Memorable Manitobans: Owen Keveny (?-1816)

Murder victim.

A native of Sligo, Ireland, he was employed by Lord Selkirk as second-in-command to Miles Macdonell at Red River, and he led the second party of Selkirk settlers to the settlement in 1812. He was regarded by his men as a harsh disciplinarian, and he nearly left the region on several occasions. Employed by Selkirk to lead a party from Fort Albany to Red River in 1816, Keveny was arrested at Bas-de-la-Rivière (Fort Alexander) under a warrant issued by a North West Company magistrate and was eventually murdered by two employees of the NWC in September 1816. One of his killers was convicted of the crime, the only guilty verdict rendered in the complex court battles over Red River that occurred in the Canadas from 1817 to 1819.

More information:

Owen Keveny, Dictionary of Canadian Biography V, 465-66.

Sources:

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Page revised: 21 March 2008

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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