Mathew Bell (1769 – June 24, 1849) was a

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 ...

, businessman and political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. His first name is also sometimes recorded as Matthew. He was born at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of James Bell, a merchant of 'gentry stock' who served two terms as the town's

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

.A place by itself: Berwick-upon-Tweed in the eighteenth century. By David Brenchley, 1997 Bell came to

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 ...

around 1784 and worked as a clerk for merchant John Lees. In 1790, he started an importing business in partnership with

David Monro Sir David Monro (27 March 1813 – 15 February 1877) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1861 to 1870. Early life Monro was born in Edinburgh. His father was Alexander Monro, ...

; they owned a store at Quebec and their own ships. When John Lees retired from business in 1791, they became agents for

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and George Davison, who were suppliers to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

troops in North America. Bell and Monro also managed the king's posts on the north shore of the lower

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

and, in 1793, held a share in the lease of the Saint-Maurice ironworks. In 1799, after the death of George Davison, they became sole holders of the lease of the ironworks. In 1799, Bell was named a justice of the peace. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of el ...

for Saint-Maurice in 1800. He was elected for Trois-Rivières in 1809 and again in 1810, generally supporting the English party. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, he served as a captain in the local militia and formed a volunteer cavalry unit at Quebec. Bell served as master of

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

of Quebec from 1814 to 1816. His partner David Monro retired in 1815 and he took on John Stewart as a partner in the firm. In 1817, with Monro, Bell bought the seigneury of Champlain; he acquired the seigneuries of Hertel and Mont-Louis on his own. Bell also acquired large amounts of property in the townships. In 1823, he was named to the Legislative Council and served until the suspension of the constitution following the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...

. In 1829, he moved his home to

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

to be closer to the ironworks. During the rebellion, he organized the defence against the Patriotes in the region. Bell was invited to serve on the Special Council that governed the province after the rebellion but did not accept the offer. In 1846, the government sold the Saint-Maurice ironworks; Bell lost to Henry Stuart in the bidding. He retired to Trois-Rivières, where he died in 1849. He married Anne Mackenzie (1781–1837), daughter of James Mackenzie, merchant of Montreal. Their daughter Catherine married Edward Greive, who represented Trois-Rivières in the legislative assembly of the Province of Canada. His daughter Margaret married William Walker, who served on the legislative council. His daughter Ann, married merchant John George Irvine and was the mother of George Irvine, who was a lawyer, judge and served in both the federal and provincial legislatures.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Mathew 1769 births 1849 deaths English emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Immigrants to the Province of Quebec (1763–1791) Canadian justices of the peace