William Machin Stairs, (January 21, 1789 – November 28, 1865) was a merchant, a banker, and a statesman. He was born and died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. William Machin Stairs was the son of John Stairs (1749–1797), a native of

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

who had emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States before moving to Halifax. John Stairs became involved in the shipping business but after some financial difficulties the family returned to Philadelphia in 1793. There, both John Stairs and his wife died and their five children, including the eight-year-old William Machin Stairs, returned to Halifax to be raised by a maternal uncle. In 1810, Stairs opened a small general store on the Halifax waterfront that marked the beginnings of a business dynasty that endured to 1975. In 1856, he helped found the

Union Bank of Halifax The Union Bank of Halifax was granted a charter by the government of Canada in 1856 and established its head office at the corner of Hollis and Prince Streets in the port city of Halifax Urban Area, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The driving force behin ...

. A major shareholder, he served on the bank's board of directors and as the bank's first president. Stairs was also active in politics, serving as a Member of the Nova Scotia General Assembly from 1841 to 1843, then as mayor of Halifax from 1847 to 1848 and later as a Legislative Councillor. He would become a strong supporter of Joseph Howe in his Anti-Confederation Party movement. A member of the Glasite Christian church, William Machin Stairs was married to Margaret Wiseman (1793–1850) with whom he had nine children. They are buried together at the Camp Hill Cemetery, in Halifax.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stairs, William Machin 1789 births 1865 deaths Canadian people of American descent Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Canadian bank presidents Canadian Protestants Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia Mayors of Halifax, Nova Scotia Glasites