David Torrance (1805 – January 29, 1876) was a Canadian merchant, shipper, and president of 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 ...

Early life

Torrance was born in 1805 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of James Torrance. His father was one of five Torrance brothers who emigrated to Canada from

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

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 ...

, early in the 19th century. His uncles, Thomas Torrance (1776–1826) and

John Torrance John Torrance (June 8, 1786 – January 20, 1870) was a merchant and entrepreneur of Montreal, Lower Canada. He entered the railroad industry in the 1830s and ran steamboats on the St. Lawrence River. He was also a director of the Bank of Montrea ...

(1786–1870), settled at Montreal as wholesale and retail grocers and winesellers. His father James went to Kingston, Upper Canada, as agent for the family.

Career

Around 1821, Torrance came to Montreal to work for his uncle at John Torrance and Co. In 1833, Torrance became a partner in the business of his uncle (and father-in-law), John Torrance and Co. When his John retired in 1853, the firm became David Torrance and Co., with Thomas Cramp and later his own son, John Torrance (1835–1908) as partners. With Cramp and another son, George William Torrance, he formed a second partnership in Toronto, Cramp, Torrances, and Co. The businesses traded in general goods, but especially tea. The Torrances were the first Canadians to import tea directly from China and India. When David Torrance died in 1876, the value of David Torrance and Co. in Montreal was estimated at between $400,000 and $500,000. Torrance was also a shipowner and a major shareholder in the

, of which his uncle Thomas had been one of the first shareholders and a director. His uncle John succeeded Thomas and was a director of the bank until 1857, and in 1853 David Torrance joined the board. In 1873, a vacancy arose for President, and Torrance was the second longest-serving director after Senator Thomas Ryan, who declined to take on the office. The board by then included Torrance's brother-in-law,

Alexander Tilloch Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and a father of the Canadian Confederation. Early life Galt was born in Chelsea, England on September 6, 1817. He was the son of John Galt, a Scottish ...

, and Torrance was elected as president. Torrance was a supporter of educational causes and in 1843 was a leading founder of the

High School of Montreal The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...

Personal life

On January 9, 1832, he married his cousin Jane Torrance (1812–1875), daughter of

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrance, David 1805 births 1876 deaths Bank of Montreal presidents Canadian Methodists Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery