Hugh McLennan (June 26, 1825 – November 22, 1899) was a Canadian

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

of Scottish descent who was primarily based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. The son of John McLennan, who came to Canada from Scotland in 1802, he was born in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

, and was educated in

Glengarry County Glengarry County, an area covering , is a county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is still inhabited by the descendants of 18th and early 19th-century Scottish Highland pioneer settlers from Lochaber, was historically a Gàidhealtachd commun ...

. In 1842, he moved to Montreal to work in a hardware business there. He later worked as a

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s that travelled between Montreal and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. In 1850, he was promoted to freight agent, at first based in Kingston and later in Montreal. In 1853, with his brother, he founded a grain and shipping company, later known as the Montreal Transportation Company with McLennan as president. In 1856, he moved with his family to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, where he became involved in the trade in pork and bacon. McLennan returned to Montreal in 1867. He served as a director for various

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

, including

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...

, Canada Paper Company, the British America Fire and Life Assurance Company and Sun Life. McLennan was also president of the International Coal Company Ltd and the

Black Diamond Steamship Company Black Diamond Steamship Company (BDSC) operated passenger and cargo liners from New York City to Rotterdam and Antwerp. It was founded by J.E. Dockendorff in 1919, and named the American Diamond Line by the United States Shipping Board. The compa ...

. From 1872 to 1874, he was president of the Montreal Board of Trade; he also represented the Board of Trade on the Montreal Harbour Commission. McLennan served on the board of governors of

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and was president of the St. Andrew's Society of Montreal from 1885 to 1886. He retired from business in 1898. McLennan married Isabella Stewart, the daughter of Neil Stewart. His son John Stewart later served in the Canadian Senate. His son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

was an author and fellow in the Royal Society of Canada. He died in Montreal at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLennan, Hugh 1825 births 1899 deaths Canadian people of Scottish descent Businesspeople from Montreal People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry McGill University people Sun Life Financial Directors of Bank of Montreal 19th-century Canadian merchants Canadian businesspeople in shipping