Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Simon Fraser: Canadian Adventurer
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to explore new lands? The only people around would be natives. If you got into trouble, you had only yourself and possibly your friends to depend on for help. This is what men like Simon Fraser learned.
Simon's parents were Scottish Highlanders. They moved to Albany, New York, in 1773. Simon was born just before the American Revolution began. His father was a Loyalist. He paid for his loyalty to the British crown when he was captured and died from abuse while in an Albany jail. Then Fraser's family was harassed by neighbours until they chose to leave for Canada.
Simon's uncle, a Montreal judge, oversaw his education. When Fraser was sixteen, his uncle got him a job as a clerk with the Northwest Company. A year later, he was sent to an isolated wilderness post to learn about the fur trade first hand.
Simon must have been a quick learner. In 1802, he became the youngest man to become a partner in the company.
