Wemyss Mackenzie Simpson

Wemyss Mackenzie (McKenzie) Simpson (March 30, 1824 – March 31, 1894) was a Canadian fur trader and political figure. He represented Algoma in the House of Commons of Canada as a Conservative member from 1867 to 1871.[1]

He was born in London, England in 1824,[1] the son of Geddes Mackenzie Simpson.[2] He studied at Eton College and came to Lower Canada in 1841 as an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. Simpson served with the company until 1864, serving as the last factor for the post at Sault Ste. Marie, where he settled after his retirement. His cousin, George Simpson, was a governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1870, Simpson acted as guide and interpreter for the Red River Expeditionary Force.[3] In 1871, he was named Indian Commissioner for Rupert's Land and resigned from his seat in the House of Commons. Later that same year, he arranged Treaties 1 and 2 with the Ojibwa and Swampy Cree Nations in southern Manitoba.[4]

Simpson was married twice: to Annie Ironside in 1853 and later to Eliza Ironside, her sister. He died at Fort Monroe, Virginia in 1894.[2]

  1. ^ a b Wemyss Mackenzie Simpson – Parliament of Canada biography
  2. ^ a b Johnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.
  3. ^ Morgan, Henry J., ed. (1871). The Canadian Parliamentary Companion (Sixth ed.). Montreal: Gazette Steam Printing House. p. 144.
  4. ^ Daugherty, Wayne E (1983). "Treaty Research Report Treaty One and Treaty Two (1871)". Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved 14 September 2009.