Richard Dobie (1731 – March 23, 1805) was a Scottish merchant who came to Canada in 1760 and became actively involved 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 ...

around

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

and the other Great Lakes. Much of his trade was to the south of these lakes which was a well established trade zone. In 1767 Dobie established a partnership with

Benjamin Frobisher Benjamin Frobisher (1742 – April 14, 1787) was born in England, the son of Joseph Frobisher and Rachel Hargrave and immigrated to Canada about 1763. Two brothers also immigrated to Canada and all three were involved with the fur trade and its e ...

, who travelled to the trading posts and wintered there, while Dobie remained in Montreal. They mounted at least one attempt at the northwest fur trade in partnership but most of Dobies trade efforts continued with various partners, one of whom was Francis Badgley, in the Great Lakes area. Although heavily involved in the fur trade, Dobie was also active in any number of non fur trade enterprises. He accumulated a large fortune in these endeavors and was an important member of the Montreal community.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople 1805 deaths 1731 births Anglophone Quebec people {{Canada-hist-stub

See also

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