McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Person
Bissett, James
1830-1904
James Bissett was born in 1830 in Lachine, Quebec and died in 1904. He was the son of Alexander Bissett and Jane Bissett (her maiden name is unknown). Bissett was a carpenter in 1827 and became Superintendent of the Lachine Canal from 1843 to 1868. He spent eight years as a mercantile trader before joining the Hudson’s Bay Company as an Accountant at the Lachine Depot in 1854. He also served as Officer-in-Charge for the Hudson’s Bay Company post in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1859 and 1860, as Chief Trader in Victoria and Esquimalt (British Columbia) between 1860 and 1871, and as Chief Factor in Montreal from 1872 to 1880.
Revised on June 18, 2024, by Leah Louttit-Bunker