Cuthbert James Grant (1793 – July 15, 1854) was a prominent Métis 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 trading post located near the present-day town of

Togo, Saskatchewan Togo (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 population: ) is a village in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Cote No. 271 and Division No. 9, Saskatchewan, Census Division No. 9. It is ...

, 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 Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, though this is uncertain. It is not known exactly when he returned to

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the 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 ''Pays d'en Haut'' (; ''Upper Country'') was a territory of New France covering the regions of North America located west of Montreal. The vast territory included most of the Great Lakes region, expanding west and south over time into the ...

'', 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 The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

stemming from the Pemmican Proclamation, which forbade anyone from exporting

pemmican 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 indigenou ...

from the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

. The capture and destruction of the North West Company's

Fort Gibraltar Fort Gibraltar was founded in 1809 by Alexander Macdonell of Greenfield of the North West Company in present-day Manitoba, Canada. It was located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks i ...

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, 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 Assiniboine River (''; french: Rivière Assiniboine'') is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a sing ...

. 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

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

s in operation in the area, Cuthbert Grant was the first to undertake the construction of a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

. His mill was completed on Sturgeon Creek 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 A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

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 Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

. In 1828, the Hudson's Bay Company placed him in charge of the defence of the Red River Colony. He later became a sheriff and

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

in the

District of Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distric ...

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

sept A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ...

of his descendants in Canada.

Legacy

Grant Avenue in

and the Cuthbert Grant rose, developed by

Agriculture Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC; sometimes Ag-Canada; french: Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada)''Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Agriculture ...

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 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film producer

Harry Saltzman Herschel Saltzman (; – ), known as Harry Saltzman, was a Canadian theatre and film producer. He is best remembered for co-producing the first nine of the ''James Bond'' film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Den ...

attempted to make a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

about Grant that would have been shot in Canada. Initially the biographical film was to have starred Sean Connery 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