David David (fur trader)

David David (October 14, 1764 – November 30, 1824) was a Canadian fur trader, businessman, and militia officer.

Biography

Early life

David David was born in Montreal to Lazarus David and Phebe Samuel. He was the first Jew born in the province of Quebec, and his father was one of the earliest English-speaking merchants to settle in Montreal after the conquest. David grew up in the colony's small, interrelated, and closely knit Jewish community. His father had established an extensive trade and acquired large land-holdings in Montreal by the time of his death in 1776, and the following year the family donated the site on which Shearith Israel Synagogue was built. In 1778 they made a large donation towards the purchase of a cemetery.

David received his early education in the province, and then went into trade, as did his brothers Samuel and Moses. In 1817 he was accepted into the prestigious Beaver Club, membership in which was limited to prominent merchants who had wintered at least once in the interior. By 1787 he was residing in Montreal at 15 Rue Notre-Dame, where he had a wholesale and retail store. Two years later he was importing wheat from Vermont through Quebec merchant John Samuel de Montmollin.

Career

For a short period from 1793 he was in partnership with his brother-in-law Myer Michaels, a fur trader. From David's shop they offered a large and general assortment of Goods and sent merchandise to Moses, who had established a fur-trade outlet at Detroit and later operated from Sandwich. After the dissolution of the partnership in 1795, David continued in the wheat trade, one of his suppliers being the merchant John Porteous, and the provisions business, in which he purchased powder and shot from James and Andrew McGill and Company in 1797 and 1798. He had a wide range of customers, including the military at William Henry, Sir John Johnson, superintendent general of Indian affairs, whom he supplied with goods as late as 1817, and George Ermatinger, a merchant of Amherstburg, Upper Canada.

At the turn of the century he and his brother Samuel joined its petition to government for modification of customs regulations obliging ships bound for Montreal to put into Quebec for inspection. On March 30, 1805 he attended a dinner at Dillon's Hotel given by merchants to honour local members of the House of Assembly who had voted against a tax on commerce to finance construction of new jails. In April 1822 he was a charter member of the Committee of Trade, forerunner of the Montreal Board of Trade, formed to give merchants a stronger voice in government decisions on trade.

In 1784 he signed a petition for repeal of the Quebec Act and establishment of an elective assembly. Five years later he was the only Jew among the nearly 100 members of the congregation of Christ Church who petitioned for legal erection of the parish, and in 1814 he subscribed funds for the completion of the church. A lieutenant in Montreal's 1st Battalion of militia by 1804, he became a captain in 1812, and the next year took part in the battle of Châteauguay under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry; he was promoted major in 1821. He was one of the first life governors of the Montreal General Hospital, founded in 1819, and three years later was the centre of attention for members of the Montreal medical profession who gathered at his home to watch young Robert Nelson perform an operation on him.

In 1818 he became a director of the Bank of Montreal, founded the previous year, and held that post until 1824. In late 1818 he was among a group of 14 associates who petitioned the legislature for authorization to construct a canal past the Sainte-Marie current and Lachine rapids in order to facilitate water communications with Upper Canada.

Death

At his death in 1824 his estate included four extensive properties in Montreal, and lots in the faubourgs Saint-Laurent and Saint-Antoine. Elsewhere in Lower Canada he owned a house in Trois-Rivières as well as land in the Yamaska area and in Aston, Sutton, and Ditton townships. In Upper Canada he owned lots in Charlotteville and Walsingham townships.

References

• Kyte, Elinor (1987). "David David". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. VI. Toronto. ISBN 0-8020-3436-5. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2824. 

Persondata
Name	David, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 14, 1764
Place of birth
Date of death	November 30, 1824
Place of death