Fur trader.
Born on 8 February 1812, son of John Rowand (1787-1854) and Louise Umphreville (1783-1849), he worked through the ranks of the Hudson’s Bay Company, employed at such posts as Rocky Mountain House, Upper Fort Garry, Fort Assiniboine, Fort Pitt, and Cumberland House, retiring in the rank of Chief Trader. In 1856, he retired to the Red River Settlement where built a log home in what is now the western part of Winnipeg. He named the residence Silver Heights. It was later taken over by his son-in-law, James McKay.
On 6 January 1848, he married Margaret Harriott (1830-1893). They had six children: Maria Rowand (1849-1889, wife of John Henry McTavish), Adelaide Rowand (1852-1889, wife of John Balsillie), Margaret Louisa Rowand (1854-1893, wife of Andrew Robert James Bannatyne), John James Alexander Rowand (1861-1866), and Edward Robert Tache Rowand (1864-1942). After his death, his widow remarried, to Hugh S. Donaldson.
He died in March 1865 and is commemorated by Rowand Avenue in Winnipeg.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Silver Heights Plaque (Winnipeg)
“An estimable lady gone,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 September 1893.
“John Rowand Jr.,” Hudson’s Bay Company Biographical Sheets, Hudson’s Bay Company Archives.
We thank Beth Balsillie for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 August 2013
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