Biography of anthony henday

HENDAY, ANTHONY (1725-?)

Anthony Henday, the younger son of a farm family on the Isle of Wight, is said to have been outlawed for smuggling (a common occupation on the island) before he signed with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1750.

For several years he worked as a common laborer at York Factory, then volunteered to travel inland from the bay with a Native band from the Saskatchewan River. James Isham, the chief factor, based his plan of sending company employees to winter inland on the journeys of Henry Kelsey and William Stewart; he saw this practice of wintering as a response to the British government's demand for exploration as well as to French commercial rivalry west of Lake Winnipeg.

After his first trip inland, Henday worked as a netmaker and then returned to the Saskatchewan River in 1759–60. For the next two years, serving at York Factory and its satellite Severn House, Henday was occasionally given greater responsibility.

When the company refused the salary he deman