Lt.-Colonel The Hon. Alexander Auldjo (21 October 1758 – 21 May 1821) was a businessman and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

Life

He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1758, the son of a prominent merchant, John Auldjo (1710–1786), of Portlethen Castle and Aberdeen.Old Portlethen, 17th to 20th Centuries
/ref> He came to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

around 1778. He became involved in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

and, later, in the export of wheat and the importing of goods from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Auldjo also owned property at Montreal and in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. In 1796, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for Montreal West. He was also named a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Montreal district in 1796 and became a warden of Trinity House of Quebec in 1800. He served in the local militia and was promoted to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Auldjo was agent for the

Phoenix Assurance Phoenix Assurance or Phoenix Fire Office was a fire insurance company founded in 1680 in England.The Times, 27 June 1785 Classified Advertising The history of the company includes the nostalgia of red-coated attendants clattering to the fires ...

Company of London in Upper and Lower Canada and later for the Pelican Life Assurance Company. He returned to England in 1813. In 1817, he became a shareholder in the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

. His brother George was

Lord Provost of Aberdeen The Lord Provost of Aberdeen is the convener of the Aberdeen City local authority in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. They are equivalent in m ...

Family

In 1804, Auldjo married Eweretta Jane, daughter of Thomas Richardson, merchant in Portsoy, Banffshire and his second wife Helen Phyn, a sister of James Phyn. They were married at Portsoy on 21 January 1804, where Auldjo is designated a merchant in Canada. Eweretta Richardson was the half sister of John Richardson. The Auldjos were the parents of

John Auldjo John Richardson Auldjo (26 July 1805 – 6 May 1886), FRS, FRGS, was a Canadian-British traveller, geologist, writer and artist. He was British Consul at Geneva. He was a close friend of Edward Bulwer-Lytton and a member of Sir William Gell's i ...

and Thomas Auldjo. The latter married a daughter of

William McGillivray Lt.-Colonel The Hon. William McGillivray (1764 – 16 October 1825), of Chateau St. Antoine, Montreal, was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle as the last chief partner of the North West Company. He was elected a member of the Leg ...

and the former was a godson of Simon McGillivray. His nephew, George Auldjo, later became a Montreal merchant and a partner in the company formed by his uncle. Alexander Auldjo died at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 1821.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Auldjo, Alexander 1758 births 1821 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Politicians from Aberdeen Immigrants to the Province of Quebec (1763–1791) Canadian justices of the peace