Kelsey, Henry

Kelsey, Henry kĕlˈsē [key], c.1670–1729, English fur trader and explorer in Canada. He entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1684. He was sent (1689) inland to secure trade with aboriginal peoples and later (1691–92) made his much disputed journey into W Canada; some say he went southwest, but evidence points to his being west of Churchill in the region of Reindeer Lake. He was present when York Factory was surrendered to the sieur d'Iberville in 1694 and in 1697. He then served the company in a number of different posts. He returned to the Hudson's Bay region (1714) and served as second in command (1714–17), as governor of York (1717–18), and as governor of all the company's forts in the region (1718–22). He was replaced as governor in 1722 and returned to England. In 1719 he commanded an expedition to explore the northwest coast of Hudson Bay.

See A. G. Doughty and C. Martin, ed., The Kelsey Papers (1929).

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Canadian History: Biographies