| Last Name | First Name | Occupation |
| McDonald | Archibald | Chief Trader | Tolmie | William F. | Physician | Bercier | Peter | Interpreter |
The chart above list just a few of those who worked at Fort Nisqually. For a larger chart of employees of the Fort please see my new pages 5 and 6 which tells of the "Descendants of the Employees of Fort Nisqually" McDonad was an Uncle to Helen McDonald (William's second wife). Dr. Tolmie was William Kittson's physician who's records we will need to research to find the real cause of Kittson's death. Some records say it was "a long and painful malidy". Others say it had something to do with his arm. We are thinking from all indications that it was a form of cancer. New information has changed this last statement as we received copies of letters from the HBC in William Kittson's own handwriting telling Simpson that Dr. Barclay was his physician, but that Dr. John McLoughling "...acts as a father towards me in all my little wants in the bed of sickness." (dated Feb. 17th, 1841). In another letter we received from the HBC he tells of having kidney problems and blisters on his back and spine. Bercier, in the chart above, I believe, is related on my Grandmother's side of the family. A time line gives a brief history of the fur trade for those wishing to better orient themselves. Many of our relatives were important to the dates shown.
William Kittson was burried at Fort Vancouver, Wa. There had been a marker placed in honor of William Kittson, John McLoughlin, Jr., and Pierre Pambrun The marker was placed there by the group representing the War of 1812 in which William had been active. When the I-5 Freeway went through the Fort had the bodies moved. It has not been clear as to where. It is believed that they are either at St. James Cemetery or the Military one next to it. A marker was never replaced there as had been stated it would be, by the same group at least to our knowledge. We have found no evidence of his burrial site and have been told at least the three, if not more were put in a common grave. We hope to some day find the correct site. It would be nice to have it clearly marked for the descendants of all three men.
After William's death on December 25th, 1841, his sons by Marie Walla Walla were sent to the St. Joseph's college in St. Paul, Oregon. His son, Jules Kittson, may have died in either the Columbia or Willamette River where he worked on board one of the ships. William's other son, Peter (Pierre Charles Kittson)married Angelique Dupre. They had twelve children, but only two lived to have families. The others all died as children of small pox and are burried in the old St. Paul Cemetery in St. Paul, Or. marked only by a single large cross. Peter and Angelique are both burried in St. Paul, Or. in the newer cemetery (already very old by our standards). Their children were:
She had two sons John P. (1893-1898), Edward A. (1895-1898) and a daughter Mary (1897-196X) by her first husband, John Taitinger(1860-1898). The boys died at sea with their father when he went to take them to France to see relatives there.They were on board the La Bourgogne This attached website tells the story of the ship wreck. I am still hoping to add the story of John & his sons here, but until then there are several sites telling of other lost passengers on that ship. John's grandniece wrote a very moving and detailed account of this tragedy in her book on the Taitinger's Family line and has given me permission to use her story. It will take some time to add in here. Her research was superior. Thank you Rae Trimble. One story on this collision made it to the Supreme Court Historical Society. If you go to google you can find many other stories as well. Agnes' daughter, Mary, was born with one arm, yet her gift was writing. She married the nephew of her mother's second husband. His name was Arthur Payne, thus they both share the last name of Payne. She wrote one of the earliest silent films, but alas noone seems to have the name. My Aunt also believed she may have used an assumed name, but that too is not known or if it is for certain. Agness had other boys by her second marriage, but we have lost track and are still searching for them. We have since found one more descendant, but hope to find mroe.
One story my Aunt use to tell me was about Peter falling from a loft in the barn and breaking his leg. He had much work to finish so strapped his leg to the rope hanging from the pulley above the loft. One quick yank and he was ready to go about his business. There was a picture and an article written in the Spokane Spokesman Review on October 2,1904 about Peter Kittson. He had quite a story to tell the papers about his life experiences. Wish he had mentioned his brother, Jules Kittson. The picture in the article was by Lee Moorhouse. I would love to see the Moorhouse collection as I feel there are many other pictures we might recognize. These are at the library at University of Oregon in their Special Collections. We have been in touch with their coordinator of Preservation & Digital Services, Normandie. She worked on a grant putting together a special Moorhouse exhibit at the Tamastslik Cultural Institute on the Umatilla Reservation where Peter and other family members spent many years. After sending her a copy of the newspaper article she was able to find the Original Moorhouse picture of Peter Kittson. She will make the effort to add his picture and story to the special exhibit. Above is the picture of Peter Kittson which finally arrived in 2006. Many of you relatives I am sure remember hearing of grandma Virginia Brouillard's brother, Albert Brouillard who married Mae (Mary) McBean (McBain). I am trying to remember now without my notes if she is the daughter or granddaughter of John McBean (McBain) who is better known as an interpretor and has been in many of Moorhouse's pictures with Moorhouse himself. They are in many of the history books. The McBean's and Tucker's recently had a family reunion. If I get more information from them I will add it in here.
