Nicholas Montour

Nicholas Montour (1756 – August 6 1808) was a fur trader, seigneur and political figure in Lower Canada.

He was born in New York state in 1756, the son of Andrew Montour and Sarah Ainse and the grandson of Elizabeth Couc. In 1774, he was employed as a clerk in the fur trade by Joseph and Benjamin Frobisher on the Churchill River in what is now Manitoba and later worked in what is now Saskatchewan. Montour owned shares in the North West Company. In 1792, he retired from the fur trade and settled at Montreal; he became a member of the Beaver Club there. In 1794, he bought the Montreal Distillery Company from Isaac Todd and his partners. In 1795, he purchased the seigneuries of Pointe-du-Lac (also known as Normanville or Tonnancour) and Gastineau. Montour also owned land along the Thames River in Upper Canada, which he inherited from his mother. He also purchased and later sold the seigneuries of Pierreville and Rivière-David (also called Deguire). In 1796, Montour was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Saint-Maurice. He was named a justice of the peace for Trois-Rivières district in 1799. In the same year, he took up residence at Pointe-du-Lac.

He died on the seigneury of Pointe-du-Lac in 1808 and was buried at Trois-Rivières.

His son, also named Nicholas, went on to work for the Hudson's Bay Company.

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

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