Collection MSG 431 - Simon McTavish Papers

Simon McTavish was born in 1750 in Shatherrick, Scotland and died in July 1804 in Montreal, Quebec. His parents were John McTavish of Garthberg, a lieutenant in the 78th infantry of the Highland Regiment, and Mary Fraser. McTavish was also known as “The Marquis.” In 1764 he moved to Albany, New York, and in 1774, he moved to Montreal for economic reasons. In 1793, McTavish married Marie-Marguerite Chabourez (daughter of fur trader Charles-Jean-Baptiste Chabourez) and had six children, two who died before adulthood, and four who died in their twenties. A monument stands for them. McTavish was a lieutenant in the British Militia, was appointed Justice of the Peace for the District of Montreal, and was a landowner and seigneur in Terrebonne, Quebec. McTavish was known as one of the wealthiest men in Montreal and paid for the secondary schooling of his nephews, William, Simon, and Duncan McGillivray. After his death, some of his money was donated to the Hôpital Hotel-Dieu de Montreal and the Grey Nuns' Hôpital général. McTavish Street, bordering the westerly side of McGill University in Montreal was named in his honour, along with the McTavish reservoir north of the university.