In the 1830 Census of Michigan Territory, George and his family were enumerated in Michilimackinac County (Sault Ste Marie - Makinaw area). There is little doubt George was destined to become a Voyageur just as soon as he was able to lift a paddle! No doubt when he travelled with his Dad he mingled with many of the famous explorers of the day, listening intently to their adventurous tales. Some would be loaded with fur-bales inbound for Montreal, others laden with trade goods for the outposts.

This was the gateway to the west and these were exciting times! When he was a lad he watched canoe brigades paddling by, filled with singing voyageurs. Their home was located in an area of particularly concentrated activity. George, and his brother Pierre, grew up in the heartland of the fur trade. Around this fort was to grow the city of Winnipeg. On May 20, 1822, SIMPSON reported to the board of governors of the HBC that he had established a fort at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. HBC policy was not to employ 'Natural Canadians' in any supervisory position.Īt the time of the union, (Sir) George SIMPSON (1786-1860) became the Governor of Rupert’s Land. Racism was becoming entrenched in the HBC system by the time George was a young man and it would have been difficult for him to get a good position with the Company in spite of the experience he must have gained working with his Dad. Unfortunately, the HBC began replacing Métis voyageurs with Orkney men. After the merger, almost 1,300 employees lost their jobs since the single HBC organization that emerged had no need for most of the voyageurs and retired fur traders. In 1821 the Union of the North West Company (NWC) and the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) occurred, ending years of bitter rivalry for dominance of the fur trade in Western Canada. Union of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the NWC George was a direct descendant of Englishman John SAYER (1750-1818) who came to the Lake Superior region in 1776, married an Ojibwe woman named OBEMAU UNOQUA, and became a shareholding partner in the NWC.īy 1818 George’s older brother, Pierre Guillaume SAYER (1796-1853), had begun the life of a voyageur with the North West Company (NWC), and was working out of Cumberland House in northern Saskatchewan. His mother (Marguerite) was an Ojibway woman. George SAYER / SAYERS was born around 1812, most likely at Lac la Pluie (Ft Frances) or Fort William where his father, John Charles SAYER (1782-1838), was a clerk and interpreter for the North West Company (NWC).

George sayer