Samuel Gerrard (1767 – March 24, 1857) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
fur trader
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
, businessman, militia officer, justice of the peace, politician, and
seigneur
''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...
. He was the second president of the
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company.
The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...
. From 1838 to 1841, he was a member of the
Special Council of Lower Canada
The Special Council of Lower Canada was an appointed body which administered Lower Canada until the Union Act of 1840 created the Province of Canada. Following the Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du B ...
. In 1841, he acquired the seigneuries of Lanaudière and Carufel.
Gerrard was born in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
at
Gibbstown Gibbstown or Gibstown or Gibbston may refer to several places:
Ireland
* Gibstown, County Louth, a townland; see List of townlands of County Louth
* Baile Ghib, County Meath, a village
** Gibstown, County Meath, a townland; see List of townlands ...
House,
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
. The Gerrards were a prosperous
Anglo-Irish family who had held Gibbstown, an estate of some 1,270
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
s, since the mid 17th century, and previous to that were seated at nearby Clongill Castle. Samuel was probably a grandson of the Samuel Gerrard of Gibbstown who was a friend of
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, ...
and visited
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
in 1740. Samuel was probably a younger brother of the John Gerrard (d.1838) who was
High Sheriff of Meath
The High Sheriff of Meath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Meath, Ireland, from the conquest until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Meath County Sheriff.
The sheriff ...
in 1818. By 1785, at the age of eighteen, Samuel Gerrard was established at
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
as a merchant concerned with the
fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mo ...
from
Timiskaming Timiskaming is a word from the Algonquin ''Temikami'' or ''Temikaming'', from ''tim'' meaning "deep" and ''kami'' meaning "open waters". Alternate spellings include: Temiskaming, Témiscaming, Témiscamingue. The word Temagami comes from the same ...
. In 1791, he went into partnership with his future brother-in-law,
William Grant William Grant may refer to:
Politicians
*Sir William Grant (Master of the Rolls) (1752–1832), Member of the Parliament, 1790–1812; Master of the Rolls, 1801–1817
*William Grant (Northern Ireland politician) (1883–1949), Unionist M.P. for ...
, and Étienne-Charles Campion. Gerrard acted as the firm's accountant, receiving a quarter of the profits.
Legacy
Gerrard Street in Toronto is named in his honour.
External links
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerrard, Samuel
1767 births
1857 deaths
Bank of Montreal presidents
Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople
Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada
Canadian justices of the peace
Businesspeople from Montreal
Anglophone Quebec people
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec
People from County Meath
Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery