Links to Existing Biographies:
- Manitoba Historical Society:http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/tait_wa.shtml
- Lawrence Barkwell http://www.scribd.com/doc/34218641/Legislative-Assembly-of-Assiniboia
Biographical Notes:
Date of Birth: 9 December 1826
Place of Birth: Kildonan Parish, Red River Settlement
Member of the Provisional Government of Assiniboia: Position in the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia:
- Honourable Member for Headingly[11]
Other Positions in Provisional Government:
- petty Magistrate at White Horse Plain
- Among the ‘English Members’ to 16 November 1869 ‘Convention of Twenty-four’ held in the Court House, adjoining Fort Garry, as representative for Headingly.[12]
Other Political Positions:
- Councillor of the Temporary North-West Council/Council of the Northwest Territories which set policy for the territories from Fort Garry 1874-1876.
Date of Death: 3 February 1900
Born 9 December 1826, Kildonan parish, Red River Settlement, William Auld Tait was baptised 31 December 1826 at St. John’s Anglican Cathedral. His father was William Tait (of Orkney).[1] His mother was Mary Auld (Métis), a daughter of HBC Governor William Auld (of Edinburgh, Scotland) and an Aboriginal woman.[2]
In 1851 William Auld Tait married Johanna/Joanna Gunn, a daughter of John Gunn and Ann Sutherland, both of whom were descendants of ‘original white settlers,’ from Scotland.[3] After the flood of 1857,William, Johanna, and their children[4] relocated, from low-lying St. John’s parish along the Red River, to farm at lot 14 Headingly, along the Assiniboine. In 1863 Tait was appointed a petty Magistrate for the White Horse Plains district.
In 1869, Tait was elected by his parish to attend the ‘First Convention,’ known as the Convention of Twenty Four, which began 16 November. English and French delegates of parishes in the Settlement convened in the Courthouse at Upper Fort Garry to ‘consider the present political state’ of their country and to decide on the terms of a Bill of Rights by which they would agree to confederate with Canada.[5] On 1 December, with the convention still in session, it was William Tait’s younger brother, Robert, who first obtained and submitted to the English delegates a copy the proclamation issued by the Canadian appointed, Lieutenant-Governor in waiting, William MacDougall. While it declared his accession to office and the annexation of the North-West by Canada to be a fait accompli on authority of the Queen, the document was soon revealed to have been fraudulently devised by MacDougall himself.[6]
Although the brother, Robert Tait, subsequently acted as representative at the Convention of Forty, it was William Auld Tait who was elected Honourable Member for Headingly in the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia.[7] On 16 March 1870, he was appointed to the Committee to draft the Constitution of the Provisional Government for Rupert’s Land and the North-West Territory. Further, on 17 May, the Assembly confirmed his position as Petty Magistrate, White Horse Plains District Court.
After the creation of Manitoba, Tait continued to be politically active. On 27 September 1870, Lieutenant-Governor Archibald appointed him to act as a Petty Justice ‘for the Upper District.’[8] On 26 March 1874, with Manitoba designated as distinct from the remainder of the North-West, Tait was appointed a Councillor of the Temporary North-West Council/Council of the Northwest Territories which set policy for the territories from Fort Garry. In December of that year he ran in the provincial election. Although he did not gain the seat of Headingly in Manitoba, Tait continued to serve on the Council of the Northwest Territories until its dissolution in 1876.[9]
Tait worked his farm – supplementing his income by running a ferry service from his lot – until his death 3 February 1900. His wife Johanna died six years later on 21 June. Both were buried Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Headingly. Tait Avenue in Winnipeg was named in William Auld Tait’s honour.[10]
[1] ‘Willian Tait,’ Family Group Sheet, La Société historique de Saint-Boniface database, 2010; see also LAC scrip affidavit, ‘Tait, William; born: December 9, 1826.’ Other sources are confused about the identity of Wm. Auld Tait’s father, see for example, HBCA, ‘Tait (Tate), William ‘B’,’ Biographical sheet; and an alternate hypothesis, HBCA, ‘Tait, William “A”,’ who may have been the son of James Tait (ca. 1758-1834) of Orphir, Orkney, and an Aboriginal woman.
