John Askin
Encyclopedia
John Askin was a fur trade
r, merchant and official in Upper Canada
.
He was born in Aughnacloy in Ireland
in 1739; his ancestors are believed to have originally lived in Scotland
with the surname Erskine. He came to North America
with the British Army
in 1758. After the British took over New France
, he entered the fur trade
and operated a trading post at Fort Michilimackinac
. In 1781, he formed a partnership with Robert Hamilton
and Richard Cartwright; Askin was based in Detroit. From 1786 to 1789, he was part of a group of trading companies known as the Miamis Company. He was also involved in a shipping business and land speculation; he was one of the partners involved in the Cuyahoga Purchase along the south shore of Lake Erie
. In 1789, he was named justice of the peace at Detroit. When Detroit was turned over to the Americans
in 1796, he became a justice of the peace for the Western District and moved to Sandwich (Windsor
) in 1802. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel for the local militia.
In 1795, Askin was part of a partnership with Ebenezer Allen
and Charles Whitney of Vermont, Robert Randal
l of Philadelphia and several other British subjects in Detroit including William Robertson
, which planned to buy the entire lower Michigan peninsula from the United States government.
Concession 2 lot 14, Barton Township; where present day Hamilton, Ontario
is, was part of the original Crown Grant to John Askin on July 10, 1801. He sold to Nathaniel Hughson senior who sold to James Durand
around 1806.
He died at Sandwich in 1815.
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
r, merchant and official in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
.
He was born in Aughnacloy in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1739; his ancestors are believed to have originally lived 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...
with the surname Erskine. He came to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1758. After the British took over New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
, he entered the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
and operated a trading post at Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, at the northern tip of the lower...
. In 1781, he formed a partnership with Robert Hamilton
Robert Hamilton (judge)
Robert Hamilton was a businessman, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Bolton, East Lothian, Scotland in 1753, the son of John Hamilton and Jane Wright. He came to Canada as part of a contract with a fur trading company operating west of the Great Lakes...
and Richard Cartwright; Askin was based in Detroit. From 1786 to 1789, he was part of a group of trading companies known as the Miamis Company. He was also involved in a shipping business and land speculation; he was one of the partners involved in the Cuyahoga Purchase along the south shore of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
. In 1789, he was named justice of the peace at Detroit. When Detroit was turned over to the Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1796, he became a justice of the peace for the Western District and moved to Sandwich (Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
) in 1802. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel for the local militia.
In 1795, Askin was part of a partnership with Ebenezer Allen
Ebenezer Allen
Ebenezer Allen was an American soldier, pioneer, and member of the Vermont General Assembly. He was born in Northampton, Massachusetts on 17 October 1743. His parents were Samuel Allen and Hannah Miller ....
and Charles Whitney of Vermont, Robert Randal
Robert Randal
Robert Randal was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born Robert Randall in Maryland around 1766; after 1809, he spelled his surname Randal. In 1795, he was part of a partnership which wished to buy the lower Michigan peninsula from the United States government...
l of Philadelphia and several other British subjects in Detroit including William Robertson
William Robertson (politician)
William Robertson was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Scotland around 1760 and settled in Detroit in 1782. By 1788, he was an important merchant in the fur trade in the area and he was appointed to the district court and land board of the Hesse District of Upper...
, which planned to buy the entire lower Michigan peninsula from the United States government.
Concession 2 lot 14, Barton Township; where present day Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
is, was part of the original Crown Grant to John Askin on July 10, 1801. He sold to Nathaniel Hughson senior who sold to James Durand
James Durand
James Durand was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Abergavenny, Wales in 1775 and came to Upper Canada in 1802 to deal with delinquent accounts on behalf of a group of London merchants. Having seized the Bridgewater Works at Chippawa, Durand purchased the operation...
around 1806.
He died at Sandwich in 1815.