Cuthbert James Grant (1793 – July 15, 1854) was a prominent

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

leader of the early 19th century. His father was also called Cuthbert Grant.

Life

Cuthbert James Grant was born in 1793 at Fort Tremblant, a

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

trading post located near the present-day town of Togo, Saskatchewan, where his father was a manager. His father was Cuthbert Grant Sr., a North West Company partner, and his mother was Métis, Margaret Son-gabo-ki-che-ta Grant, Utinwassis Cree Woman. In 1801, at the age of 8, he was sent to be educated, perhaps to Scotland, though this is uncertain. It is not known exactly when he returned to Western Canada, but in 1812, he entered the service of the North West Company at the age of 19. He then travelled with the spring brigade to the '' Pays d'en Haut'', the "high country" of the northwest. He was recognized as a leader of the Métis people, and became involved in the bitter struggle between the Nor'westers and the Hudson's Bay Company stemming from the

Pemmican Proclamation Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenous ...

, which forbade anyone from exporting pemmican from the Red River Colony. The capture and destruction of the North West Company's Fort Gibraltar in 1816, caused further anger at the HBC from the Nor'westers and the local Métis. This led to the bloody encounter known as the

Battle of Seven Oaks The Battle of Seven Oaks was a violent confrontation in the Pemmican War between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (NWC), rivals in the North American fur trade, fur trade, that took place on 19 June 1816, the climax of ...

, where Robert Semple and 21 colonists from the Red River Colony were killed. Despite this, when the two rival companies merged in 1821 under the name the Hudson's Bay Company, the new governor, Sir George Simpson, requested Grant to head a Métis settlement of some 2,000 people situated some 16 miles west of the Red River Colony on the Assiniboine River. The settlement was to be known as Grantown for many years then was renamed St. François Xavier after the patron saint of the town. By 1825 wheat was becoming an important food crop and although there were several windmills in operation in the area, Cuthbert Grant was the first to undertake the construction of a watermill. His mill was completed on

Sturgeon Creek Sturgeon Creek is a former provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1969, and was abolished in 1999. Sturgeon Creek was located in the northwestern area section of Winnipeg. It was ...

in 1829. While the exact location is not known, it is probable that it was close to where the Portage Trail crossed the creek; and it is altogether likely that the dam was used as a bridge for crossing the creek during the season of high water. Unfortunately the dam proved unequal to the spring floods and for three successive years it was washed out. Grant finally abandoned the site and moved his machinery to Grantown where he constructed a successful windmill. There is a mill called Grant's Old Mill that is located in Winnipeg. In 1828, the Hudson's Bay Company placed him in charge of the defence of the Red River Colony. He later became a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

and magistrate in the District of Assiniboia. On July 15, 1854, Cuthbert died from injuries sustained after falling from his horse.

Family and descendants

Cuthbert James Grant was known to have been married three times and to have fathered many children. His first wife was Elizabeth "Bethsy" McKay, the sister of John Richards McKay and daughter of John McKay and Mary Favell. Grant and Bethsy courted through correspondence; the pair were married on May 22, 1814, at Fort Gibraltar. Their marriage produced one son, James (b. circa 1815). However, while Cuthbert was on trial for his part in Seven Oaks, both Bethsy and their son James disappeared. Their fate is unknown. In 1820, Cuthbert was involved in a ''mariage du pays'' with Marie Desmaris. From this union, a daughter Maria was born (b. July 15, 1820). (Maria would later marry

Pascal Breland Pascal Breland was a famous 19th-century pre-confederation Canadian Métis farmer and politician. He was a well-known Metis trader and was popularly nicknamed "le Roi des traiteurs" (The King of the traders). He held several appointed political po ...

, a magistrate at St. François Xavier.) Around 1823, Cuthbert married Marie-Marguerite McGillis, the daughter of Angus McGillis and an aboriginal woman named Marguerite. Cuthbert and Marie-Marguerite were the parents of 11 children: Elise, Charles, Pierre, Elizabeth, Marguerite, Cuthbert Louis Marie, Cuthbert, James, Sophia, Caroline, Jessie, and Julie Rose Marie Grant. Marie-Marguerite survived her husband's death by 18 months. She was buried on April 30, 1856, in St.-Francois-Xavier. Lord Strathspey, the head of

Clan Grant Clan Grant is a Highland Scottish clan. History Origins One theory is that the ancestors of the chiefs of Clan Grant came to Scotland with the Normans to England where the name is found soon after the conquest of that country, although some h ...

, officially declared Cuthbert Grant a member of his clan at a ceremony held in Winnipeg in July 2012. This created a new sept of his descendants in Canada.

Legacy

Grant Avenue in Winnipeg and the Cuthbert Grant rose, developed by Agriculture Canada and introduced in 1967,'Cuthbert Grant' rose Description
''Roses, Clematis and Peonies'', Retrieved 14 July 2012. are named in his honour. During the 1960s, Canadian-born James Bond film producer Harry Saltzman attempted to make a feature film about Grant that would have been shot in Canada. Initially the

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

was to have starred

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

as Grant.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Cuthbert 1793 births 1854 deaths Canadian Métis people North West Company people People of North-Western Territory Métis politicians Canadian people of Scottish descent Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Accidental deaths in Manitoba Deaths by horse-riding accident in Canada Pemmican War Members of the Council of Assiniboia