[2] HBCA, ‘Auld, William,’ Biographical sheet.
[3] LAC, scrip affidavit, ‘Tait, Johanna; born: 1837.’
[4] LAC, scrip affidavit, ‘Tait, John and Wm Tait Jr.’; LAC, scrip affidavit, ‘Tait, Annie; born: September 5, 1856’; LAC, scrip affidavit, ‘Tait, Robert.’
[5] Alfred Campbell Garrioch, The Correction Line (Winnipeg: Stovel Company, 1933), 302. See also, The North-West Territories: Being an account of their extent, soil, and natural resources: The routes of travel: With a sketch of their history down to the organization of the province of Manitoba (Toronto: A.S. Irving, 1871), 115-118; Begg, Creation of Manitoba, 65; John Skirving Ewart, The Manitoba school question: Being a compilation of the legislation, the legal the proceedings before the Governor-General-in-Council: An historical account of the Red River outbreak in 1869 and 1870, its causes, and its success as shewn in the treaty the Manitoba Act, and a short summary of Protestant promises (Toronto: Copp Clark Co, 1894), 332; Adrien Gabriel Morice, A critical history of the Red River insurrection, after official documents and non-Catholic sources (Winnipeg: Canadian Publishers, 1935), 149.
[6] Begg, Creation of Manitoba, 65, 109-112. See LAC, scrip affidavit, ‘Tait, Robert’; and Thomas Flanagan, ‘Metis Land Grants in Manitoba,’ 77-78, who describes Robert Tait as a member of the ‘Metis merchant-farmer class in Red River.’
[7] Canada, Report of the Select Committee on the Causes of the Difficulties in the North-West, certificate 72, 119; Morton and Begg, Alexander Begg’s Red River Journal, 166 n. 1, 322.
[8] Canada, Department of the Secretary of State, Return: Instructions to the Honorable A. Archibald, Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba and of the North-West Territory, &c., &c. (Ottawa: Printed by I.B. Taylor by order of Parliament, 1871), 21.
[9] See Canada, Department of the Secretary of State; Morris, Alexander, Copies of all instructions to the Honorable A. Morris, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories: Also copies of all orders in council relative to the said territories since their organization and not already published: Also copies of all reports and official correspondence between the Lieutenant-Governor and the Dominion Government from the date of his appointment (Ottawa: s.n, 1877), 26; Canada, Department of the Interior, Copies of all orders of His Excellency the Governor-General in Council and of all laws and ordinances of the Lieutenant-Governor and Council of the North-West Territories made under the provisions of 34 Vic., cap.16, sec.1: Submitted for the information of the Honorable the House of Commons (Ottawa: s.n, 1876), 8; Girouard, Désiré, La rébellion du nord-ouest: discours de M. Girouard, m.p., député de Jacques-Cartier dans la Chambre des Communes du Canada, le 7 juillet 1885 (Ottawa: MacLean, Roger & Company, 1885), 12; and Roderick George MacBeth, The romance of western Canada (Toronto: William Briggs, 1918), 202.
[10] ‘The Ferry,’ RM of Headingly.ca, http://www.rmofheadingley.ca/profile/heritage_details.asp?ID=8. J.B. Rudnycki, Mosaic of Winnipeg Street Names (Winnipeg: Canadian Institute of Onomastic Sciences, 1974). Manitoba Historical Society:http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/tait_wa.shtml.
