Alexander Grant (20 May 1734 – 8 May 1813) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer, businessman, and politician 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 ...

. During his service with the

Grant saw action in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

before becoming a naval superintendent. He then embarked on a career in the ship building industry before losing much of his wealth during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Grant recovered, however, and rose to prominence in civil society, becoming the administrator of Upper Canada in 1805.

Naval career

Grant entered the Royal Navy in 1755 and saw service in North America, on

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

, during the

. Grant became a naval superintendent in 1763, with his headquarters on

Navy Island Navy Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Niagara River in the province of Ontario, managed by Parks Canada as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is located about upstream from Horseshoe Falls, and has an area of roughly . It is acr ...

(in the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

), before moving to Detroit, Michigan. His headquarters again changed, every winter, during which time the regiment was in New York City, up to 1774.

Merchant career

He began to build his own vessels, essentially selling them to himself at a considerable profit. He built a commercial empire by also selling or renting ships to merchants and this was initially solidified during the

during which he was given military command of most of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. However, in the course of the revolution Grant lost much of his income with the loss of 12,000 acres (49 km²) of land he owned in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and the end of his participation in private shipping.

Civil career

Grant recovered, however, and rose to prominence in civil society, being appointed 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 ...

in 1786 and, to a succession of governmental and political positions (in both

and

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 ...

), he joined the

Executive Council of Upper Canada The Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually ...

under governor

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...

as well as the Legislative Council. In 1799, Grant became a deputy superintendent of Indian Affairs. In August 1805, Grant became administrator of Upper Canada, upon the death of

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Peter Hunter, and continued Hunter's policies until a new lieutenant governor,

Francis Gore Francis Gore, (1769 – 3 November 1852) was an English military officer and British colonial administrator in Bermuda and Upper Canada. Gore was born in Blackheath, London, England in 1769 the son of Francis Gore and Caroline Beresford. ...

, arrived from Britain, in August 1806. Grant died in 1813 at his home Castle Grant in Grosse Pointe Farms near Detroit and was buried on the other side of the Detroit River in Sandwich, now

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Biography at the Biography Research Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Alexander 1734 births 1813 deaths

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

Lieutenant-Governors of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Military personnel from Inverness Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Royal Navy officers Canadian justices of the peace