John Molson
John Molson was an English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada. In addition to founding Molson Brewery, he is known for building the first Canadian steamship and the first public Canadian railway. He was a president of the Bank of Montreal, and established a hospital, a hotel, and a theatre in Montreal. Molson was also the "leader" of the freemason's lodge of Montreal from 1826 to 1833. His business dynasty, much of which he passed along to and was expanded by his family, continues to remain influential in Canada.
Early life
John Molson was born in 1763, in the parish of Moulton near Spalding, Lincolnshire, England. His father John Molson senior had, in 1760, married Mary Elsdale, the eldest daughter of , of Surfleet. Her brother, Robinson Elsdale, was a privateer, whose unpublished exploits formed the basis of the novel by Frederick Marryat, The Privateersman. Before the marriage, John Molson senior inherited a property known as Snake Hall, in Moulton Eaugate which consisted of a house and various outbuildings associated with of land.John Molson senior died on 4 June 1770. His will bequeathed properties to his wife and five surviving children. Under their marriage settlement, Snake Hall went to Mary, and was to then pass on to his eldest son, John, upon her death. She died on 21 September 1772, and thus John was orphaned when eight years old. John senior had named four guardians and trustees for the estate; the young John Molson's financial affairs were overseen by his paternal uncle, Thomas Molson, but in September 1771 Thomas turned over the duties of trustee and guardian to Samuel Elsdale, possibly due to poor health, as he died the following spring. Under Samuel Elsdale's oversight, Snake Hall was rented out to the benefit of their trusts. John went to live with a man named William Robinson, and at age 12 in 1776 was consigned to the care of a Mr Whitehead, who was paid for his board and education until 1780, when he turned 16. Writers have criticized Samuel Elsdale for his oversight but he seems to have performed his duties prudently, although John Molson plainly chafed under his guardianship.
In 1782, at the age of 18, Molson immigrated to Quebec, in a ship that was leaking so badly he switched ships mid-ocean. In 1783, Molson moved into the home of Thomas Loid just outside Montreal, who had begun brewing beer the previous year. Molson became a partner in the brewery and took over on 5 January 1785, eight days after he had turned twenty-one. In 1786, he returned briefly to England, and it was during that year that Molson picked up the book Theoretic Hints on an Improved Practice in Brewing by John Richardson. Molson returned to Quebec with more money and a new mindset. Many Loyalists were immigrating to Quebec from the United States and this influx increased the demand for beer. Molson worked hard, staying up long into the night. He hired an apprentice, Christopher Cook, and a loyalist housemaid, Sarah Insley Vaughan. He married her on 7 April 1801 at Christ Church in Montreal after she had borne him three children.
Sarah was the daughter of Thomas Vaughan of Harnham Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland. She was the niece of Wilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of Lisburne and through her mother's family, the Aynsleys, a cousin of the Duke of Atholl. She emigrated to the American colonies with her first husband, David Tetchley, but ten years later left him, and reverting to her maiden name, she made her way to Montreal, penniless, until taken in by Molson.
Soon Molson's beer was in such demand that according to one of his diary entries "Cannot serve half my customers and they are increasing every day." One of the major reasons for this was the wide appeal of his beer to different classes of Montreal society. High British officers had been drinking imported London porters and the city merchants preferred Bristol. Yet Molson's beer was special as it was "universally liked". It was at the Anglican church that he met many influential and wealthy businessmen like fur trader James McGill, Joseph Frobisher, founder of the North West Company, and Alexander Mackenzie.
Career success and later life
Between 1788 and 1800, Molson's business grew quickly into one of the larger ones in Lower Canada. Already in 1791, he sold 30,000 gallons of beer. During these years Molson and his wife had four children, John junior, Thomas, another Thomas, and William.The year 1800 marks the first recorded use of bottles by Molson. About this time arrived The Philosophical Principles of the Science of Brewing by Richardson, which marks the introduction of the thermometer and the saccharometer to the English craft. By the start of the 19th Century, his small brewery had grown tenfold. Molson now had the money to improve his business by buying new technology.
