Daily AncestorFur trader
A fur trader bought furs and pelts, largely from Native American trappers, in exchange for goods, and sold them on to merchants and markets.
The North American fur trade ran from the 1500s into the 1800s. It began with French, Dutch, English and Scottish traders working with Native nations such as the Wyandot-Huron and the Iroquois, and spread across the continent.
Native men usually trapped the animals, while women often handled the furs and became important players in the trade. Marriages between traders and Native women were common, and the trade is linked to the origin of Métis communities.
As seen in a recordTrading post accounts and frontier records, 1700s and 1800s
Antoine Roy, fur trader
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Daily Ancestor. "Fur trader." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/fur-trader. Last checked 2026-10-10.