Andrew Colvile
| Andrew Colvile | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Andrew Wedderburn 6 November 1779 Inveresk, East Lothian, Scotland |
| Died | 6 February 1856 (aged 76) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1852–1856 |
Andrew Colvile or Colville (born Wedderburn; 6 November 1779 – 3 February 1856) was a Scottish businessman, notable as the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, a huge organisation set up for the North American fur trade but also instrumental in the early history of Canada. He was also chairman of the West India Docks.
His grandfather, Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet of Blackness, was involved with the Jacobite rising of 1745 and was convicted of treason. The punishment for this was threefold: the death penalty, the confiscation of all his estates (he had property at Inveresk), and the attainting of his family, including the baronetcy. At least two of his sons moved to Jamaica, including Andrew's uncle and father. The former, John Wedderburn of Ballendean, is notable for the civil case brought under Scots law by his former slave Joseph Knight. Andrew's father, James Wedderburn, set up as a doctor without academic qualification. After 28 years James had become a wealthy slave-owner and sugar planter. In 1773 James moved back to Inveresk (the estate had been restored) and married. At some point James changed his name from Wedderburn to Wedderburn Colvile.
Andrew was born in 1779. His sister Jean married Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, in 1807. His brother James Wedderburn (born c. 1782) was Solicitor General for Scotland until his death in 1822; his posthumous daughter Jemima Blackburn became a highly regarded artist, and played the role of an elder sister to James Clerk Maxwell, the physicist. Andrew's other legitimate brother was Peter Wedderburn Ogilvy, who became a sea captain; his sons went into the army.
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