James Birnie was born in Scotland in 1800. He arrived in Canada in 1816 where he studied the French language. In 1818, he was employed by the Northwest Company and was sent to Fort Spokane. After the consolidation of the Northwest Company with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, Birnie was sent to Fort George, near present-day Astoria, Oregon, where he performed the tasks of Indian trader and bookkeeper until 1831. He then went to Fort Simpson in British Columbia to help in the completion of the Fort, remaining there for two years. His name was given to an island outside a harbor in British Columbia. He was then sent back to Fort George, where he was put in charge of the trading post until 1845. In that year he left the Hudson Bay Company and settled in Cathlamet, Washington Territory, where he opened a store. Birnie was the first European-American to settle in the area. He had a native wife from the Red River Indians in the east, and the couple had thirteen children – eight boys and five girls. He died in Cathlamet on December 31, 1864.
In 1852, on the death of James A. Scarborough, James Birnie was appointed the legal guardian of Scarborough's two young sons, Edwin and Robert. Scarborough had been a ship captain and long time employee of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Pacific Northwest. He had taken a donaton land claim on Chinook Point on the north shore of the Columbia River, an area now called Scarboro [sic] hill. After Scarborough's death in 1852, Birnie administered his holdings until 1856, when he sold the property to another Hudson's Bay Company employee, Rocque Ducheney.
The materials in the collection date mainly from 1845-1865 and relate primarily to Birnie’s Cathlamet business ventures and real estate holdings. The Financial Statements include tax statements and a ledger. The ledger covers a five year period and provides detailed documentation of Birnie’s investments. Also included is an extensive collection of bills and receipts related to Birnie’s store.
Correspondence includes Justice of the Peace verifications and real estate manuscripts. Also included is correspondence related to building a wharf in Cathlamet.
The vendor series, arranged alphabetically, contains various documents from vendors to the Cathlamet store. These include: Hudsons Bay Co., Leonard & Green, and Allan, Lowe & Co. of San Francisco. Here can be found invoices, financial statements, letters regarding receipt of goods, and letters regarding shipments and payments. The letters from Allan, Lowe & Co. provide details of shipping and commerce between San Francisco and the Columbia River area.
Among the bound volumes is Birnie's letterpress copy book, which contains copies of his outgoing correspondence from 1853 to 1858. Two volumes detail the transactions of the estate of James Scarborough, including expenses for Scarborough's sons.
The collection is arranged in the following series:
The collection is open to the public.
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collection. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
James Birnie papers, Mss 920, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Origin of the collection is unknown.
The papers of Alexander D. Birnie, Mss 921, are held by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
See also series 4, Bound Volumes.
See also letterpress copybook in Series 4, Bound Volumes.
Includes short biography of Birnie, land claim for property, letter to Julie Birnie, and index to journal of "J. B. & Co."
Contains register to lots in Cathlamet, Wash., owned by James Birnie.