Date Published:
June 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

John Finlay

Finlay, John (1774-1833), fur-trader, was born in Montreal in 1774, the son of James Finlay and Christiana Youel. He became a clerk of the North West Company in 1789, and in 1792 was with Alexander Mackenzie on the Peace river. By 1799 he had been admitted to partnership in the Company, and was proprietor in charge at lake Athabaska. He signed the agreement of 1802; but he retired from the fur-trade in 1804, and in 1805 he relinquished one of his two shares in the Company. In 1807 he was elected a member of the Beaver Club in Montreal ; and in 1827 he presided over the last meeting of the Club. He obtained an appointment as deputy assistant commissary-general at Montreal ; and he died at Montreal on December 19, 1833.

Source  : W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. II. Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 411p., p. 337.