Steamship pioneer
Molson toyed with the idea of buying a steamship after seeing Robert Fulton's Clermont go down the Hudson.. However, there was also another steamship commissioned by a group of businessmen from Burlington, Vermont, in 1808 to be built by two brothers in Burlington, Vermont, named John and James Winans. This ship was quite unsurprisingly called the Vermont and went into service in 1809. The Vermont ran in modern Canada, along Lake Champlain and the Riviere Richelieu to Dorchester. Molson's steamship would be the first in Canada. Molson teamed up with John Jackson and John Bruce who would build a ship for Molson in return for putting up the money and part ownership. Built in Montreal in 1809, Accommodation became the first steamship to ride on the waters of the Saint Lawrence River. This was a great feat for Molson but, from a business viewpoint, it was a net loss, costing £4000 by 1810. Molson was determined to make money on his ships so he dismantled Accommodation and purchased in person two steamship engines from Boulton & Watt in Birmingham, England. He combined the two engines and the remains of Accommodation to create Swiftsure, a magnificent ship that was a vision of elegance and speed, traversing the route at an average of seven miles an hour. Swiftsure measured 130 feet on the keel and had a beam of 24 feet. The steamship provided a ready cash business, while the government in London had suspended the transfer of specie from 1800 to 1817. Most other Canadian business was carried on with London bills of exchange, and the transfer of those bills from Montreal to Quebec earned the Molsons up to 20 per cent. And since brewing occupied the months when the steamboats were laid up, a harmonious concordance of activities resulted.Molson would have three other steamships constructed and utilized close to the end of the War of 1812 and following the end of the war, these ships were called: the Malsham built in 1814, the Lady Sherbrooke in 1816, and the New Swiftsure in 1817.
During the time leading up to the War of 1812 and within the war itself, Molson's business continued to grow and his sales were pushed even higher. Swiftsure was leased to the British Army and brought in a supplemental income.
Molson himself would be involved in the war, albeit through a full-time militia and not a regular force; however, some troops in the militia that Molson was a part of were volunteers and some were still conscripted. Each volunteer or conscripted man was nonetheless required to serve for one year only. Molson was ranked a lieutenant in the 5th Battalion of the Select Embodied Militia. There were 8 different battalion units in this militia with all expect for the 6th seeing action in either the Montreal or Lake Champlain sectors of the war front. The 5th Battalion was the first battalion that was formed after the War of 1812 had been declared officially, with the first four having been formed already in 1812 before the war began. Seven of the eight battalions would be perpetuated within the Canadian Army and assigned to a varying regiment within - the 5th Battalion of which Molson was in was assigned to the Black Watch of Canada. Molson would eventually be promoted to captain on 25 March 1813. Molson would resign from this commissioned work within the same year, on 25 November 1813.
In 1815, Molson was elected to represent Montreal East in the legislative assembly on the platform of building a wharf. Molson Brewery is the second oldest company in all of Canada.
Plutocrat and banker
As Molson became more occupied by his multiple businesses and his seat in the assembly, his three sons began to take a much larger role in the companies. John Junior managed the steamships, Thomas was married in England and would frequently travel sending back tips and advice to his father, and William was in charge of the brewery. In 1816, the year he took his sons formally into partnership, Molson built Mansion House Hotel which coincided with the Assembly's acceptance of the wharf. Molson's hotel was only for those who could afford luxury. The hotel offered Montreal's first library, boat rides on the river, well-furnished rooms and six-course dinners, famous throughout all of Montreal.To the John Molsons and Sons partnership were leased at 6% per annum Molson's accumulated capital assets; the term was seven years. The four partners divided equally, share and share alike, the profits and the losses. If any insoluble difference arose between the partners, two indifferent arbitrators were to be appointed. By December 1816, Molson had accumulated £63,550.
In 1817, John Richardson and George Moffatt created the Montreal Bank. Molson declined a partnership in it as the backers of this project had been involved with multiple failed banks in the United States and he felt it was a risky investment. Molson changed his mind not long afterwards and the bank became fully Canadian-owned when the U.S. partners sold their shares after the U.S. financial crisis in the fall of 1818. By 1822, the bank had received a charter from Britain and changed its name to the Bank of Montreal. Between 1826 and 1834, Molson presided over its affairs.