David Monro (merchant)
Encyclopedia
David Monro was a seigneur
, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada
. His surname was also sometimes spelled Munro.
He was born around 1765 in Scotland
. The date of his arrival at Quebec
is not known but, in 1791, he was involved in administering the dissolving of a partnership between Alexander Davison and John Lees
. Monro later became partners with Mathew Bell
and, with George Davison
, they purchased the Saint-Maurice ironworks
in 1793. George Davison died in 1799, which left Monro and Bell the sole owners of the ironworks at Saint-Maurice. In 1804, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
for Saint-Maurice and generally supported the English party.
In 1807, Munro married Catherine MacKenzie, who was the sister of Mathew Bell's wife. He helped found the Quebec Committee of Trade in 1809. He also served in the local militia, becoming major in 1813. Monro served as justice of the peace for Trois-Rivières and Quebec districts. He was a member of the management committee of the Union Company of Quebec, which operated the Union Hotel at Quebec. Monro retired from the business in 1816, selling his share to Bell. In 1817, he bought the seigneury of Champlain with Bell. He was offered a seat on the Legislative Council in that same year but declined as he was planning to leave the province.
He died at Bath in England
in 1834. Monro's daughter Margaret married Thomas Levett
, Esq., of Wychnor Park
, Staffordshire, in 1831, three years before Monro's death. (Levett later hyphenated his last name to Levett-Prinsep, and inherited Croxall Hall, Derbyshire, a holding of his uncle Thomas Prinsep
's family.) That same year Monro's daughter Helen married Sir Edmund Filmer, 8th Baronet
.
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
. His surname was also sometimes spelled Munro.
He was born around 1765 in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The date of his arrival at Quebec
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
is not known but, in 1791, he was involved in administering the dissolving of a partnership between Alexander Davison and John Lees
John Lees (politician)
John Lees was a businessman, judge and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Scotland around 1740 and came to the town of Quebec with his family around 1761. With Alexander Dawson, he formed a company in 1773 that was involved in importing goods and supplying the British Army; they also...
. Monro later became partners with Mathew Bell
Mathew Bell
Mathew Bell was a seigneur, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada. His first name is also sometimes recorded as Matthew....
and, with George Davison
George Davison (merchant)
George Davison was a businessman and political figure in Quebec. His surname also sometimes appears as Davidson.He came to Quebec around 1773 and acquired lands in the seigneury of Rivière-du-Loup. He was in business in partnership with his older brother Alexander. Davison was named to the...
, they purchased the Saint-Maurice ironworks
Forges du Saint-Maurice
Forges du Saint-Maurice , just outside of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, is a National Historic Site of Canada, and birthplace of the country's iron industry....
in 1793. George Davison died in 1799, which left Monro and Bell the sole owners of the ironworks at Saint-Maurice. In 1804, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791...
for Saint-Maurice and generally supported the English party.
In 1807, Munro married Catherine MacKenzie, who was the sister of Mathew Bell's wife. He helped found the Quebec Committee of Trade in 1809. He also served in the local militia, becoming major in 1813. Monro served as justice of the peace for Trois-Rivières and Quebec districts. He was a member of the management committee of the Union Company of Quebec, which operated the Union Hotel at Quebec. Monro retired from the business in 1816, selling his share to Bell. In 1817, he bought the seigneury of Champlain with Bell. He was offered a seat on the Legislative Council in that same year but declined as he was planning to leave the province.
He died at Bath in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1834. Monro's daughter Margaret married Thomas Levett
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
, Esq., of Wychnor Park
Wychnor Hall
Wychnor Hall is an early 18th century country house near Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Formerly owned by the Levett family, descendants of Theophilus Levett, Steward of the city of Lichfield in the early eighteenth century, the hall has been converted to a Country Club. It is a Grade II listed...
, Staffordshire, in 1831, three years before Monro's death. (Levett later hyphenated his last name to Levett-Prinsep, and inherited Croxall Hall, Derbyshire, a holding of his uncle Thomas Prinsep
Prinsep
Prinsep may mean any of several notable members of the British Prinsep family.The family descended from John Prinsep, an 18th-century merchant who was the son of Rev. John Prinsep, rector of Saundby, Nottinghamshire, and Bicester, Oxfordshire...
's family.) That same year Monro's daughter Helen married Sir Edmund Filmer, 8th Baronet
Sir Edmund Filmer, 8th Baronet
Sir Edmund Filmer, 8th Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician.He was elected to the House of Commons at a by-election in March 1838 as a Member of Parliament for West Kent, having unsuccessfully contested the same constituency at the 1837 general election. He held the seat until...
.