Mapmaker: Philip Turnor in Rupert's Land in the Age of Enlightenment

by Barbara Mitchell

Overview

As the first inland surveyor for the Hudson's Bay Company, Philip Turnor stands tall among the explorers and mapmakers of Canada. Accompanied by Cree guides and his Cree wife, Turnor travelled 15,000 miles by canoe and foot between 1778 and 1792 to produce ten maps, culminating in his magnum opus, a map that was the foundation of all northern geographic knowledge at that time.



Barbara Mitchell's biography brings to life the man who taught David Thompson and Peter Fidler how to survey. In her search for Turnor's story, Mitchell discovers her own Cree-Orkney ancestry and that of thousands of others who are descendents of Turnor and his Cree wife.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780889775039
Publisher:	University of Regina Press
Publication date:	10/07/2017
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Barbara Mitchell is co-author of a two-volume biography of W.O. Mitchell, Beginnings to Who Has Seen the Wind and The Years of Fame. She lives in Otonabee, Ontario.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Mitchell's work adds substantially to a deeper knowledge of Turnor, his life, his work, and to the extent possible, his character. It provides the first close study of his background, writings, career trajectory, and contributions to the mapping of North America." - Jennifer Brown, Strangers in Blood: Fur Trade Company Families in Indian Country

Editorial Reviews

09/11/2017
In this reflective biography, Mitchell (The Years of Fame) traces her family back to Phillip Turnor, an influential surveyor who explored Canada’s far north for the Hudson’s Bay Company in the late 18th century, and the Cree woman (whose name has been lost to history) who was his country wife, a term used by Europeans for Indigenous women with whom they entered into a kind of marriage that was often dissolved or unacknowledged when they returned to Europe. Through painstaking archival work, Mitchell was able put together an account of Turnor and his experience mapping much of what was then called Rupert’s Land, and she shows the important role he played in opening up the interior of northern Canada for the company and colonization. As Mitchell charts her ancestor’s work and experiences, she is also able to more fully map her family tree and fill in some of the blanks that begin with Turnor. Mitchell discovered that Turnor was aided in his exploration by his wife’s local knowledge, and this aspect of Mitchell’s book adds layers of interest and value, as it reveals the mixture of culture and heritage that truly embody the northern experience of two traditions and the impact of their collision down through generations. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Mitchell shows the human side of map-making through reconstructions of Turnor's daily life ... The result is a wonderfully detailed and convincing portrait of early Canadian life in the era of Indigenous-European trade."

Canada's History - Lyle Dick

"Where books on Canada, indigenous life, exploration, or genealogy are favorites, this historical account is a must." Henrietta Verma, Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 09/15/2017
This biography of the first inland surveyor for Canada's Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) is a testament to the benefits of rigorous genealogical research. Mitchell's investigation of her great-great-great-great grandfather Philip Turnor (1751–99) starts with HBC's hiring of an "observer" who was "not marry'd brot up in farming business." The account continues through the surveyor's life in the wilderness, his encounters with the Cree and marriage to a Cree woman, and the realities of working for the king while enduring badly provisioned camps. Narrated in two "voices," the primary one a detailed history gleaned from material in HBC archives and elsewhere, Mitchell's chronicle also offers "journal entries," which she composed as Turnor. Both devices are effective; while the historical portion is marred slightly by overly frequent speculation, it is based upon meticulous research—for example, a discussion of the canoe Turnor likely used is supported with details on Cree vessels. There are a number of reproductions of period maps and other illustrations, as well as high-quality notes and bibliography sections. VERDICT Where books on Canada, indigenous life, exploration, or genealogy are favorites, this historical account is a must.—Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore

Library Journal