William Fraser Tolmie
Encyclopedia
William Fraser Tolmie (February 3, 1812 – December 8, 1886) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

, fur trader, scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...

, and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

He was born in Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, in 1812, and by 1833 moved to the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

 in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 (HBC). In 1855 he was made Chief Factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...

 of Fort Nisqually
Fort Nisqually
Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area of what is now DuPont, Washington and was part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. Today it is a living history museum located in Tacoma, Washington, USA, within the...

, an HBC post at the southern end of Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

. He served at Nisqually from 1843 to 1859. In 1859 he moved to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, where he continued serving the HBC as well as becoming active in politics.

His written works include Comparative Vocabulary of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia (1884), and his journals, published in 1963 as The Journals of William Fraser Tolmie.

Early career

At the age of 20, Tolmie received a medical degree from the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

, after which he joined the Hudson's Bay Company and soon sailed for the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

. In the spring of 1833 he arrived at Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...

. Soon after arriving he was sent to the proposed site for Fort Nisqually, at the southern end of Puget Sound near the Nisqually River
Nisqually River
The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southwest of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Puget Sound....

 delta. The route was via canoe up the Cowlitz River
Cowlitz River
The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens....

 then overland by horse. Tolmie's journal provides the first detailed account of this route, today essentially that of Interstate 5
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific Ocean coastline from Canada to Mexico . It serves some of the largest cities on the U.S...

.

Tolmie stayed at the newly built Fort Nisqually for seven months, until December 1833.

In June 1833 there was an earthquake at Fort Nisqually. Tolmie's journal entry about it is the first recorded eyewitness description of an earthquake in the Puget Sound region.

While at Nisqually he wrote in his journal about nearby Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier is a massive stratovolcano located southeast of Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of . Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most...

 and his desire to see it more closely. In August 1833 he arranged a "botanizing excursion" to the mountain, with Lachalet, a Nisqually
Nisqually (tribe)
Nisqually is a Lushootseed Native American tribe in western Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives on a reservation in the Nisqually River valley near the river delta. The Nisqually Indian Reservation, at , comprises 20.602 km² of land area on both sides of the river, in...

 Indian, and Nuckalkat, a Puyallup
Puyallup (tribe)
The Puyallup are a Coast Salish Native American tribe from western Washington state, U.S.A. They were forcibly relocated onto reservation lands in what is today Tacoma, Washington, in late 1854, after signing the Treaty of Medicine Creek. The Puyallup Indian Reservation today is one of the most...

, as guides. Three other Indians joined the party. They traveled through the thick forests, following the general course of the Puyallup River
Puyallup River
The Puyallup River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. About long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound...

 to the Mowich River
Mowich River
The Mowich River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. Its watershed drains a portion of the western side of Mount Rainier, part of the Cascade Range. The river has two main headwater branches, the South Mowich River and the North Mowich River. The South Mowich is significantly larger and...

 and into what is today the northwest part of Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was one of the US's earliest National Parks, having been established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park contains...

. Wanting to reach the snow level, Tolmie chose the nearest snowy peak and climbed it with Lachalet and Nuckalkat. Tolmie Peak
Tolmie Peak
Tolmie Peak is a peak in the Mount Rainier area of the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located northwest of Mowich Lake, in the northwest part of Mount Rainier National Park....

 is named for this event, although it is not known exactly which peak was summited. During the expedition, Dr. Tolmie discovered a new species of saxifrage
Saxifrage
Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 440 species of Holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages. The Latin word saxifraga means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin + ...

 which is now known as Tolmie's Saxifrage (Saxifraga tolmiei
Saxifraga tolmiei
Saxifraga tolmiei is a species of saxifrage known by the common name Tolmie's saxifrage, or Tolmie's alpine saxifrage. It is native to western North America from Alaska to Montana to California, where it grows in rocky mountain habitat types, especially in alpine climates, such as talus and...

). Due to this trip, Dr. Tolmie was the first European to explore the Puyallup River valley and Mount Rainier.

At the end of 1833, Tolmie went to the HBC post of Fort Simpson before returning to Europe. In 1834 and 1835 he served at the new HBC post of Fort McLoughlin
Fort McLoughlin
Fort McLoughlin was a fur trading post established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company on Campbell Island in present-day British Columbia, Canada. The site is believed to have been at McLoughlin Bay on the northeast side of Campbell Island and is associated with the relocation of the Heiltsuk...

.

Commander of Fort Nisqually

In 1843 Dr. Tolmie returned to Fort Nisqually (also called "Nisqually House" and "Nisqually Station"). He served at Nisqually from 1843 to 1859. In 1847 he was promoted to Chief Trader, and in 1855 to Chief Factor. He worked to achieve good relationships with the region's Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 and the growing number of United States settlers.

In 1846 Tolmie served as a legislator in the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
Provisional Legislature of Oregon
The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region...

 representing Lewis County and HBC interests.

In 1857, Dr. Tolmie supported Chief Leschi
Chief Leschi
Chief Leschi was chief of the Nisqually Native American tribe. He was hanged for murder in 1858, but exonerated in 2004.-Life:...

, who was being tried for murders related to the Puget Sound War
Puget Sound War
The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States Military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat...

 of 1855-1856. Tolmie visited the sites where Leschi was alleged to have been, measured distances, and determined it was impossible for Leschi to have made the trip to the murder site in the time required. Nonetheless, Leschi was executed in 1858. Later, the trial was judged to have been unlawfully conducted, the execution wrong, and Leschi innocent.

Vancouver Island

In 1859 the Hudson's Bay Company transferred Tolmie to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He served on the HBC Board of Management from 1861 to 1870, retiring from the company in 1871.

In addition to working for the HBC, Tolmie became active in politics. He was a member of the House of Assembly of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

 from 1860 to 1866 and a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 from 1874 to 1878.

He continued to study indigenous languages until his death on December 8, 1886.

Family

Jane Work was the daughter of John Work and Josette Legacée. She was 23 years old, and he 38, when they were married in 1850. They lived first at Fort Nisqually, then at Victoria, where their farm home adjoined the Work family's Hillside Farm. The Work and Tolmie cousins grew up together.

Legacy

William Fraser Tolmie's name is associated with Tolmie Peak near Mount Rainier and Tolmie's Saxifrage, which he discovered there. Tolmie State Park
Tolmie State Park
Tolmie State Park is a day-use state park northeast of the Washington capital of Olympia. The main attraction is of saltwater beachfront at the mouth of a creek known as Big Slough. There is also an underwater diving area for Scuba diving....

 in Washington is named for him, as are Mount Tolmie, Tolmie Channel, and Tolmie Point in British Columbia. Tolmie Street in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 is also named for him. Other plants bearing his name include Tolmie's star-tulip (Calochortus tolmiei) and Tolmie's onion (Allium tolmiei). The scientific name of MacGillivray's Warbler
MacGillivray's Warbler
The MacGillivray's Warbler, Oporornis tolmiei, is a small species of New World warbler. Like all members of the genus Oporornis, these birds are sluggish and heavy warblers with short tails, preferring to spend most of their time on, or near the ground, except when singing.The MacGillivray's...

 is also named for him: Oporornis tolmiei.

Tolmie's son, Simon Fraser Tolmie
Simon Fraser Tolmie
Simon Fraser Tolmie, PC was a veterinarian, farmer, politician, and the 21st Premier of the Province of British Columbia, Canada....

, was the twenty-first Premier of British Columbia
Premier of British Columbia
The Premier of British Columbia is the first minister, head of government, and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s the title Prime Minister of British Columbia was often used...

.

External links

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