Andrew Robertson (businessman)
| Andrew Robertson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
18 June 1827 Paisley, Scotland |
| Died | 29 March 1890 (aged 62) Montreal, Quebec |
Andrew Robertson (18 June 1827 – 29 March 1890) was a successful Scottish dry goods merchant at Montreal. He was best known as Chairman of the Montreal Harbour Commission. He purchased and donated the land on which the Erskine Presbyterian Church was built, and was President and Governor of the Montreal General Hospital. He was the first President of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada and the Commercial Travellers' Association of Canada. He was also President of the Montreal Board of Trade, the Dominion Board of Trade and the Royal Canadian Insurance Company.
Robertson was born June 18, 1827, at Paisley, the son of Alexander Robertson and Grant Stuart Macdonald (1805–1828), daughter of Malcolm MacDonald (1745–1809) of Paisley. He was a first cousin of James Robertson (1831–1914) who founded Robertson's Marmalade in 1864. Andrew received a classical education at the Paisley Grammar School, and then was instructed in the practical trade of weaving. In 1840, he moved to Glasgow and worked for the next four years in a dry goods store. At the same time he took a position in a manufacturing company and proving a success he was made a partner in 1848. In 1850 at Glasgow, he married Agnes Bow, but following medical advice, he immigrated with his young family to Montreal in 1853
Arriving in Montreal in 1853, Robertson continued in the dry goods business working for the firm of Brown & Swan until 1855. Afterwards, he established Andrew Robertson & Company, specializing in yard goods. In the early 1860s, he built the Auburn Woolen Mill at Peterborough, Canada West, where he manufactured Canadian tweed. He sold the mill in 1867 in order to buy the future Lord Mount Stephen's wholesale dry goods business in Montreal. Stephen’s youngest brother, Francis, joined Robertson in the firm of Robertson, Stephen & Company, and in 1874 Robert Linton also became a partner. Robertson retired from business in 1885, and at his death left an estate of between $350,000 and $400,000. The year after his death, Linton acquired the interest held in the firm by Robertson’s heirs.
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