In the later fur trade period, it became common for fur-traders to take half-breed wives. The marriage ceremony gradually became more formalized; a brief exchange of vows was usually conducted by the Chief Factor at the post, the binding nature of the contract being emphasised. Many of the half-breed wives of Hudson's Bay Company officers were remarkable women. Two such were Amelia (left), wife of Sir James Douglas and Josette, wife of Chief Factor John Work. With wisdom and grace, these women adapted as Fort Victoria changed from an isolated fur trade post to a frontier of settlement.
In 1828, James Douglas, a young clerk at Fort St. James, married the daughter of the Chief Factor William Connolly and his Cree wife. Partly because she spoke Indian and French better than English, Mrs. Douglas was reluctant to play an active social role when her husband became governor of Vancouver Island. Still, she was admired by all who knew her for her kindness and geniality. Lady Douglas became acculturated to Victorian dress and living, but she never forgot her Indian heritage. In the long winter evenings, she delighted her children and grandchildren with the legends of the Cree, her mother's people.
Josette Work, the daughter of a voyageur and a Spokane woman, was married at fifteen and raised a family of eleven children. This picture taken after the family had settled in Victoria in the 1850s, shows how completely she had adapted to Victorian fashion. At a glance she might be taken for the old Queen herself! Mrs. Work died in 1896, having outlived her husband by thirty years; she was remembered for her "usefulness in pioneer work and many good deeds."
