William McGillivray
|
The Honourable William McGillivray |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chief Partner of the North West Company | |
|
In office 1804–1821 |
|
| Preceded by | Simon McTavish |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada | |
|
In office 1808–1810 |
|
| Preceded by | John Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Thomas McCord |
| Member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada | |
|
In office 1814–1825 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1764 Dunlichty, Inverness-shire |
| Died | 16 October 1825 (aged 60–61) St John's Wood, London |
| Children | 5 sons and 6 daughters |
| Residence | Chateau St.-Antoine, Golden Square Mile, Montreal |
Lt.-Colonel The Hon. William McGillivray (1764 – October 16, 1825), of Chateau St. Antoine, Montreal, was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle as the last chief partner of the North West Company. He was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and afterwards was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. In 1795, he was inducted as a member into the Beaver Club. During the War of 1812 he was given the rank of lieutenant colonel. He owned substantial estates in Scotland, Lower and Upper Canada. His home in Montreal was one of the early estates of the Golden Square Mile.
In 1764, McGillivray was born at Dunlichity, near Daviot in the Scottish Highlands. He was the eldest son of Donald Roy McGillivray (1741–1803), tacksman of Achnalodan in Dunmaglass and later of Dalscoilt in Strathnairn. His mother, Anne (1740–1807), was the daughter of Lieutenant John McTavish (1701–1774), of Garthbeg.
The McGillivrays had traditionally held the Dunmaglass estate since the fourteenth century, and William's grandfather was a first cousin of the Chief of Clan McGillivray, Captain William McGillivray of Dunmaglass. However, on his side of the family the land had dissipated so that William's father was a small tenant on what had become part of the Lovat estate, and he was unable to provide secondary schooling for William and his brothers Duncan and Simon. When William's uncle, Simon McTavish, visited from Montreal in 1776, he paid for the education of the McGillivray boys and in 1784 brought William out to Canada to work for him in the North West Company, with an annual salary of £100.
...
Wikipedia