John Gregory (1751-1817)

He was born in England and came out to Canada in 1773 to represent his family's interests in the fur trade. He eventually became a partner in McTavish, Frobisher & Co., the principal outfitting firm of the North West Company, and a member of the notorious Beaver Club. From 1789, he was living on Mount Royal next to Chateau Saint-Antoine and Sir Alexander Mackenzie. In 1804, he built a house of similar scale, "Woodland" (pictured above), situated in the woods overlooking Rivière Saint-Pierre and connected to the Chemin des Tanneries (today Montreal's Rue Carrière) by a long poplar-lined drive. In 1778, he married Isabella Ferguson and their three daughters were described as, “very fine, lovely girls” while two sons became officers in the Light Dragoons. Their son George became Commander of the Royal Montreal Cavalry and married Jane Prescott Forsyth, daughter of John Forsyth, of Forsyth, Richardson & Co.