[11] Canada, Report of the Select Committee on the Causes of the Difficulties in the North-West, certificate 72, 119; see also ‘Provisional Government: First Council Meeting,’ New Nation (11 March 1870), 2; ‘Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia (1st Session …),’ New Nation (8 April 1870), 1, 2; ‘Provisional Government: Council Chamber,’ New Nation (16 March 1870), 2; ‘Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia, Third Session, Assembly Chamber, June 23 [sic] 1870,’ New Nation (24 May 1870): 2; and Morton and Begg, Alexander Begg’s Red River Journal, 166 n. 1, 322.
[12] Begg, Creation of Manitoba, 65.
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Family Ties:
1. TAIT, William. Born 1793 (‘of Orkney’); arrived 1812, Rupert’s Land; married 10 July 1823, York Factory; settled 1823, Red River; died 16 November 1872.
– sp. AULD, Mary. Born c. 1804 to HBC Governor William AULD (of Edinburgh, Scotland) and an Aboriginal woman; sister to Robert AULD, Jane AULD, William AULD, and Wilberforce AULD; baptized 10 July 1823, York Factory; died 1864.
2. TAIT, Margaret. Born 1824, Churchill; married 21 April 1847, St. John’s, Red River Settlement; died 9 February 1901.
Scrip affidavit for Sutherland, Margaret; born: 1824; husband: John Sutherland; father: Wm. Tait (Scot); mother: Mary Auld (Métis); claim no: 1595; scrip no: 10504; date of issue: Sept. 20, 1876; amount: $160 = ; Scrip affidavit for Sutherland, Margaret (nee Tait); wife of John Sutherland; concerning the claims of her children: Margaret Sutherland, born: September 27, 1859; Sarah Ann Sutherland, born: John Sutherland (Scottish); Harriet Sutherland, born: December 2, 1866 =
‘Big John’ Sutherland
– sp. SUTHERLAND, John ‘Big John’. Born 1808, Kildonan, Sutherlandshire, Scotland to John SUTHERLAND ‘of Caen’ and Janet MATHESON ‘of Aultbrikachy’; previously married 29 January 1829, Red River Settlement, to his first cousin, Katherine MATHESON (daughter of Alexander MATHESON and Ann) and had son Robert SUTHERLAND (born 6 March 1830) and daughter Catherine SUTHERLAND (born 1834); 2d marriage 7 February 1837 to first cousin Jane POLSON (daughter of Alexander POLSON and Catherine MATHESON) and had one child; died 3 February 1891, Kildonan, Manitoba.
3. SUTHERLAND, Jane. Born 6 January 1848.
3. SUTHERLAND, William. Born 4 August c. 1849/1850.
3. SUTHERLAND, Mary. Born 1 August 1852.
3. SUTHERLAND, John ['Jr.'] Born 16 July 1856.
3. SUTHERLAND, Helen. Baptized 9 April 1857.
3. SUTHERLAND, Margaret. Born 27 September 1859; baptized 30 October 1859.
3. SUTHERLAND, Sarah Ann. Born 8 December 1860.
3. SUTHERLAND, Jemima. Baptized 26 July 1864.
3. SUTHERLAND, Harriet. Born 2 December 1866; baptized 12 January 1868 [1866?].
2. TAIT, William Auld. Born9 December 1826,Kildonan parish, Red River Settlement; baptized 31 December 1826, St. John’s Anglican Cathedral; married 1851; died 3 February 1900.
– sp. GUNN, Joanna/Johanna. Born 12 February 1829/ or 1837, Red River Settlement, to John GUNN ( born 1790, Scotland) and Anne SUTHERLAND (born 1796, Scotland); died 21 June 1906.
3. TAIT, Robert. Born 16 October 1857.
3. TAIT, David J. Born 2 December 1862.
3. TAIT, Alexander Thomas. Born 13 March 1867; baptized 31 March 1867, Headingly, Red River; married 23 September 1896.
– sp. TAYLOR, Flora Ann. Born 20 January c. 1866/1867 to John TAYLOR (born 1834 to James TAYLOR and Mary INKSTER) and Flora CAMPBELL (born 1835 to Colin CAMPBELL and Elizabeth McGILLIVRAY); died September 1921.
