Simon McGillivray

In 1785, McGillivray was born at Dunlichity, near Daviot in the Scottish Highlands. He was the youngest son of Donald Roy McGillivray (1741–1803), tacksman of Achnalodan in Dunmaglass and later of Dalscoilt in Strathnairn. His mother, Anne (1740–1807), was the daughter of Lieutenant John McTavish (1701–1774), of Garthbeg. The McGillivrays had traditionally held the Dunmaglass estate since the fourteenth century, and Simon's grandfather was a first cousin of the Chief of Clan McGillivray, Captain William McGillivray of Dunmaglass. However, on his side of the family, the land had dissipated so that Simon's father was a small tenant on what had become part of the Lovat estate, and he was unable to provide secondary schooling for Simon and his brothers William and Duncan. Instead, their education was paid for by their wealthy uncle Simon McTavish, of Montreal, who also provided each of the boys with careers within his fur trading empire.

Simon McGillivray had a lame foot and was slightly blind in one eye, so instead of coming to the Canadas and being put through an apprenticeship with the North West Company as his brothers had, he was sent down to London to work for another branch of his uncle's business, McTavish, Fraser & Co. This company was set up to maximise profits for the Montreal firm. The company supplied the Canadian firm with trade goods, obtained credit for it, looked after shipments and sold the pelts at the best price on the London market.

He became a partner of the firm in 1805 and in 1811 he was made a partner of the parent company in Montreal, McTavish, McGillivrays & Co. From London, Simon worked closely with his brother, William McGillivray, in his struggles to overcome Lord Selkirk and the Hudson's Bay Company. He made various business trips to Montreal when needed but otherwise remained in London where his authority had steadily grown to supersede his cousin John Fraser, the financial expert in Simon McTavish's time.

In 1820, when William McGillivray realised that the collapse of the North West Company (NWC) was imminent unless an agreement could be made with their rivals, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), Simon took a leading role. Together with his friend Edward Ellice, they devised a plan to merge the two giant fur companies. During the discussions that followed, Colin Robertson remarked: "I like Simon much better than his friend the Member of Parliament (Ellice); there is a sort of highland pride and frankness about the little fellow that I don't dislike". The merger was completed by 1821, and having broken the news to the partners in Canada, Robertson again commented, "Simon McGillivray has carried everything without even the semblance of opposition. The first day he opened the business, the second the Deed and Release was signed, and the third all was peace and harmony".

Simon and William were placed on the board of the new organisation after investing £164,000 between them, but the peace did not last long and by 1825 their Montreal and London firms, McTavish, McGillivrays & Co., and (since 1822) McGillivrays, Thain & Co. went bankrupt. They were left in debt to the sum of £200,000.^[1] Blame for the failure is generally accredited to the dealings of the Ellice family, who since the American Revolution had made ambitions on gaining control of the riches in North West Canada.