Mathew MacNider (c.1732–1804) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

-born businessman,

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

and political figure at

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 ...

. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and represented Hampshire County in the

1st Parliament of Lower Canada The 1st Parliament of Lower Canada was in session from December 17, 1792, to May 31, 1796. Elections for the Legislative Assembly in Lower Canada had been held in June 1792. All sessions were held at Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: ...

. He was the uncle of

John MacNider John MacNider (10 June 1760 – 1829) was a Scottish-Quebecer businessman who pioneered the settlement and development of the Seigneurial system of New France, Seigneuries of Grand-Métis, Quebec, Grand-Métis and Métis-sur-Mer, Quebec, Mét ...

, the pioneering 2nd Seigneur of Grand-Métis and Métis-sur-Mer.

Biography

Born at Paisley in

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 ...

, he was a younger son of William MacNider (b.1660), of Balsarock (or Balsarach),

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. The MacNiders had held several small estates in

since the early seventeenth century, but spurred by the conflicts between Britain and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the eighteenth century, Mathew and his brother William (father of

and Mrs James Johnston) moved into the import-export business. The

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, seafaring MacNiders quickly became well established in Scottish shipping and trading circles. Taking advantage of the British Conquest of New France, MacNider came to the new

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

around 1760, extending the reach of his business to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. The MacNiders quickly became one of the leading mercantile families there, selling Canadian timber and supplies to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and trading in

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

and spices from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the British West Indies to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

. At

, MacNider was made a

. In 1788, he purchased the

seigneuries ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

Grondines Deschambault-Grondines is a municipality of about 2100 inhabitants in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in Portneuf Regional County Municipality. The municipality was incorporated in 2002 by the merger of the formerly independent villages ...

and Bélair.municipalité de Saint-Casimir, Historique
/ref> He was elected to represent Hampshire County in the

from 1792 to 1796. He was supported in his election bid of 1792 by his nephews (the brothers), John and Mathew MacNider (1762–1820), of Glendrishock, Ayrshire. They helped to garner support for him in the Upper Town of Quebec. In 1801, MacNider purchased the

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Portneuf County, Quebec Portneuf County is a historic county in Quebec, Canada west of Quebec City on the Saint Lawrence River in Canada. The county seat was Cap-Santé. Previously named Hampshire County (after Hampshire, England) formed in 1792 at the end of the Frenc ...

and the Seigneury of Sainte-Croix on a fifty-year lease from the

Ursulines of Quebec The Ursuline Monastery of Quebec City (french: Monastère des Ursulines de Québec) was founded by a missionary group of Ursuline nuns in 1639 under the leadership of Mother Marie of the Incarnation, O.S.U. It is the oldest institution of learni ...

. He built several stone mills and a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

by the Portneuf River. He was married firstly in

and then to a Genevieve Dauphin before 1768 at Quebec.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macnider, Mathew Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Anglophone Quebec people 1762 births 1820 deaths Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire Canadian justices of the peace