John Molson

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For his eldest son, see John Molson, Jr..

John Molson (December 28, 1763 – January 11, 1836) was an Anglo-Quebecer who was a major brewer and entrepreneur in Canada, starting the Molson Brewing Company.

Born in England, he emigrated to Canada as a young man and in 1821 built Lower Canada's first distillery. He also established the Champlain and Saint Lawrence Railroad, the first railway into Canada, and introduced steam power into Montreal industry.

John Molson was a member of the Unitarian Church and also a Freemason[1].

Among John Molson's many contributions to Montreal, in 1825 he paid for the construction of the Royal Theatre on rue Saint-Paul that provided musical and theatrical entertainment similar to the music halls of France and England.

On November 4, 1986, the government of Canada honored him with his image on a postage stamp.

Effective January 2001, the faculty of Commerce and Administration at Montreal's Concordia University was renamed to the John Molson School of Business.

His son William Molson founded Molsons Bank.

John Molson is interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec.

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[edit] Birth and Early Life

Since the conquest in 1760, many British people have made their mark in Montreal but none more than John Molson and his descendents. In 1763, John Molson was born in the small town of Lincolnshire, England. In 1770, John Molson’s father died and shortly after, in 1772, his mother also died, leaving John’s grandfather Samuel Elsdale to be his legal guardian. In 1774, John’s grandfather remarried and became the guardian of 5 children. Finding this responsibility a tiring one, most likely due to his advancing age, John’s grandfather sent him away to boarding school. Although John disliked his grandfather, who held on to his conservative beliefs during the Industrial Revolution, a time when many changes were under way, Elsdale was a big help to John. He made sure John received a proper education and gave him the land on which he lived for inheritance, which was called ‘Snake Hill’.

[edit] Immigration to Canada

It was his dislike for his grandfather and his belief that he could not advance in Lincolnshire that made John immigrate to Canada in 1782. In 1782, John made the long and unpleasant journey to Montreal. Soon, John became a partner of Thomas Lloyd, who had emigrated from Lincolnshire not long before. Together they built a brewery in the St. Mary’s suburbs. After the first season of brewing, which had been a disaster, Thomas Lloyd lost interest in the brewing business and offered Molson total control of the brewery in return for ownership of the lands where they farmed the barley. Molson accepted this offer but, knowing he would need more money in order to improve his business, returned to England in 1785 to sell Snake Hill. He went to England expecting to stay only two months, but it took a full year for Molson to succeed in selling the land against his grandfather's wishes.

[edit] Career as Brewer

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 Canada with more money and a new mindset. Many British Loyalists from the United States were immigrating to Canada. This new influx increased the demand for beer. Molson worked harder then ever, staying up long into the night. He hired an apprentice, Christopher Cook, and a loyalist housemaid who had fled from the United States, Sarah Vaughn, whom he was to marry.

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’ (a quote from Molson’s diary). Molson soon began attending church. It was here that he met many influential and wealthy businessmen like fur trader James McGill, Joseph Frobisher, founder of the North West Company, and Alexander Mackenzie.

[edit] Career Success and Marriage

Between 1788 and 1800, Molson’s business grew quickly into one of the larger ones in Lower Canada. During these years that Molson and his wife had four children, John Junior, Thomas (who died shortly after birth), another Thomas, and William.

By the start of the 19th century, Molson’s small brewery had grown tenfold. Molson now had the money to improve his business by buying new technology. He toyed with the idea of buying a steamship after seeing Fulton’s 'Vermont' go down the Hudson. 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. The ship was built in Saint-Maurice and in 1809 the 'Accommodation' was the first steamship to ride on the waters of the St. Lawrence. This was a great feat for Molson but, from a business viewpoint, it was a net loss. Molson was determined to make money on his ships so he dismantled the 'Accommodation' and purchased two steamship engines from England. He combined the two engines and the remains of the 'Accommodation' to create the 'Swiftsure', a magnificent ship that was seen as a vision of elegance. During this time Molson’s business continued to grow and the War of 1812 pushed sales even higher. The 'Swiftsure' was leased to the British army and brought in a supplemental income. In 1815, Molson was elected to represent Montreal East in the legislative assembly on the platform of building a wharf.

