GRANT, Cuthbert Fur Trader and Canadian Pioneer ^{2 3}

   Another name for Cuthbert was GRANT, Cuthbert James Captain General of the Metis, Warden of the Plains.¹

  General Notes:

"Who was Cuthbert Grant
Cuthbert Grant was born in 1793 at Fort Tremblante ,Saskatchewan located on the Assiniboine River near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba boarder. His father was Scottish and his mother was of Cree-French descent. His father died in 1799 and Cuthbert was sent to Scotland to be educated.

Cuthbert returned to the fur trade country about 1812 working for the North West Co. at a time of strife between the NWC and the HBC. This was also the beginning of a colony at the forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers(the Selkirk Settlers). Grant earned the respect of the Metis and they looked to him for leadership. Events in the Red River Settlement were such that the Metis felt their way of life was being threatened. They appointed him "Captain General of all the Metis" (thus he is considered to be the first leader of the Metis Nation). He led his people in the June 19, 1816 Battle of Seven Oaks.

In 1824, after the merger of the NWC and the HBC he was granted land along the Assiniboine River to establish a Metis community which he named Grantown. It was later renamed St. Francois Xavier. In 1828 he was given a special license to trade in the area and was appointed "Warden of the Plains" with his main duties to police the illicit fur trade.

In 1829 he decided to build a water mill on Sturgeon Creek to grind grain into flour. This was the first water mill in Western Canada. The current Grants Old Mill is a replica of this mill and is located close to the original mill. Later Cuthbert was made member of the Council of Assiniboia, also a Justice of the Peace, and a Magistrate. For many years he led the buffalo hunt involving up to 1000 Red River Carts.

He fell from his horse in 1854 and died on July 15 of that year."

from The St. James Assiniboia Pioneer Association Grant's Old Mill (Facebook: GRANT'S OLD MILL - WINNIPEG)


"Born in 1793 at River Tremblante (near present-day Kamsack, Saskatchewan) the second son of a Scottish father, Cuthbert Grant, trader and partner of the North West Company, and a mother of aboriginal blood. After his father's death in 1799 he was taken to Montreal where he was baptized in the St. Gabriel Street Presbyterian Church on 12 October 1801. He was probably sent to Scotland to be educated.

In 1812 he returned to the West with the North West Company canoe brigade and was placed in charge of a small outpost on the Qu'Appelle River. He had three wives, Elizabeth McKay, 1815; Madelaine Desmarais, 1818 and in 1823, he married Marie, oldest daughter of Angus McGillis. His qualities of leadership, added to his racial background, quickly made him one of the leaders of the Métis. The North West Company, then engaged in the struggle with the Hudson's Bay Company, made him Captain-General of the half-breeds early in 1816. He was the leader of the Bois-Brulés at the massacre of Seven Oaks on 19 June 1816. In 1817 he surrendered himself and went to Montreal to face murder charges. In 1818 he returned to the West, subsequently being cleared of all indictments in the courts of both Upper and Lower Canada.

In 1823 he was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Garry, but resigned in 1824 and accepted a grant of land on White Horse Plain (St. Francois Xavier). Here he founded a settlement, known as Grantown, where many Métis families joined him. In 1828 he was given the title of "Warden of the Plains," with an annual salary of £200 and the duty of preventing illicit trade in furs. He held this title until 1849. From 1835 until his death he was a member of the Council of Assiniboia. On 12 February 1835 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the Fourth District of Assiniboia and on 20 March 1839, one of the two Sheriffs of Assiniboia.

Grant is known to have had considerable knowledge and experience in medicine. Apart from leading the settlers of White Horse Plain, Grant also farmed and built one of the first water mills on the banks of the Assiniboine River, recreated as Grant's Old Mill in Winnipeg. He died on 15 July 1854 and was buried in the church of St. Francois Xavier.

He is commemorated by Grant Avenue in Winnipeg. ³

Cuthbert married Elizabeth McKAY in 1815.¹ (Elizabeth McKAY was born about 1795.)

Cuthbert next married Madelaine DESMARAIS in 1818.¹ (Madelaine DESMARAIS was born about 1800.)

Cuthbert next married Marie McGILLIS, daughter of Angus McGILLIS and Unknown, in 1823.¹ (Marie McGILLIS was born about 1805.)