John Dougall (21 September 1810 – 5 April 1888) was a merchant and the founder of the

Montreal Witness ''The Montreal Witness'' was an English-language Protestant newspaper published in Montreal from 1845 to 1938. Mission and Purpose The ''Montreal Witness'' was founded in 1845, by John Dougall. In the December 15, 1845 edition of the ''Witne ...

Biography

He was born in

Paisley, Scotland Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Wate ...

and was raised in the cloth trade there. John emigrated to Canada in 1826 and was followed by his brother. He and his brother

James Dougall James Dougall (September 21, 1810 – April 5, 1888) was a Scottish-Canadian politician, a merchant and a horticulturalist.Halpenny, Francess G (1982). Dictionary of Canadian Biography; Volume XI, 1881 to 1890. University of Toronto Press, Les Pre ...

began by the selling of dry goods, first in

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 ...

, and later moving the business to

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 ...

and York, in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

region. They were later joined by their father in 1828.Halpenny, Francess G (1982). Dictionary of Canadian Biography; Volume XI, 1881 to 1890. University of Toronto Press, Les Presses de l'université Laval. In 1845, he founded the

(1845–1938), hostile to Catholics. For example, John Dougall persisted in accusing the

mayor of Montreal The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all c ...

, Charles Wilson, for the

Gavazzi Riots The Gavazzi Riots were disturbances created in Quebec and Montreal in June 1853 by mobs which attacked halls in which ex-Catholic monk Alessandro Gavazzi was lecturing. Overview During the spring of 1853 Alessandro Gavazzi, an Italian patriot ...

. In 1871, Dougall also founded the ''New York Daily Witness'', which had failed by 1878, but his companion ''New York Weekly Witness'' survived, and was later run by Dougall's son James, publishing until 1920.McLean, Scott A. & Michael E. Vance (eds.
William Wye Smith: Recollections of a Nineteenth Century Scottish Canadian
p. 372 (2008)

Notes

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougall, John 1808 births 1886 deaths 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian merchants People from Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Immigrants to Lower Canada Anglophone Quebec people