The Fort Langley Journals, 1827-30 (Pioneers of British Columbia) [Paperback]

Morag Maclachlan (Editor), Wayne Suttles (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999 | Series: Pioneers of British Columbia

These journals comprise one of the principal sources of information on early European settlement in BC and provide a remarkable and unique record of the establishment of Fort Langley. Although the journals record such day-to-day details as weather, trade, and visitors, they also contain a wealth of information about social and administrative life at the fort.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Publication of the Fort Langley Journals will be welcomed by anthropologists, historians, and readers seeking a lively first-hand look at the earliest days of European habitation in the lower Fraser river. Rich as they are in detail of life on a remote fur-trading post, se day-to-day records also document the key role played by the many Aboriginal groups of the region. - Canadian Historical Review Morag Maclachlan’s editing of the The Fort Langley Journals, 1827-1830 is an impressive accomplishment. The introduction shows a well-founded and astute grasp of the Pacific Northwest Indian trade and its antecedents. The documents are bracketed by a comprehensive statement of the business environment and by an important analysis of the ethnographic significance of those journals. The illuminating endnotes can be read with as much pleasure as the excellently composed text. UBC Press has published a fine addition to the documentary library of the Pacific Northwest. - John C. Jackson, Oregon Historical Quarterly, Spring 2000, Vol. 101, no.1 The contribution by Wayne Suttles on the ethnographic significance of these journals is a welcome addition to this book (pp. 163-210). This book is strongly recommended for those readers interested in the fur trade era in the Pacific Northwest and early contact period history of British Columbia. For those that may be hesitant to pay the hardcover cost, UBC Press has also published an affordable paperback edition of this book. - Robbin Chatan, The Midden, Vol. 32, No. 2-2000

About the Author

Morag Maclachlan taught British Columbia and Canadian history at Langara College in Vancouver until her retirement in 1983. Wayne Suttles is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Portland State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Univ of British Columbia Pr (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0774806656
• ISBN-13: 978-0774806657
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fort Langley Journals, 1827-30, May 24, 2005

By 

Lisa Peppan "the grey shadowcat" (Pacific Slope, Washington Territory) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fort Langley Journals, 1827-30 (Hardcover)

I discovered this book while researching my family history. The bulk of it is daily entries by me who lived and worked at Fort Langley between 1827 and 1830. Fort Langley, constructed over the summer of 1827, was built for trading not military purposes, and was the first such construction on the Fraser River in what would become, in Nov 1858, British Columbia. If your family history has roots in the West Coast fur trade era, it is a valuable source of what life was like for those ancestors. Most of the fort's employees between 1827 and 1830 are mentioned by name in the assorted journals presented in this book.

The contents include:

-Illustrations and maps

-Journal kept by George Barnston 1827-1828

-Journal kept by James McMillan and Archibald McDonald 1828-1829

-Journal kept by Archibald McDonald 1829-1830

-Journal kept by Archibald McDonald Feb-July 1830

-Letter book & other notes kept by Archibald McDonald

-The Ethnographic Significance of the Fort Langley Journals by Wayne Suttles

As well as appendices dealing with

-The Clallam

-McMillan's report to Governor & Council 15 feb 1828

-McDonald's report to Governor & Council 25 Feb 1830

-Biographies of Shashia & Simon Plamondon

-Names in the Fort Langley Journals

with notes, references, and index, 21 illustrations and 5 maps.

A must have for the Pacific Slope historian.