michilimackinac]] ([[Mackinaw City, Michigan]]) in 1761. Captured by Native Americans in 1763 in connection with the operations unleashed by [[Chief Pontiac|Pontiac]], he was rescued by [[Wawatam]], an [[Ojibwa]], who had adopted him as a brother.
Henry was invited to join Wawatam's extended family during the winter of 1763-64, spent hunting in what is now western lower [[Michigan]]. Henry's experiences during this winter, described in his memoirs, are a valuable primary source into [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] life during the [[fur trade]] era.
In 1764 he took part in Colonel [[John Bradstreet]]'s expedition and in 1770, with [[Sir William Johnson]], the duke of Gloucester and others, he formed a company to mine [[copper]] in the [[Lake Superior]] region. Henry was a fur-trader again until 1796 and then became a merchant in [[Montreal, Quebec]] in [[Canada]] where he lived until his passing in 1824.
His ''Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories between the Years 1760 and 1776'' (1809; reprinted 1901) is a valuable account of the fur trade and of his adventures at Michilimackinac.
He should not be confused with his nephew of the same name, also a fur-trader, whose journal was published in 1897 in 3 vols., as ''New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest''.
The Canadian Coast Guard ship ''[[CCGS Alexander Henry]]'' is named for this man.
==External links==
*[http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=37033 Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'']
*[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/lhbum:@field(DOCID+@lit(lhbum03298div20)) Henry's story of capture at [[Fort Michilimackinac]]]
==References==
*{{1911}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Alexander}}
[[Category:1739 births]]
[[Category:1824 deaths]]
[[Category:Clan Henderson|Alexander Henry]]
[[Category:Fur traders]]
[[Category:People from Montreal]]
[[Category:People from New Brunswick, New Jersey]]
[[Category:American captivity narrative]]
[[Category:Authors of captivity narratives]]