Women of Red River – Helen Kennedy

Settlers came to Red River filled with hope, but some found only disappointment. In many cases, their names are remembered only in 200-year-old journal entries. Such an one was Helen Kennedy, a young Irish woman who sailed in 1813.

Typhoid fever ravaged the ship and one of its victims was Dr. LaSerre, whom Helen had nursed during his illness. On the shores of Hudson’s Bay, more misfortune awaited. The passengers were landed at Fort Churchill instead of York Factory. They spent a miserable winter at Churchill Creek and reached Red River in 1814.

By spring of 1815, NWC harassment had convinced most settlers to depart for Upper Canada. Helen chose to stay. She had become attached to Michael Boyle, an Irish labourer at Red River. However, the small group of loyalists were soon driven out by NWC agents. They fled to the north of Lake Winnipeg. During the trip, Helen cared for John Warren, a man dying of a severe head wound.

The refugees returned to the settlement, where Helen and Michael were married. Helen’s dreams crashed again in 1816 when the colony was once more destroyed. The Boyles then went to York Factory and boarded a ship for home.

Clear sailing? Not a chance! The ship was unable to traverse Hudson Strait due to ice. It returned to James Bay and disembarked its passengers at Moose Factory. Helen was ill during the winter and almost died. The postmaster at Moose was anxious to be free of his charges and when the ice went out of the river in the spring, most of the passengers were sent south in Company boats. They were told they could make their way home or return to Red River.

The Boyles spent a year at a post northeast of Lake Superior, where Michael worked as a carpenter. They then continued to Sault Ste. Marie. They had expressed an interest in returning to the colony, but there is no indication that they did so. The settlement eventually thrived, but Helen had passed from its history.

Tags: 1813 Group, Churchill Creek, Dr. LaSerre, Fort Churchill, Helen Kennedy, Hudson's Bay, Lake Winnipeg, Michael Boyle, Moose Factory, RRS Politics, RRS women, Sault Ste. Marie, York Factory

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 6:06 am and is filed under Genealogy, Red River Women. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.