George McPherson (Sr.) was born in the Northwest around 1814.
At the age of sixteen, he began his career with the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), working alongside his father, Andrew. He was transferred to the Albany District in 1837. From 1843 to 1856, he was in charge of the Osnaburgh post, serving as an interpreter and postmaster—occupations that undoubtedly shaped his future endeavors.
In 1858, McPherson was reassigned by the HBC and took up a position at Rat Portage (present-day Kenora) in the Lac La Pluie (Rainy Lake) District. There, he would continue to work extensively for the HBC and contribute valuable service to his Métis community for the next 40 years.
In 1870, soldier and author George Lightfoot Huyshe described his impressions of the Métis McPherson—who was now in a Company leadership role—while visiting the HBC Post at Rat Portage:
“Mr. Macpherson [sic], the official in charge, was most civil and obliging. He is a Scotch half-breed, a quiet gentlemanly, elderly man... he had his little farm and his wife and family, and was quite happy and contented.”
After retiring from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1871, George McPherson started a private trading business at Northwest Angle, which provided supplies and overnight accommodations.
Shortly after, George McPherson drew again upon his early career experiences, serving as a personal interpreter for Treaty Commissioner Alexander Morris—who described McPherson as an “intelligent half-breed trader”—during the negotiations of Treaty No. 3 at the Northwest Angle. McPherson signed Treaty No. 3 as a witness in 1873.
As a widely respected figure in the Lake of the Woods area, McPherson continued his career of service through an appointment as Indian Agent. However, at age 73, the government deemed that “his retirement would be in the public interest”.
In response, the residents of Rat Portage and Keewatin petitioned, though unsuccessfully, for his reinstatement, noting they had “always found him kind and obliging.”
The McPherson family's presence in the Northwestern Ontario Métis Community expanded into the twentieth century, with multiple generations living on Lake of the Woods and sustaining themselves through the land. By the 1920s, over 40 of McPherson's descendants had been born in the region, continuing to earn their livelihoods through fishing and farming.
Many of George McPherson’s descendants continue his legacy of community service today.
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