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, 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, boats rides on the river, well-furnished rooms and six-course dinners, famous throughout all of Montreal. In 1817, John Richardson, George Moffatt and Horatio Gates joined together to create the "Montreal Bank." The three offered Molson partnership in it but Molson refused for the backers of this project had just come off of multiple failed banks in the United States and he felt it was a risky investment. Molson changed his mind not long after 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 Montreal Bank had received a charter from Britain and chose to change their name to ‘The Bank of Montreal.’

In 1819, Molson had a short bout of sickness. It was during this time that he noticed the only hospital in the city, Hôtel Dieu, only held 30 beds. Molson proposed to the assembly that a new hospital be established that would contain 200 beds. Although the assembly denied his request there was much private support and soon donations came pouring in. By May the new hospital, the Montreal General Hospital, was opened on Craig Street (now St. Antoine).

A crisis almost struck the Molsons in 1821 when the Mansion House Hotel caught fire. Luckily the books from the library were saved but not much more was salvageable. Molson was undaunted by this and had ideas to build an even grander hotel, a true testament to his character. While John Jr. and William took care of the businesses within Canada, Thomas was busy working in England. Thomas brought over 237 gallons of beer to London, England. The response was encouraging and Thomas brought another 1385 gallons on his next trip. Molson's had its first international market.

By 1825, Molson’s hotel was completely rebuilt and renamed the British American Hotel. After the hotel was completed Molson built a theatre adjacent to it. By November, Molson’s Theatre Royal was completed, the first theatre in Montreal.

Never resting, Molson continued to build his empire by purchasing multiple steamships and creating the St. Lawrence Steamboat Company. This fleet of ships was so big that it outnumbered all of those operating in the United States. In 1826 Molson decided to run against a young Louis-Joseph Papineau but resigned quickly after discovering the amount of support Papineau had from the French and the Irish.

On March 18, 1829 Sarah Vaughn, John Molson’s wife, died after acquiring rheumatism and using the only known cure, laudanum. Sarah became addicted to this opium-based painkiller and died from the effects. Molson sold the house they lived together in and moved on with his life. His four-year term as President of the Bank of Montreal ended and Molson did not run for a second. Even at the age of 67 Molson did not contemplate retirement: one of his biggest projects still lay ahead.

Since 1825, Molson had followed reports of the first railways being built in England. Molson had told the head of this project, Jason Pierce, that he was interested. Pierce did not forget about Molson’s interest and in 1832 Molson’s request for a railroad was accepted by the Assembly. The railway connected the St. Lawrence to the Hudson River, making the trip from Montreal to New York much quicker. This was the first railway ever constructed in Canada.

After his multiple successful proposals, John Molson was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada. He was considered part of the ‘Chateau Clique’ as he was a rich English businessmen. The people were losing their faith in the English businessmen like Molson and were turning to men like Papineau and Robert Nelson, both members of the Patriotes. Unfortunately a cholera epidemic struck Canada in 1832 and 1834 causing the railroad project to lose much of its momentum. Many businesses closed in Montreal but the Molsons continued work as usual. In 1833 Molson’s hotel burned down again. This time though, Molson decided not to rebuild it.

After the second cholera epidemic, when things returned to normal, John Molson’s railroad project began to gain speed. Unfortunately, Molson never lived long enough to see his last dream realized. Molson caught a high fever in December 1835. He wrote his will on January 10, 1836 and died later that day. In his will, Molson named John Jr., Thomas Molson, William Molson, George Moffatt and Peter McGill executors.

[edit] Legacy

After his death, the Molson family business continued to grow and prosper. In 1850, William Molson created the Molson Bank. It was a powerful bank that later merged with the Royal Bank of Montreal. Molson’s railroad was merged with the Grand Trunk Railway and then became part of the Canadian National Railway. In 1986, John Molson was honored on a stamp and, in 2001, Concordia University named its faculty of commerce and administration the John Molson School of Business.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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