Lt.-Colonel The Hon. William McGillivray, of Chateau St. Antoine, Montreal, was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle Simon McTavish as the last chief partner of the North West Company until a merger between the NWC and her chief rival - the Hudson Bay 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 in the Corps of Canadian Voyageurs as he was the highest up in the NWC's business hierarchy; the ranks of the Corps reflected one's position within the NWC as the Company had created the Corps under their own volition, and using employees as soldiers. 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. McGillivray Ridge in British Columbia is named for him, as well as a handful of elementary schools in Ontario, Quebec, or British Columbia.
William McGillivray
North West Company – Coat of Arms
A memorial to William McGillivray in St James's Church, Piccadilly.
This view of Montreal from the mountain in 1831 is thought to show Chateau Saint-Antoine within the trees
Simon McTavish (fur trader)
Simon McTavish, of Montreal was a Scottish-born fur trader and the chief founding partner of the North West Company. He was a member of the Beaver Club and was known as the Marquis for his pre-eminent position in the fur trade and his refined style of living.
Simon McTavish (fur trader)
North West Company - Coat of Arms
Simon McTavish's Montreal home in what would become the Golden Square Mile
The McTavish mausoleum and monument within the grounds of his house on the slopes of Mount Royal. Torn down in the 1940s.