45 Facts About John Molson

John Molson was an English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada.

John Molson was the "leader" of the freemason's lodge of Montreal up to three years before his death, from 1826 to 1833.

The dynasty he founded, the John Molson family, is still a wealthy and powerful force in Canada.

John Molson was born in 1763, in the parish of Moulton near Spalding, Lincolnshire, England.

John Molson's brother, Robinson Elsdale, was a privateer, whose unpublished exploits formed the basis of the novel by Frederick Marryat, The Privateersman.

John Molson's will bequeathed properties to his wife and five surviving children.

John Molson 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, John Molson immigrated to Quebec, in a ship that was leaking so badly he switched ships mid-ocean.

In 1783, John Molson moved into the home of Thomas Loid just outside Montreal, who had begun brewing beer the previous year.

John Molson returned to Quebec with more money and a new mindset.

John Molson hired an apprentice, Christopher Cook, and a loyalist housemaid, Sarah Insley Vaughan.

John Molson married her on 7 April 1801 at Christ Church in Montreal after she had borne him three children.

John Molson 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.

John Molson 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.

Yet John Molson's beer was special as it was "universally liked".

Between 1788 and 1800, John Molson's business grew quickly into one of the larger ones in Lower Canada.

John Molson now had the money to improve his business by buying new technology.

John Molson toyed with the idea of buying a steamship after seeing Robert Fulton's Clermont go down the Hudson.

John Molson 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.

John 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.

John 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 John Molson was a part of were volunteers and some were still conscripted.

John Molson was ranked a lieutenant in the 5th Battalion of the Select Embodied Militia.

Seven of the eight battalions would be perpetuated within the Canadian Army and assigned to a varying regiment within - the 5th Battalion of which John Molson was in was assigned to the Black Watch of Canada.

John Molson would resign from this commissioned work within the same year, on 25 November 1813.

In 1815, John Molson was elected to represent Montreal East in the legislative assembly on the platform of building a wharf.

John Molson Brewery is the second oldest company in all of Canada.

John Molson 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, John Molson built Mansion House Hotel which coincided with the Assembly's acceptance of the wharf.

John Molson's hotel was only for those who could afford luxury.

John 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.

John Molson changed his mind not long afterwards and the bank became fully Canadian-owned when the US partners sold their shares after the US financial crisis in the fall of 1818.

John Molson proposed to the assembly that a new hospital be established that would contain 200 beds.

John Molson was undaunted by this and had ideas to build an even grander hotel, a true testament to his character.

From 1820 to 1866, one or another John Molson partnership were the largest distillers in Canada.

Never resting, John Molson continued to build his empire by purchasing multiple steamships and creating the St Lawrence Steamboat Company.

In 1826 John 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.

John Molson sold the house they lived in together and moved on with his life.

Since 1825, John Molson had followed reports of the first railways being built in England.

John Molson had told the head of this project, Jason Pierce, that he was interested.

John Molson was considered part of the "Chateau Clique" as he was a rich English businessman.

The people were losing their faith in English businessmen like John Molson and were turning to men like Papineau and Robert Nelson, both members of the Patriote movement.

John Molson was appointed Provincial Grand Master of the District Grand Lodge of Montreal by the Duke of Sussex by Letters Patent dated 15 May 1826 and installed in office by Claude Denechau on 5 September 1826; John Molson resigned in 1833.

John Molson wrote his will on 11 January 1836, and died that day.

John Molson's remains now rest in a family mausoleum at Mount Royal Cemetery.