John Askin, Jr.
| John Askin, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1765 |
| Died | 1820 |
| Occupation | Fur trader, Merchant, Official |
| Spouse(s) | Madelaine Askin |
John Askin, Jr. (c1765–1820) was a fur trader, merchant, and official in Upper Canada and Michigan. He and his wife, Madelaine, are remembered as being instrumental in the invention of the Mackinaw jacket in 1811.
Born in the 1760s, he was the son of fur trader John Askin and a Native American/First Nations woman whose name is given as "Manette" or "Monette". Like his father, John Askin, Jr. was loyal to the British crown during a twenty-year period, from 1794 until 1815, as the allegiance of the Upper Great Lakes was being strongly contested between Great Britain and the young United States. Many Native Americans/First Nations people were allied with the English, and the junior Askin joined them and fought against the U.S. Army at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Askin tried to rally and advise the beaten Native Americans, but was subjected by the victorious American commander, Anthony Wayne, to administrative detention. While Askin was detained, General Wayne and the defeated Native Americans signed the Treaty of Greenville, relinquishing to the Euro-Americans much of the future state of Ohio.
In line with the diminished status of the British on the Upper Great Lakes after the Treaty of Greenville and Jay's Treaty, young Askin retired to the Canadian side of what was becoming an international boundary. He accepted the King's appointment as collector of customs in Amherstburg, Upper Canada in 1801, and accepted further appointment as storekeeper for the Indian Department at Fort St. Joseph on St. Joseph Island in 1807. In the latter post, he took the substantial career risk of issuing more than forty heavyweight point blankets in November 1811 to the fort's impecunious commander, Charles Roberts, accepting a scrip warrant in payment. John's wife, Madelaine, and the other women of the fort sewed the blankets into the first Mackinaw jackets, which the British soldiers used as greatcoats for winter fatigue duty.
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