William Duval becomes a Canadian

On Sept. 6, 1923, a government official made a decision aboard the C.G.S. Arctic, which was off Cape Kater on the Baffin Island coast, southbound from Pond Inlet.

It is not known whether this decision was accompanied by a small ceremony, or even a meeting of the two people involved, although both were on the ship. But the ceremony was of tremendous importance for one of those involved — William Duval — for on that day he became a Canadian citizen at the age of 65.

Duval — whom Inuit remember by his Inuktitut name, Sivutiksaq — was born in Germany on Feb. 13, 1858, the middle child of Dietrich Carl Heinrich Düvel (sometimes spelled Düwel) and his wife Wilhelmine. His full name was Wilhelm Friedrich Ferdinand Düvel. But on his Canadian citizenship application, he would claim that his middle name was Henry.

Young Wilhelm immigrated with his family to the United States as a child. Later in life, he claimed this took place when he was an infant, but in fact he was six years old when they arrived in the U.S. and settled in Hoboken, N.J.

In the U.S., he eventually anglicized his first name to William, and he often used the surname Duval. But in fact, his surname would fluctuate between Düvel and Duval throughout his life, at least on official documents. (In the German spelling, the emphasis is on the first syllable).

William’s father, who was usually known as Carl in Germany, became Charles in the U.S. He was well-educated, and found work as a veterinary surgeon. The family was of the Lutheran faith and all the children were confirmed in Christ Church, a Dutch Reformed Church in Union City, N.J.

William Duval left home at 17 and began going to sea as a merchant seaman.

In 1879, at the age of 21, he joined the firm of C. A. Williams & Co., a whaling firm based in New London, Conn., which had operations in the Arctic.

In a statement decades later, he wrote that he thought “it would suit me better for there was something new to be seen most every day.”

His first trip to the Arctic was on a voyage that lasted five months.

His life from then on centred on whaling trips to Hudson Strait and Cumberland Sound, with winters occasionally in the U.S.

In 1922 Duval, then living in Cumberland Sound at Usualuk near Pangnirtung, went to the U.S. for medical attention. In those days, a trip out meant an absence of a year. Because he worked for a British firm, it also meant crossing the Atlantic twice to reach the south, first a voyage to Scotland, then passage from there to the U.S.

That winter, the Canadian government contacted him in New Jersey and arranged to hire him as interpreter for the murder trial of Nuqallaq and two other Inuit to be held the following summer in Pond Inlet. At about the same time, the trading company which had employed him for many years, the Arctic Gold Exploration Syndicate, sold out to the Hudson’s Bay Co., and the Bay agreed to hire Duval on his return north.

For some reason, Duval decided that he should become a Canadian citizen. Ralph Parsons, district manager of Duval’s soon-to-be employer, drafted a letter which Duval sent to the Canadian government:

“Having resided for 36 years in Cumberland Gulf Section of Baffin Land, I am desirous of becoming a Canadian citizen. Upon making application in Montreal, I was informed that I would have to apply to the nearest court in the vicinity of my place of residence; this, of course, is impossible, as there are no courts with the necessary jurisdiction in Baffin Land. I was also informed that even had I filled up the necessary papers, and fulfilled all the requirements my case could not be considered in Montreal until next September.”

He pointed out that he was to leave shortly for Pond Inlet, and would then be landed at Cumberland Sound.

He concluded, “It will therefore be seen that to go through the ordinary routine of becoming a naturalized Canadian Citizen is impossible for a person placed in my position.”

He enclosed an “application for a decision” and sent the letter off to Ottawa.

Thomas Mulvey, under-secretary of state, had never received such a request before and was at a loss to know how to respond. He wrote to the deputy minister of justice, describing Duval’s case as “a rather unusual application for naturalization.”

He pointed out that the relevant act was unhelpful in this case: “The governor in council may, of course, appoint certain authorities to receive the application for naturalization. It is not stated who they may be or where they may reside … there is no provision under which the authorities appointed with respect to applications in the North-West Territories are to deal with the application.”

Newcombe, the very practical deputy minister of justice, took the matter in hand, and by the end of June, shortly before the Arctic departed for Pond Inlet, Mulvey wrote to Duval telling him that Mr. John Davidson Craig, an officer of the Department of the Interior and commander of the expedition to Pond Inlet, had been appointed a commissioner “to receive applications for naturalization by aliens residing in the Franklin District.”

On Sept. 6, 1923, the C.G.S. Arctic was southbound after the trial at Pond Inlet. On that day, Craig accepted Duval’s application. The actual citizenship certificate could only be issued in Ottawa, but Craig’s recommendation of Duval was tacit approval.

The Arctic detoured into Cumberland Sound to deliver Duval home to his waiting family and to his new career as an outpost manager for the Hudson’s Bay Co.

The next month, Ottawa issued Certificate of Naturalization #26473 Series A, on Oct. 4. Duval would not receive it for almost a year. This German-born man, the progenitor of a large and far-flung Inuit family, was the first resident of the Northwest Territories to become a naturalized Canadian.

He died in Cumberland Sound in 1931.

Taissumani is an occasional column that recalls events of historical interest. Kenn Harper is a historian and writer who lived in the Arctic for over 50 years. He is the author of Give Me Winter, Give Me Dogs: Knud Rasmussen and the Fifth Thule Expedition, and Thou Shalt Do No Murder, among other books. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to kennharper@hotmail.com.