3. TAIT, George. Born 17 February 1869.
3. TAIT, Henry Charles. Born July 1874; married 9 February 1910; died 26 November 1948, Vancouver, British Columbia.
– sp. FERGUSON, Annie Lily.
4. TAIT, Hugh.
4. TAIT, Stuart.
4. TAIT, Lester.
4. TAIT, Robert.
4. TAIT, Jean Isabel.
– sp. JONES, LLewelyn Lodwig. Born Llantrisant Anglesey, Wales.
4. TAIT, Mary.
– sp. HALIFOX, Keith.
3. TAIT, John.Born 24 September 1852.
3. TAIT, William ['Jr.'] Born 13 October 1854.
2. TAIT, James. Born 1 October 1829; occupation farmer; died 23 February 1899; buried Headingley Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Headingley, Manitoba.
– sp. GUNN, Ellen. Born 22 March c. 1824/1825; died 19 February 1908.
3. TAIT, Mary Ann. Born 13 June 1856; died 5 September 1904.
3. TAIT, Joseph. Born 12 December c. 1856.
3. TAIT, Margaret. Born 24 June 1859.
3. TAIT, John Gunn. Born 9 August 1860; died 23 July 1907.
3. TAIT, William. Born 21 April 1862.
3. TAIT, Jane Charles. Born 5 April 1864.
3. TAIT, Isabella. Born 13 July 1866; died 11 September 1892
2. TAIT, Matilda Ann. married 20 November 1848; died 9 August 1861.
– sp. IRWIN/IRVINE/IRWINE, James. Born c. 1817/1822/1825, Rupert’s Land; HBC career; 3 marriages; “operated the first oxen drawn watercart” at Red River; died 1903.
3. IRWIN, Mary. Born 23 August 1849, St. John’s, Parish, Red River Settlement.
– sp. RICHARDS.
3. IRWIN, James. Born 1850.
3. IRWIN, Grace. Born 21 May 1852.
– sp. SMITH, Patrick.
3. IRWIN, Christiana. Born c. December 1852/1853.
– sp. HALLOWELL, Arthur.
3. IRWIN, Philip. Born 1856.
3. IRWIN, Matilda Ann. Born c. 28 May 1857/1858.
Scrip affidavit for Irwin, Matilda; born: May 28, 1857; father: James Irwin; mother: Matilda Tait =
– sp. FARRELL.
4. FARRELL, Mary Ellen.
– sp. FENNELL, Richard.
3. IRWIN, Maria J. Born c. 16 June 1859/1860, St. John’s Parish, Red River Settlement.
2. TAIT, Robert. Born 24 April 1830, Red River Settlement; married 16 December 1858; died 1912.
– sp. INKSTER, Jane. Born 1838 to John INKSTER and Mary SINCLAIR; died 1926.
3. TAIT, Thomas Herbert. Born 1859; died 1894.
– sp. REID, Jane. Born 1866; died 1888.
3. TAIT, Timoleon John. Born 1861; died 1940.
– sp. TAIT, Mary Anabella. Born 1863; died 1912.
4. TAIT, Marjorie. Born 1894; 1968.
4. TAIT, Mortimer H. Born 1896; 1917.
4. TAIT, Kathleen Lillian. Born 1899; 1926.
4. TAIT, Ernest T. Born 1900.
4. TAIT, Maurice Vernon. Born 1905; died 1960.
– sp. PATTERSON, Jessie Prentice. Died 1941.
4. TAIT, Evelyn.
3. TAIT, Colin. Born 1862; died 1874.
3. TAIT, Ellen Harriet. Born 1865; died 1920.
– sp. CUMMING, George William.
4. CUMMING, Robert Leslie. Born 1891; died 1944.
– sp. ROSS, Roberta Evelyn. Born 1892; died 1927.
