1. William McGillivray, of Chateau St Antoine, Montreal, was a Scottish-born fur trader who succeeded his uncle Simon McTavish as the last chief partner of the North West Company until a merger between the NWC and her chief rival - the Hudson Bay Company.
William McGillivray was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and afterwards was appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada.
William McGillivray owned substantial estates in Scotland, Lower and Upper Canada.
In 1764, William McGillivray was born at Dunlichity, near Daviot in the Scottish Highlands.
William McGillivray was the eldest son of Donald Roy McGillivray, tacksman of Achnalodan in Dunmaglass and later of Dalscoilt in Strathnairn.
However, on his side of the family the land had dissipated so that William McGillivray's father was a small tenant on what had become part of the Lovat estate, and he was unable to provide secondary schooling for William McGillivray and his brothers Duncan and Simon.
William McGillivray played an important part in the two companies merging in 1787.
William McGillivray returned to Montreal in 1793 and then took a trip to Scotland and England.
Subsequently, William McGillivray set up an agency at New York City to get around the East India Company's monopoly enabling them to trade with China.
When Simon McTavish died in July of 1804, William McGillivray was well experienced and became the head of the NWC, and the executor of his uncle's will.
William McGillivray took over at a period of intense competition in the North American fur trade.
William McGillivray reorganized the managing firm of McTavish, Frobisher and Co.
Over time, American pressure at their shared Pacific trading post on the mouth of the Columbia River was applied to the NWC in a subtle but systematic fashion, and to retain his freedom, William McGillivray contemplated negotiating with the East India Company, and establishing a trading post on the Canadian Pacific Coast.
William McGillivray saw two other options: either obtain an Imperial Charter from the Crown or to attempt to purchase majority shares in the HBC - a method used previously which had never yet succeeded.
William McGillivray seized Fort William and confiscated their furs for his own benefit.
Nepotism was a problem: 14 members of the McTavish and William McGillivray families had been given partnerships since 1800, undermining the drive and morale of those hoping for promotion.
William McGillivray enjoyed a leading role in Quebec society, particularly at Montreal.
William McGillivray had been elected a member of the Beaver Club in 1795 and in 1804 he was made a Justice of the Peace in the Indian Territories, and for the District of Quebec in 1815, plus Montreal and Three Rivers in 1821.
William McGillivray became a significant landowner, purchasing 12,000 acres at Inverness, Quebec in 1802, which he later sold to Joseph Frobisher.
William McGillivray died during a trip to London in 1825 and was buried at St James's Church, Piccadilly, where there is a memorial to him and his wife in the church.
Mr William McGillivray was accustomed to entertain the successive governors in their progresses, and was well entitled to such honour, not only from his princely fortune, but from his popularity, honesty of purpose, and intimate acquaintance with the true interests of the colony.
William McGillivray was various and consisted of a judge or two, some members of the Legislative Council and three or four retired partners of the North West Company of fur-traders.
Mrs William McGillivray's brothers were John MacDonald of Garth and The Hon.
Mrs William McGillivray's mother was a niece of Major-General John Small and Alexander Small, two of the first cousins of General John Robertson Reid.