James Bell Forsyth (25 December 1802 – 1 April 1869), was a prominent

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

merchant and author. In 1831, he built the Cataraqui Estate in Sillery, on Saint-Louis Road.

Background

Born at Kingston,

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 ...

, he was the second son of Joseph Forsyth (1764–1813) and his wife Alicia, daughter of Major James Robbins of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. The Forsyths were an influential merchant family with strong commercial ties to England, Scotland and the colonies. Through his grandparents he was connected to the important London trading house of Phyn, Ellice & Co., a subsidiary of which was Forsyth,

Richardson Richardson may refer to: People * Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname * Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s * Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962) Places Australia * Richardson, Australian Cap ...

& Co., of

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 ...

, where two of his uncles, Thomas and John Forsyth, were partners; this firm prospered in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

and expanded into other activities such as the agent and forwarding business. Another of his uncles, James Forsyth, was associated with

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...

. James Bell Forsyth's father, Joseph Forsyth, came to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in 1784, as the agent for Forsyth, Richardson & Co., at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. Forsyth was educated there and in England.

Business career

In 1821, he went into partnership with The Hon. William Walker M.P., and together they succeeded Forsyth's father as the agents to Forsyth, Richardson & Co., in

Family

In 1828, he married Frances, the second daughter of Mathew Bell. His business partner, William Walker, also married one of Bell's daughters, and their brothers-in-law included Lt.-Colonel John George Irvine (son of James Irvine), a Quebec businessman and The Hon. Edward Greive M.P. James and Frances Forsyth were the grandparents of General Sir

Henry Edward Burstall Lieutenant General Sir Henry Edward Burstall, (26 August 1870 – 8 February 1945) was a Canadian general. Born at Domaine Cataraqui, Sillery, Quebec, the son of the wealthy merchant John B. Burstall (1832–1896) and Fanny Bell Forsyth, da ...

and The Hon.

George Irvine George Irvine may refer to: *George Irvine (politician) (1826–1897), Canadian politician *George Irvine (basketball) (1948–2017), American basketball player and coach *George Irvine (diver), see William Hogarth Main See also

*George Irving ...

. James Bell Forsyth died on 1 April 1869, of a heart attack, at the age of 66-years-old. He was buried on 5 April 1869, at

Mount Hermon Cemetery Mount Hermon Cemetery is a garden (or rural) cemetery and National Historic Site of Canada. It is located in the Sillery district (french: quartier) of the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough (french: arrondissement) of Quebec City, Quebec, ...

, located at a short distance down Saint-Louis Road from his estate of Cataraqui. His son Joseph Bell Forsyth and son-in-law John Burstall were recorded in the parish register as having been present.

References

External links

Marianopolis College: the ''Quebec History Encyclopedia - James Bell Forsyth''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, James Bell Canadian merchants People from Kingston, Ontario People from Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge 1869 deaths 1802 births Burials at Mount Hermon Cemetery