4. CUMMING, Eric Cyril Simpson. Born 1893.
4. CUMMING, Gwendolyn Jane McMurray. Born 1889; died 1967.
– sp. TURNBULL, Thomas [MD.] Born 1872; died 1956.
3. TAIT, Mary. Born 1867; died 1873.
3. TAIT, Margaret. Born 1871; died 1872.
3. TAIT, Adelaide ‘Addie’. Born 1872; died 1901.
2. TAIT, John. Born Red River Settlement; migrated 1841, Oregon; married 1861; moved to British Columbia 1861.
– sp. SPENCE, Margaret Mary. Born Red River Settlement; migrated 1841, Oregon.
3. TAIT, Emma Jane. Born British Columbia.
– sp. ROSS, James.
3. TAIT, Mary Arabella. Born British Columbia; relocated to Carman, Manitoba.
– sp. TAIT, Timoleon John.
4. TAIT, Marjorie.
4. TAIT, Mortimer H.
4. TAIT, Kathlene L.
4. TAIT, Ernest T.
3. TAIT, Margaret Alice. Born British Columbia; moved 1895, Brainard, Minnesota.
3. TAIT, Lillian Veron. Born British Columbia; relocated to Carman, Manitoba.
– sp. McDOUGALL, James.
4. McDOUGALL, Margaret.
4. McDOUGALL, Donald Hamilton.
2. TAIT, Ann/Anna/Annie. Born 21 March 1852; married 16 March 1871; died 1925.
Scrip affidavit for Inkster, Ann (nee Tait), wife of Colin Inkster; born: March 21, 1852; father: William Tait; mother: Mary Tait = ; Scrip affidavit for Tait, William; son: George Tait (deponent); daughter: Elizabeth Tait; born: February 8, 1847; died: April 26, 1875; heirs: next of kin: Wm.; James; Robert; John; George; Charles; Margaret, wife of John Sutherland; Mary; Jane, wife of John Henry; Annie, wife of Colin Inkster; Sarah, wife of George McKay; wife: Mary Auld (Métis) =
– sp. INKSTER, Colin ['Sheriff']. Born 3 August 1843, Red River Settlement, to John INKSTER and Mary SINCLAIR ; appointed Speaker to the first Manitoba Legislative Council 1871; builder of Bleak House 1873-1874; appointed High Sheriff of Manitoba 1874; died 1934.
Scrip affidavit for Inkster, Colin; born: August 3, 1843; father: John Inkster (white man); mother: Mary Inkster = [See also notes on Colin Inkster]
3. INKSTER, William Curtis. Born 1872; born 1873.
3. INKSTER, Mary. Born 1873; died 1873.
3. INKSTER, George. Born 1873; died 1873.
3. INKSTER, John Rupert Finlayson. Born 1874; died 1930.
– sp. SPENCER, Anne Ellen ‘Nell’.
4. INKSTER, Harold McFarlane. Born 1903; died 1972.
– sp. BROWN, Martha. Died 1967.
4. INKSTER, John Hamilton ‘Jack’. Born 1905; died 1973.
– sp. NORRIS, Laura.
4. INKSTER, Mary Edith. Born 1907.
4. INKSTER, Colin Spencer. Born 1909; died 1973.
– sp. SLY, Kathleen.
4. INKSTER, Norman Spencer.
– sp. MCLEOD, Christy Anne Lawrie.
4. INKSTER, Ruth Myra.
– sp. WILEY, Douglas Cameron.
3. INKSTER, Nelly McDonald. Born 1876; died 1877.
3. INKSTER, Colin Robertson Sinclair. Born 1876; died 1961.
– sp. Jessie. Born 1880; died 1950.
4. INKSTER, Colin.
4. INKSTER, Myra.
3. INKSTER, Myra. Born 1878; died 1938.
3. INKSTER, Annie Sibyl McKay. Born 1880; died 1974.
3. INKSTER, Richard. Born 1886.
– sp. HYDE, Olive.
