Birnie, James.

A native of Scotland, James Birnie (1800-1864) migrated to Canada in 1816. He was employed by the Northwest Company and sent to Spokane in the future Washington State, in 1818. After the Northwest Company's consolidation with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, Birnie held posts at Fort George (near present-day Astoria, Or.) and Fort Simpson in British Columbia. He returned to Fort George, where he headed the trading post there until 1845. In that year Birnie opened his own store in Cathlamet, Washington Territory, which he ran until his death in 1864. In 1852, upon the death of Hudson's Bay Company employee James Scaroborough, Birnie was named guardian of Scarborough's sons and trustee of his estate, which included property at present-day Chinook Point, Washington.