Alexander Bellie, Master of Frederick House

ALEXANDER BELLIE (aka ALEXANDER BELLY or BAILLIE) [1]

Hudson's Bay Company Servant, 1785-1812; Labourer at Moose Fort, 1785-95; Canoe Man at Moose Fort, 1795-96; In Charge at Frederick House, 1798-1801 and 1811-12

His Record of Service with the Hudson's Bay Company

Alexander Belly, here treated, was a native of Birsay in Orkney. He entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1785. He arrived at Moose Fort on 10 September 1785. He was labourer there until 16 September 1790, when he left HBC service and returned to Orkney. He signed a new contract on 7 June 1791 and arrived back at Moose on 5 September 1791. He continued at Moose as a labourer and as a canoe man until 1801. He was a 'A very good Canoeman & Canoe builder has acted as Mr. Folster's assistant at Abbitibbi". He was in charge at Frederick House from 1798 until 1801, when he returned home to Orkney on the Prince of Wales. He entered HBC service again on 15 Juy 1811, arriving back at Moose on 29 September 1811. He was in charge at Frederick House in 1812, where he was one of the victims of 'the Frederick House massacre' in that year. His age is given as 25 in his 1791 contract and as 32 in the 1801 Prince of Wales log He received a bounty for travelling inland, 1792-1796 Payments to his wife in Orkney are recorded for 1812. He kept the Post journals for Frederick House, June 1798-July 1799, Oct. 1799-June 1801. HBC Bio Sheets

Death

Alexander Belly, here treated, is presumed to have been murdered in 1812, at Frederick House in Ontario, British North America, where he was employed as Master by the Hudson's Bay Company. The Journal of the neighbouring Kenogamissi Post for 26 October 1812 noted the arrival of Alexander Belly, the Master of Frederick House who delivered two hens. Belly immediately departed to return to Frederick House. On March 18, 1813 Richard Good at Kenogamissi Post sent two men to Frederick House. On March 23, these men returned with the news that Frederick House had been robbed and that the three white inhabitants could not be found The two traders found the outer door of the Frederick House dwelling building torn off' while the inner partitions of the master's apartment had been knocked down and the warehouse and food cellar open. European provisions and guns were missing. Two Indian corpses lay in the dwelling house. Red River Ancestry

Marriage

Alexander Bellie, here treated, married Katharine Huntow [2] The marriage was booked on 4 March 1802, at Birsay in Orkney, Scotland. She is noticed as his widow on 28 May 1821. [Orkney Family History Society: 1821 Census Return for Stromness]

Children

1. John Bellie
2. Katherine Bellie
3. Alexander Bellie
4. George Bellie
5. Janet Bellie
6. William Bellie

Evidence from the Scottish Census Returns

28 May 1821: Stromness: (1) Catherine Hunto, (F), 51, Widow (2) Cath Bell(ie) (F), 18, Strawplaiting (3) Jannet Bell(ie) (F), 14, Strawplaiting [Orkney Family History Society: 1821 Census Return for Stromness]

Notes

[1] According to Gregor Lamb, the surname Bellie is almost certainly a variation of Billie, a surname which is found at an early date in Orkney and Shetland records. It has no connection with the given name Billy, the nickname for William, but it may have given rise to the place named Bellies Knowe in the Orkney parish of Marwick. [Gregor Lamb, Orkney Surnames (Paul Harris Publishing, Edinburgh, 1981), p. 11]

[2] The surname Huntow or Hunto is derived from the farm of the same name in the Orkney parish of Birsay. During the first quarter of the nineteenth century Huntow was modified to Hunter. [Gregor Lamb, Orkney Surnames (Paul Harris Publishing, Edinburgh, 1981), p. 34]