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Old Square Toes and His Lady: The Life of James and Amelia Douglas
August 12, 2003, marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sir James Douglas. Although he played an integral role in British Columbia's history, in many ways Douglas remains misunderstood and an enigma. He is known for his contradictory qualities - he was self-serving, racist, a military hawk, sometimes violent and arrogant. Yet he was also extremely community oriented, a humanitarian, brave and a devoted family member.
John Adam's bestseller Old Square-Toes and His Lady: The Life of James and Amelia Douglas serves as an important source of information regarding Douglas's public and private lives. As Adams writes, [the term] old square-toes characterizes him as an unbending, stodgy, boring individual, but nothing could be further from the truth. At the pinnacle of his career, Douglas was knighted by order of Queen Victoria. Considering his modest, mixed-race beginnings in South America, his lofty status is, indeed, remarkable. Equally so is the life of his wife, Amelia. She was also of mixed blood, her mother being Cree and her father Irish. But unlike Douglas, who was educated in Scotland, she never left the northern forests until they married. Their ending up as a knight and lady of the British Empire was an unusual achievement.
Old Square-Toes discusses the Douglases' diverse experiences of astonishing contrasts, from crossing North America by canoe to touring Europe by train, from Native uprisings to the frantic gold rush. Besides finding glory, they also faced grief in losing seven of their beloved children. This is a story of the adventure, heartbreak, and devotion that lies at the roots of western Canada.
John Adam's bestseller Old Square-Toes and His Lady: The Life of James and Amelia Douglas serves as an important source of information regarding Douglas's public and private lives. As Adams writes, [the term] old square-toes characterizes him as an unbending, stodgy, boring individual, but nothing could be further from the truth. At the pinnacle of his career, Douglas was knighted by order of Queen Victoria. Considering his modest, mixed-race beginnings in South America, his lofty status is, indeed, remarkable. Equally so is the life of his wife, Amelia. She was also of mixed blood, her mother being Cree and her father Irish. But unlike Douglas, who was educated in Scotland, she never left the northern forests until they married. Their ending up as a knight and lady of the British Empire was an unusual achievement.
Old Square-Toes discusses the Douglases' diverse experiences of astonishing contrasts, from crossing North America by canoe to touring Europe by train, from Native uprisings to the frantic gold rush. Besides finding glory, they also faced grief in losing seven of their beloved children. This is a story of the adventure, heartbreak, and devotion that lies at the roots of western Canada.
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First published May 1, 2001
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John Adams
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 13, 2024
A biography of Sir James Douglas, first Governor of the colony of British Columbia and a man seen as instrumental in creating the identity of the province. I have been to BC a couple of times so have an interest in its history. Additionally, I was interested in Douglas’ unusual background. He was born in 1803 in what is now Guyana. His father, John Douglas, was a Scottish merchant and planter and his mother, Martha Ann Ritchie, a free mixed-race woman originally from Barbados. The couple had at least 3 children together although they never married and in fact Douglas married a woman in Glasgow. Martha Ann seems to have been quite wealthy. The exact source of her wealth is a bit unclear but a reference in her will suggests she may have owned a brothel. In the context of the 19th century British Empire, being the illegitimate mixed-race son of a brothel owner wasn’t exactly coming from a place of privilege, yet James ended up a colonial governor and a Knight of the Realm.
At the age of 9 James was taken to Scotland by his father for the purposes of schooling. He was never to see either his mother or his homeland again. James was intelligent, conscientious, and someone who regarded slothfulness as the worst of all sins. At 15 he was apprenticed to the fur trading North West Company, later taken over by the Hudson Bay Company. He eventually worked his way up to be Chief Factor, prior to becoming Governor of first Vancouver Island and then also mainland British Columbia.
In his early days with the HBC, Douglas married Amelia Connolly, the daughter of William Connolly, a French-Canadian fur trader of Irish heritage. and a Cree Indian woman, Miyo Nipiy, who had married “à la façon du pays”, a practice also known in English as “Scotch custom”. William later abandoned Miyo Nipiy and married another woman in Montreal. Years later this generated a court case over William’s inheritance, which centred on whether his Montreal marriage was bigamous. Apparently the case was quite celebrated in its day.
James and Amelia had 13 children, of whom 7 died in infancy. The varied genetic heritage of the children inevitably attracted comment, as did the fact that the Governor of one of Britain's colonies had a half-Indian wife. The book doesn’t play up the racial issues around the family but does note that they existed. To some extent class and race issues counteracted one another with the family. James and Amelia’s children were used to moving in the highest social circles and could be quite snobbish, but they encountered snobbery themselves over their racial origins. It is notable that after James become Governor, Amelia rarely appeared at public events. Many historians suggest she was forced into this by the racialism she encountered, although the author suggests other factors may have been more important. Amelia spoke French and Cree but never fully mastered English. Her background had not prepared her for “high society” and the author suggests she may never have felt comfortable moving in such circles.
