Hugh McLennan (June 26, 1825 – November 22, 1899) was a Canadian

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

of Scottish descent who was primarily based in

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 ...

. The son of John McLennan, who came to Canada from Scotland in 1802, he was born in Lancaster,

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 ...

, and was educated in

Glengarry County Glengarry County, an area covering , is a former county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is historically known for its settlement of Scottish Highlanders. Glengarry County now consists of the modern-day townships of North Glengarry and South ...

. In 1842, he moved to Montreal to work in a hardware business there. He later worked as a

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s that travelled between Montreal and Kingston. In 1850, he was promoted to freight agent, at first based in Kingston and later in Montreal. In 1853, with his brother, he founded a grain and shipping company, later known as the Montreal Transportation Company with McLennan as president. In 1856, he moved with his family to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he became involved in the trade in pork and bacon. McLennan returned to Montreal in 1867. He served as a director for various

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

, including

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 ...

, Canada Paper Company, the British America Fire and Life Assurance Company and

Sun Life Sun Life Financial Inc. is a Canadian financial services company. It is primarily known as a life insurance company. Sun Life has a presence in investment management with over CAD$1.3 trillion in assets under management operating in a number ...

. McLennan was also president of the International Coal Company Ltd and the

Black Diamond Steamship Company Black Diamond Steamship Company (BDSC) operated passenger and cargo liners from New York City to Rotterdam and Antwerp. It was founded by J.E. Dockendorff in 1919, and named the American Diamond Line by the United States Shipping Board. The compa ...

. From 1872 to 1874, he was president of the Montreal Board of Trade; he also represented the Board of Trade on the Montreal Harbour Commission. McLennan served on the board of governors of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

and was president of the

St. Andrew's Society of Montreal The Saint Andrew's Society of Montreal is a non-profit organization based in Montreal dedicated to celebrating Scotland, Scottish heritage. It was founded in 1835. It was established with the stated aims of “regulating charity in a systematic ma ...

from 1885 to 1886. He retired from business in 1898. McLennan married Isabella Stewart, the daughter of Neil Stewart. His son

John Stewart John Stewart may refer to: Business * John Aikman Stewart (1822–1926), American banker * John Killough Stewart (1867–1938), businessman and philanthropist in Queensland, Australia * John K. Stewart (1870–1916), American entrepreneur and inve ...

later served in the Canadian Senate. His son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was an author and fellow in the Royal Society of Canada. He died in Montreal at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLennan, Hugh 1825 births 1899 deaths Canadian people of Scottish descent Businesspeople from Montreal People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry McGill University people Sun Life Financial Directors of Bank of Montreal 19th-century Canadian merchants Canadian businesspeople in shipping