I have a few moments here, so would like to add the article that was written first hand by Peter Kittson and was in the Spokane Spokesman Review on October 2, 1904. In the header header it reads:
74 YEARS AGO 2 OCt. 1904 Career of Peter Kittson, who has seen the west develop. This was followed by the statement:
He has only voted once and another shows Indian Fighter spend most of his time in camp - father of 12 children
PENDLETON, ORE., SEPT. 29 - On the reservation a few miles south of the little town of Adams resides a character most interesting to the delvers in wester history. He is Peter Kittson. Born in Wallula in 1830, soon after the establishment of the trading posts in the west, he has witnessed the marvelous changes from old Oregon to new Oregon, from the primeval land to the civilized.
Although 74 years of age this wonderful old man remembers almost every incident of note during his long and eventful life. The rush of the three score and ten and then four has left his shoulders a little bent, but his hair is scarcely tinged with gray and his eyes are as bright as ever. Born of parents of mixed blood, that of the hardy Scotch Canadian and the Indian, he makes an interesting study. His speech is slightly accented with the French language, as that is the language he and his family speak.
At a Lonely Post
"I was born at Wallula in 1830, where my father was in the employ of the Hudson Bay Fur Company.", said Mr Kittson. "My father was a Scotch Canadian, with some Indian blood, and my mother was a full blood, My memomory goes back to the time when we lived at that lonely trading post, and it seems centuries ago. When I was 13 years old my father was assigned to a post far up in Canada, and I was sent to Vancouver to stay. I believe that I am the only person living that was with old Dr. McLaughlin, the same old McLaughlin of whom Eva Emery Dye sings. I remember him as well as if I had seen him but yesterday. He was an old man when I first saw him. He was large and wore his hair combed so it stood out all over his head. And, yell, why you could hear him five miles when he was mad, but he was a fine old man and as kind as he could be. He was always on th look out for the safety of the settlers in the interior. He was succeeded in command of the fort by Peter Skeen Ogden, who was, by the way, my Godfather, after whom I was christened. He was a milder tempered man than the old doctor.
Followed Gold Rush
After leaving the forest, I settled in French prairie, in the Willamette valley, where I was married in later years. During the rush for gold in California in '48 and '49 I joined a party and followed the crowds. I never mine any, but made a lot of money taking care of stock. At that time I received $15 a day for herding the miners mules and horses. I returned after a short time and settled in the Willamette Valley.
I served in the Cayuse war of '55 and '56 under General Kelly at Walla Walla and under the direct command of Captain Conoyer, who now resides east of Pendleton at Thorn Hollow. They tell me that the old major, as he afterward became, is failing fast and has nearly lost his memory.
His First and Last Vote
No, I don't take any interest in politics. A reservation man has no business meddling in politics. But I do remember my first vote. It was in 1852, when Pierce and King and Scott and Graham were on the tickets for president and vice president. This happened at French prairie. At that time the democrats were strong in Oregon, and they were trying to keep the whigs from voting. At the polls there were several bullies, who would shove the republicans back when they came to vote. As I came along a big husky fellow tried to keep me from voting and we mixed. A free for all fight occurred, and axes were swung and knives drawn, see?" and the old man pulled back his coat sleeve, and on the wrist was a long jagged knife wound and also on in the palm of his hand. "But I voted," chuckled the old man, "my first and last vote."
Lives in Camp
"I have been married 47 years, and my wife has been an invalid for 28 years. I have had 12 children, but only the eldest and the youngest are alive. Consumption, yes, that seems the enemy of the mixed blood. I have retired from active farming and spend most of my summers at a camp in the mountains. I guess that is the Indian blood in me. I rent my land and, with the pension I receive from Uncle Sam for helping him out with the Cayuses, I manage to survive."