2. TAIT, George.
[?-- sp. SPENCE, Mary.
3. TAIT, William McMurray.
2. TAIT, Charles.
2. TAIT, Mary.
2. TAIT, Jane.
2. TAIT, Elizabeth.
?– sp. McKAY, George.
2. TAIT, Christiana.
2. TAIT, Sarah. Born 8 November 1851.
Scrip affidavit for McKay, Sarah; born: 8 Nov. 1851; wife of George McKay; father: William Tait (White); mother: Mary Vald (Métis); claim no: 2863; scrip no: 12294; date of issue: Sept. 5, 1878; amount: $160 = ; Scrip affidavit for Tait, William; son: George Tait (deponent); daughter: Elizabeth Tait; born: February 8, 1847; died: April 26, 1875; heirs: next of kin: Wm.; James; Robert; John; George; Charles; Margaret, wife of John Sutherland; Mary; Jane, wife of John Henry; Annie, wife of Colin Inkster; Sarah, wife of George McKay; wife: Mary Auld (Métis) =
– sp. McKAY, George. Born November 1833 to James ‘Big Jim’ McKAY and Margaret/Marguerite GLADU; brother to Hon. James McKAY of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia .
3. McKAY, James. Born 16 November 1872, Prince Albert (Saskatchewan).
3. McKAY, Anne Harriet. Born 20 November 1874, Prince Albert; died 12 April 1899.
– sp. YOUNG, Albert.
3. McKAY, Margaret Jane. Born 20 November 1874. Paul, John M; for his living wife, Margaret Jane Paul; address: Medicine Hat; born: 20 November, 1874 at Prince Albert; father: George Mckay (Métis); mother: Sarah Tate (Métis); scrip cert.: form E, no. 776; claim no. 1289
– sp. PAUL, John M.
3. McKAY, Ida Ellen. Born 17 April 1879, Prince Albert.
3. McKAY, George Angus. Born 5 January 1881, Prince Albert; died 16 June 1886, Prince Albert.
3. McKAY, Virginie Adelaide. Born 18 January 1877, Prince Albert.
– sp. SINCLAIR, Frederick Clare. Born 5 June 1865 to Thomas SINCLAIR Sr. and Caroline PRUDEN; half-brother to Hon. Thomas Sinclair Jr. of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia; died 1952.
4. SINCLAIR, Frederick. Born 1900; died 1937.
4. SINCLAIR, George Cuthbert. Born 1901; died 1936.
– sp. FONTAINE, Edna.
4. SINCLAIR, Margaret Alexandra. Born 1902.
– sp. ROSSER, Joe.
4. SINCLAIR, Terry.
4. SINCLAIR, Jane.
– sp. WILSON, C.D.
– sp. COTS, A.J.
4. SINCLAIR, Reginald.
– sp. BOEHM, Emily.
5. SINCLAIR, Donald.
– sp. PAUL, Jeanne.
5. SINCLAIR, Stacey.
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[Credit: The original research on which this page is based was commissioned for the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia Project, by Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Manitoba. The current page is presented gratis -- I have no funding from any agency.]
Alias: Norma Hall. Visual artist, writer, historian. 
In Henry Charles Tait daughter married to L L Jones (LLewelyn Lodwig)born in Llantrisant Anglesey Wales her name is Jean Isabel and are my parents.
The other daughter is named Mary
By: Richard Henry Jones on July 11, 2011
at 9:36 pm
Hi Richard,
Many thanks for the missing names — I have updated the entries accordingly.
Norma
By: hallnjean on July 14, 2011
at 3:04 pm
We would love to have communication with you Richard Henry Jones. Stuart Tait is My Husbands Grandfather and his sister would be your mother.
By: Tammy Tait on December 5, 2012
at 2:13 pm