The author gives a fair assessment of Douglas as Governor. He had his strengths but his weaknesses too. His descendants scattered across the globe and few today have any connection with BC, but as the author highlights, the name of Douglas is still indelibly associated with the early history of the province.
This biography seems to me to be very well-researched. In an indirect way, it's also informative about the way the 19th century British Empire operated. About a 3.5 for reading enjoyment, which I have rounded up.
At the age of 9 James was taken to Scotland by his father for the purposes of schooling. He was never to see either his mother or his homeland again. James was intelligent, conscientious, and someone who regarded slothfulness as the worst of all sins. At 15 he was apprenticed to the fur trading North West Company, later taken over by the Hudson Bay Company. He eventually worked his way up to be Chief Factor, prior to becoming Governor of first Vancouver Island and then also mainland British Columbia.
In his early days with the HBC, Douglas married Amelia Connolly, the daughter of William Connolly, a French-Canadian fur trader of Irish heritage. and a Cree Indian woman, Miyo Nipiy, who had married “à la façon du pays”, a practice also known in English as “Scotch custom”. William later abandoned Miyo Nipiy and married another woman in Montreal. Years later this generated a court case over William’s inheritance, which centred on whether his Montreal marriage was bigamous. Apparently the case was quite celebrated in its day.
James and Amelia had 13 children, of whom 7 died in infancy. The varied genetic heritage of the children inevitably attracted comment, as did the fact that the Governor of one of Britain's colonies had a half-Indian wife. The book doesn’t play up the racial issues around the family but does note that they existed. To some extent class and race issues counteracted one another with the family. James and Amelia’s children were used to moving in the highest social circles and could be quite snobbish, but they encountered snobbery themselves over their racial origins. It is notable that after James become Governor, Amelia rarely appeared at public events. Many historians suggest she was forced into this by the racialism she encountered, although the author suggests other factors may have been more important. Amelia spoke French and Cree but never fully mastered English. Her background had not prepared her for “high society” and the author suggests she may never have felt comfortable moving in such circles.
The author gives a fair assessment of Douglas as Governor. He had his strengths but his weaknesses too. His descendants scattered across the globe and few today have any connection with BC, but as the author highlights, the name of Douglas is still indelibly associated with the early history of the province.
This biography seems to me to be very well-researched. In an indirect way, it's also informative about the way the 19th century British Empire operated. About a 3.5 for reading enjoyment, which I have rounded up.
May 10, 2020
Thumbs up for Old Square Toes
The author's research makes this challenging read worthwhile. The early chapters necessarily mix the stories of two families James and Amelia. This is wonderful but requires lots of concentration to keep them separate. The end product? The powerful and colorful history of James Douglas as a Chief Factor of UNC and first Governor of the colony of Vancouver Island. A very good read, indeed.
The author's research makes this challenging read worthwhile. The early chapters necessarily mix the stories of two families James and Amelia. This is wonderful but requires lots of concentration to keep them separate. The end product? The powerful and colorful history of James Douglas as a Chief Factor of UNC and first Governor of the colony of Vancouver Island. A very good read, indeed.
August 27, 2014
Although a bit dry in spots and sometimes a bit "scattered", this is a good book on the lives of James and Amelia Douglas. It fleshes out the picture of the chief factor and governor given in the more general histories of British Columbia. Seeing that those books give little attention to Amelia or to the Douglas family, one of the high points of this little book is that it tells so much about both. I've always found Douglas an interesting character: good as an accountant and businessman, but often inept at governing a colony; good with the Indians, but often pompous and arrogant with his own people. Being a fellow Reformed Episcopalian, it would have been interesting to read more about his involvement with Edward Cridge and the founding of the Church of Our Lord. Adams covers the very basics of the conflict and mentions some of the continuing issues that arose between Douglas and Hills as a result of the schism, but it would have been nice to know a bit more.
July 16, 2011
This book is an important part of Canadian history and more specifically the early history of British Columbia. It is the first time I've learned anything about Governor James Douglas and his wife Amelia Douglas. I long wondered about what kind of man Governor Douglas because of the little known Douglas Treaties on Vancouver Island. I was delighted to know that both he and his wife were of mixed parentage. It would have been fascinating to know these people firsthand. Reading the book was the next best thing. The only weakness of the book was the somewhat stiff writing style.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews