page_title: Alexander Henry the elder
section_title: Later Years at Montreal
hierarchical_section_title: Alexander Henry the elder / Later Years at Montreal
caption_attribution_description: English: Alexander Henry (1739-1824) 'The Elder' of Montreal, pioneer of the British-Canadian fur trade from 1760, original member of the Beaver Club
context_page_description: Alexander Henry 'The Elder' was one of the leading pioneers of the British-Canadian fur trade, following the British Conquest of New France; a partner in the North West Company; and a founding member and vice-chairman of the Beaver Club. In 1763–64, he lived and hunted with Wawatam of the Ojibwa, who had adopted him as a brother.
  "Blessed with as many lives as a cat," he recounted his time with the Ojibwa and subsequent explorations in his Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories between the years 1760 and 1776, which he dedicated to his friend Sir Joseph Banks. The book is considered an adventure classic and one of the best descriptions of Native Indian life at this time.
  An "easy and dignified" raconteur, in 1776 Henry was invited to give an account of his journeys at the Royal Society in London and at Versailles to Queen Marie Antoinette. In the 1780s, Henry introduced John Jacob Astor into the Canadian fur trade; subsequently Astor would stay as Henry's guest during his annual visits to Montreal.
context_section_description: In 1792, Henry and his nephew Alexander Henry the younger together obtained one share in the North West Company for six years. In 1796 he sold his interest to William Hallowell (1771–1838), but continued to buy furs from traders and export them to England. When one of his uninsured shipments was captured by the French in 1801, he suffered a serious financial crisis. In order to repair his fortunes, Henry became a commission merchant and auctioneer in partnership with William Lindsay. Plagued by ill health, he worked hard at a job he did not find satisfying.
  Despite these reverses of fortune, Henry maintained a secure place in Montreal's mercantile society. He served as a captain in the militia and from 1794 to 1821 as justice of the peace. He lavishly entertained leading merchants in his home, regularly signed petitions and memorials, and attended parties. He was particularly active in the Beaver Club, reactivated in 1807, of which he was the senior member and on its creation, the vice-chairman. In 1806, he was one of the principal donators to the building of Nelson's Column, Montreal. In 1812, he was appointed vendue master and King's Auctioneer for the district of Montreal, working in partnership with his nephew Norman Bethune, who lived with him at 14 Rue Saint-Urbain. He remained close to his old friends, and Isaac Todd, who Henry enjoyed teasing, returned again to Montreal from his native Ireland to be close to Henry and McGill.
  In 1809, Henry had written to Askin, "There is only us four old friends (James McGill, Isaac Todd, Joseph Frobisher, and himself) alive, all the new North westards are a parcel of boys and upstarts, who were not born in our time, and supposes they know much more of the Indian trade than any before them." To recapture his exciting past, he wrote a memoir of his life which he published in New York that year and dedicated to his English friend, Sir Joseph Banks. Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories, between the years 1760 and 1776 has become a Canadian adventure classic and is still considered as one of the best descriptions of Native Indian life at the time of Henry's travels.
  "A middle-sized man, easy yet dignified", Henry was known among the Indians and the French as "the handsome Englishman." He never recovered the wealth he had amassed during the height of the fur trade, but is remembered for his accomplishments in society and as one of the most important business leaders who turned Montreal into an innovative centre of business expansion. At age 85, he died at his home on Notre-Dame Street, Montreal, "esteemed by all who knew him".
caption: The portrait of Alexander Henry (1739–1824) from his 1809 book
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