Charlotte Small

Who was Charlotte Small?

Charlotte Small was the Métis wife of surveyor, map maker and explorer David Thompson. She was the daughter of North West Company investor-partner Patrick Small and an unnamed Cree woman. Her siblings were also involved in the fur trade; Patrick Small, Jr. was a North West Company clerk and Nancy Small was the first wife of North West Company partner, John MacDonald of Garth.

Charlotte Small had 13 children with David Thompson. She and the children often travelled with Thompson on his expeditions ranging from the Rockies to Quebec. Small travelled 3½ times farther on these expeditions with Thompson than did the American explorers Lewis and Clark.

When David Thompson wrote in his journal "Today wed Charlotte Small", few could have imagined just how long he would honour that commitment. At a time when European explorers and traders were abandoning their wives and children for lives and families in Canada or Europe, David Thompson remained faithful to the promise he had made, staying by the side of "his lovely wife" and providing for her and their 13 children. The couple were married for 58 years until Thompson's death in 1857. Charlotte Small died a few months later on May 4, 1857. They are buried together at Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.