Collection search - Journal of John Lees of Quebec, Merchant [textual record (microform)]. From London, Aprile 1768 to ... Montreale in October 1768
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Journal of John Lees of Quebec, Merchant [textual record (microform)]. From London, Aprile 1768 to ... Montreale in October 1768
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Record information Journal of John Lees of Quebec, Merchant [textual record (microform)]. From London, Aprile 1768 to ... Montreale in October 1768
Date:1768.Reference:R16730-0-X-E, MG21-Add.MSS.-28605, Volume number: 28605, Microfilm reel number: A-926Type of material:Textual materialFound in:Archives / Collections and FondsItem ID number:104590Date(s):1768.Place of creation:Québec (Province)Extent:1 microfilm reel negative and positive.Language of material:EnglishScope and content:Item is entitled: "Journal of J[ohn] L[ees] of Quebec, Merchant. From London, Aprile 1768, to Boston, N. England - Rhode Island - New York - Albany - Mohawk River - Fort Stanwix - Fort Oswego - Fort Niagara - Erie - Detroit - and back by the River St. Lawrence to Montreale in October 1768. Canada. Performed in about 5 1/2 months. J.L." The account contains references to Indians, the fur trade, forts, blockhouses, etc. It describes daily travel west and east by land, lake and river. Details of weather, water-traffic and navigational hazards on Lakes Erie and Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence are especially common (ff. 1-33v). This material is located on microfilm reel A-926.Provenance:Biography/Administrative history:Lees, John, fl. 1764-1775 : Merchant.
John Lees (fl. 1764-1775) was a native of Scotland, who settled in Quebec. In partnership with one Anderson he engaged in the Indian trade and began business with the Upper Country in 1764. It is probable that he returned to Britain in 1767, for the journey to Detroit recorded in his journal of 1768 began in London in April of that year. That trip appears to have been related to the precarious affairs of a business connection at Detroit, "Mr. Chabbert", who was almost certainly Daniel-Marie Chabert de Joncaire de Clausonne ([1714]-1771). On 10 July 1769, after Lees' return to Montreal, Chabert sold him a lot in Detroit, probably in part settlement of their accounts.
Lees was one of the group of Quebec merchants who petitioned in 1774 for the repeal of the Quebec Act and pressed for a Legislative Assembly. It is thought that he returned to Britain in 1774 or 1775 and became a Collector of Excise at Stirling in Scotland. His daughters Jane, Sarah and Nancy were still living in Stirling when their brother John Lees, Jun. (ca. 1740-1807) died at Lachine, Lower Canada, in 1807.Additional information:General note:Documents created in: Quebec, Que.Source of title:The title is a formal title taken from the journal itself.Custodial history:Additional Manuscript 28605 was purchased by the British Library in 1871 from W.H. Logan, Esq. The National Archives of Canada purchased a microfilm copy in 1975.Citation/reference note:The journal was published by the Society of Colonial Wars of the State of Michigan (Detroit, 1911), with maps, annotations and index by C.M. and M.A. Burton.Location of originals note:Originals are in the British Library, London, England.Subject heading:- Montreal (Quebec) - Description and travel
- John Lees - Diaries, 1764-1775
- Merchants - Lower Canada, 1764-1775
- London (England)
- Boston (Mass.) - Description, 1768
- Rhode Island - Description and travel, 1768
- New York (N.Y.) - Description, 1768
- Albany (N.Y.) - Description, 1768
- Mohawk River - Description and travel, 1768
- Fort Stanwix (Rome, N.Y.) - Description, 1768
- Fort Oswego (Oswego, N.Y.) - Description, 1768
- Old Fort Niagara (N.Y.) - Description, 1768
- Fort Erie (Fort Erie, Ont.) - Description, 1768
- Detroit (Mich.) - Description, 1768
- Erie, Lake - Description and travel, 1768
- Ontario, Lake - Description and travel, 1768
- St. Lawrence River - Description and travel, 1768
- Indians of North America, 1768
- Forts, 1768
- Blockhouses, 1768
- Great Lakes - Climate, 1768
- St. Lawrence River - Climate, 1768
- St. Lawrence River - Water-traffic, 1768
- Great Lakes - Water-traffic, 1768
- St. Lawrence River - Navigation, 1768
- Great Lakes - Navigation, 1768
- Great Lakes North America 18th century
- Fur trade North America
Source:PrivateFormer archival reference no.:MG21-Add.MSS.-28605 -
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