Gabriel Christie ( British Army officer ) Gabriel Christie ( 16 September 1722 – 26 January 1799 ) was a British Army General from Scotland , who settled in Montreal after the French and Indian War . Following the British Conquest of New France , he invested in land and became one of the largest landowners in the British Province of Quebec ( 1763 - 1791 ) . Early life . Born in Stirling , he was the son of James Christie ( 1695 - 1745 ) , a wealthy merchant and manufacturer with branches in Glasgow , London and Baltimore . Gabriel ' s mother , Catherine Napier , was the daughter of Francis Napier ( d . 1713 ) , of Craigannet ; Provost of Stirling and a grandson of the distinguished John Napier . Christie was educated in Stirling , Glasgow and England . Gabriel Christie entered the army as an ensign in 1742 under the patronage of his uncle , Lt . - General Robert Napier ( 1708 - 1766 ) , Chief Staff Officer to the Duke of Cumberland at the Battle of Culloden . Military career . In 1745 , Christie was gazetted Lieutenant of the 27th ( Inniskilling ) Regiment of Foot . Present with his uncle at the Battle of Culloden , young Christie was sent to the governor of Stirling Castle with the despatches announcing the victory . As Captain of the 44th Regiment of Foot , in 1756 General Abercrombie appointed him assistant - deputy - Quartermaster - General to the Forces in North America , maintaining that position under the new commander - in - chief , Earl Loudoun . He fought with Wolfe at the Siege of Quebec , when he was promoted Brevet Major . In 1762 , he was promoted to Lieutenant - Colonel , and in 1769 he was made deputy - Quartermaster - General to the Forces in North America . In 1773 , he was appointed Lt . - Colonel of the King ' s Royal Rifle Corps and served with them in the West Indies . In 1778 , he was made Colonel Commandant of the 2nd Battlalion of that regiment . In 1780 , they were serving in Antigua and in 1781 he was appointed Major - General and Commander - in - Chief of the Leeward Islands . In 1793 , he was gazetted Lt . - General , and in 1796 he was made Colonel Commandant of the King ' s Royal Rifle Corps . In 1798 , he received his final promotion to General and Commander - in - Chief of the British Forces in the Canadas , at Montreal . Canadian Seigneur . Christie was based in the West Indies during most of the American Revolution , but in the 1780s , when his active role in the army was completed , he settled in Quebec where he had already started with his intentions of becoming a significant Seigneur there . In 1764 , he purchased six seigneuries from noble French Canadian families returning to France after the Conquest . The first was the seigneury of L ’ Islet - du - Portage , from Paul - Joseph Le Moyne de Longueuil ( son of Charles le Moyne de Longueuil , Baron de Longueuil ) , but he sold it in 1777 preferring land closer to Montreal . His second and third purchases were in partnership with Moses Hazen , acquiring the seigneuries of Bleury and Sabrevois from Clément Sabrevois de Bleury ( father of Clément - Charles Sabrevois de Bleury ) for £7 , 300 . His fourth purchase was with John Campbell ( 1721 - 1795 ) , buying the seigneury of Noyan from the Payen de Noyan family . In 1765 , he purchased the seigneury of Lacolle , from the family of Jacques - Philippe Saveuse de Beaujeu . Finally , he purchased the seigneury of Léry from Gaspard - Joseph Chaussegros de Léry . Around 1777 , he added the seigneuries of Lachenaie and Repentigny to his lands . He owned land in England too , but even these seigneurial acquisitions were not enough to satisfy his ambition : In 1792 , he made two unsuccessful requests for land grants in the Eastern Townships . His final purchase was in 1796 , when Jean - Baptiste Boucher de Niverville sold him the seigneury of Chambly . Christie hired agents to look after his extensive land holdings and lived comfortably in Montreal with his family until his death , despite a few set backs . His property along the Richelieu River was devastated during the American American Invasion of Canada in 1775 . The seigneuries near St . Johns that he purchased with Hazen also created difficulties for him as during the War of Independence Hazen sided with the armies under Richard Montgomery who invaded Quebec . Hazen and Christie were in court for years over their failed business partnership . Family . He had married Sarah Stevenson , daughter of John Stevenson of Albany , New York when stationed in the area , and settled her , their son and two daughters in Montreal . During his time in London in the 1780s , he had taken a mistress by the name of Rachel Plenderleath , and by her was the father of three further sons ( Gabriel , George and William ) who were fully accepted into the main family and provided for equally - they each received £1 , 500 and commissions in the King ' s Royal Rifle Corps , while their eldest legitimate brother , Napier , inherited the bulk of his estate , before passing it to his half - brother . Christie lived with his family on Rue Saint - Paul , Montreal .