History of Wallula
The history of this old, pioneer recalls the tale of the rise and fall of the settlement of Wallula. Settled in 1818 by the Hudson's Bay Company, it was first named Fort Nez Perce, but was shortly changed to Walla Walla, meaning, as does Wallula in different dialect, "an abundance of waters". At the junction of the Snake and Columbia rivers the traders decided upon the location of a post. Timber was floated down stream a hundred miles and a fort built. The Indians looked sullenly on as they saw their grounds about to be invaded by the whites, but made no hostile demonstrations. In 1842 the fort was destroyed by fire and rebuilt with adobe bricks in 1843. In 1853 it was abandoned by Captain James Sinclair, who feared it would fall into the hands of the Indians, and remained unsettled until 1860-61, when it became a steamboat landing and was renamed Wallula.
Numerous historic incidents are related of this old fort. At one time McKenzie, who was in command, held a lighted match over an open keg of gunpowder and drove off a party of Indians who came to plunder the storehouses. Captain McKinley, another commander, is credited with the same act a few years after under similar circumstances.
Peter Kittson's father is mentioned frequently in Bancroft's history of Oregon and Washington as having been connected with the fort and having had command of numerious expeditions to different parts of the country.
Humorist Mark
Wallula stands today a mere railroad junction, on the barren sage brush expanse, parched by the burning sun of summer and chilled by the cold winds of winter, and forgotten as having been the scene of strife and hardships of the early part of the century. Bill Nye eulogized it in a book on his western travels, mentioning particularly the hotel accomodations of the place.
Major Lee Moorehouse, the famous depicter of Indian life, is of the opinion that Wallula was the rendezvous of the trappers as early as 1813. Traces of the fort - the adobe bricks - are still to be see. The site is occupied by a farmer's calf pen, an inglorious finish for so historical a spot.
This article, with the above picture of Peter Kittson, was found by my sister when visiting the old Multnomah County Library in downtown Portland. She had found it in their stacks on the second floor. Some time later when we were watching TV we were sadly made aware of the sale of many items from the library prior to its restoration. After the library reopened we could no longer find this article, so for many years we had only the one copy to keep and reprint for family and friends who knew Peter Kittson and his family. I tried to get a copy from the newspaper, but was told this could not be done. This was one way I thought I could help to memorialize his article. There will be edits added to this written by my sister to the history as is known and validated by the family. They are only minor. The knife fight in the voting was real as our aunts and uncles attested to. They too saw the battle scars on his arm and hand. Because we knew the picture of Peter was a part of the Moorhouse that started me on the case to find the original. As written in the information above this article we must thank Normandie Helmer for all of her hard work in tracking this picture down out of so many that were there in the collection. It was a very exciting find for our family.
Peter & Angelique Dupre Kittson, as did Frank & Aurelie Bonin Brouillard, raised their families in what is known as The French Prairie, which includes St. Paul, St. Louis, Champoeg, Gervais and many more small communities located off the I-5 midway between Portland & Salem, Oregon. The history there can be found in many unique websites. Some people important in saving this history is historian, George T. Brown, author of Friend and Family on French Prairie (and elsewhere) to whom we owe a great deal of thanks and honor. Connie Lenzen and her husband have also done a great job of bringing the history to their many pages for all to learn and research from, and Mike Ransom for the pages listed also with the help of Connie: French Canadians in the 1842 Oregon census , Catholic Church Records of the Pacific Northwest which lists many of those who in time settled in the French Prairie. Another page you might want to enter into is the List of Settlers West of Rockies, 1842, by Elijah White, Indian Agent. This starts near the end of the pages, but many of our related family members are on it, so wanted it up front. I didn't get these thanks and pages in the right order, but know these wonderful people have provided a lot of needed research records to light. Now the test to see if I made all of these links to connect properly.
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Return to Kittson FamilyHome Page 1 or return to Hudson's Bay Company Page 2 or to go on to Pierre Charles Kittson's Descendants Page 4 For a chart listing many of the men, women, and families of Fort Nisqually please see my NEW pages page 5 and page 6