Barclay, Forbes, 1812-1973

Forbes Barclay, Scottish-born physician, fur trader, and civil servant, was born on December 25, 1812 in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. He studied medicine in Edinburgh and received his medical diploma by the Royal College of Surgeons, London, on July 5, 1838. In the spring of 1840 he sailed to Fort Vancouver, where he became a surgeon in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company.

After retiring from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1850, Barclay moved to Oregon City, Oregon, where he became an American citizen and was involved in civic activities. He died there in 1873.

For more information, see the National Park Service webiste for Fort Vancouver and Forbes Barclay at: http://www.nps.gov/fova/historyculture/dr-forbes-barclay.htm

Source: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site web page, National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov/fova/index.htm

From the guide to the Forbes Barclay correspondence, 1840-1873, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)