John Gordon Mackenzie (1795-1881)

He was born in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland. He came to Canada at the age of sixteen in 1811 and as a merchant was for many years associated with the firms of Forsyth, Richardson & Co., and Hector Russell & Co. In 1829, he married his first wife, Seraphina, daughter of Horatio Gates, President of the Bank of Montreal. In the same year, he established the wholesale dry goods house of J.G. Mackenzie & Co. He remained senior partner of the firm up until his death during which time he amassed a large fortune and was recognised as one of Montreal's most widely respected merchants. Aside from his business interests he served as Portuguese Consul at Montreal (1855), City Commissioner, Harbour Commissioner, Governor of the Montreal General Hospital, and Vice-President of the House of Refuge. He was a director of the Bank of Montreal and the Montreal Telegraph Company. He and his wife Seraphina were the parents of five sons, four of whom lived to adulthood (listed above) and three of whom survived them.