Isabel Gunn (1781-1861) found a unique way to break away from the restrictions and limited prospects she faced as an Orcadian woman. Using the name John Fubbister, Isabel disguised herself as a man and went to work in Canada as a labourer with the fur trading Hudson Bay Company. The deception was necessary as HBC policy was not to employ any European women due to the harsh living conditions. It was a deception she remarkably managed to maintain until she gave birth to a baby son.

Her reasons for going to Canada are not known for certain. Some suggest she may have gone in search of her sweetheart who had not returned, but it is more likely that she was attracted by a spirit of adventure, having heard many stories about life there from her brother. Traveling the world was not an option for a woman of the time. Also, the salary of £8 a year was far in excess of anything Isabel could have earned in Orkney.

It was hard work, but Isabel carried out her duties as well as any man. In 1807, when (unknown to her fellow workers) she was 4 months pregnant she took part in a 2,900 km canoe trek helping to ship supplies to more distant Company outposts.

Despite having proved her ability as a labourer, she was not allowed to continue once she was found out as a woman, and was instead given a job as a washer woman. That work didn’t suit her and she and her son James returned to Orkney, where she died in poverty at the age of 81.