John Molson (28 December 1763 – 11 January 1836) was an English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada.

Before the marriage, John Molson senior inherited a property known as Snake Hall,[2] in Moulton Eaugate[3] which consisted of a house and various outbuildings associated with 38 acres (15 ha) of land.

[4] John senior had named four guardians and trustees for the estate; the young John Molson's financial affairs were overseen by his paternal uncle, Thomas Molson, but in September 1771 Thomas turned over the duties of trustee and guardian to Samuel Elsdale, possibly due to poor health, as he died the following spring.

John went to live with a man named William Robinson, and at age 12 in 1776 was consigned to the care of a Mr Whitehead, who was paid for his board and education until 1780, when he turned 16.

Writers have criticized Samuel Elsdale for his oversight but he seems to have performed his duties prudently, although John Molson plainly chafed under his guardianship.

[7] In 1786, he returned briefly to England, and it was during that year that Molson picked up the book Theoretic Hints on an Improved Practice in Brewing by John Richardson.

She emigrated to the American colonies with her first husband, David Tetchley, but ten years later left him, and reverting to her maiden name, she made her way to Montreal, penniless, until taken in by Molson.

It was at the Anglican church that he met many influential and wealthy businessmen like fur trader James McGill, Joseph Frobisher, founder of the North West Company, and Alexander Mackenzie.

About this time arrived The Philosophical Principles of the Science of Brewing by Richardson, which marks the introduction of the thermometer and the saccharometer to the English craft.

Built in Montreal (with engines produced at Forges du Saint-Maurice in Trois-Rivières) in 1809, Accommodation became the first steamship to ride on the waters of the Saint Lawrence River.

[14] Molson was determined to make money on his ships so he dismantled Accommodation and purchased in person two steamship engines from Boulton & Watt in Birmingham, England.

He combined the two engines and the remains of Accommodation to create Swiftsure, a magnificent ship that was a vision of elegance and speed, traversing the route at an average of seven miles an hour.

There were 8 different battalion units in this militia with all expect for the 6th seeing action in either the Montreal or Lake Champlain sectors of the war front.

As Molson became more occupied by his multiple businesses and his seat in the assembly, his three sons began to take a much larger role in the companies.

John Junior managed the steamships, Thomas was married in England and would frequently travel sending back tips and advice to his father, and William was in charge of the brewery.

In 1816, the year he took his sons formally into partnership,[22][23][24] Molson built Mansion House Hotel which coincided with the Assembly's acceptance of the wharf.

Molson declined a partnership in it as the backers of this project had been involved with multiple failed banks in the United States and he felt it was a risky investment.

Molson changed his mind not long afterwards and the bank became fully Canadian-owned when the U.S. partners sold their shares after the U.S. financial crisis in the fall of 1818.

A crisis almost struck the Molsons in 1821 when the Mansion House Hotel caught fire; some of the books from the library were saved but not much more was salvageable.

[28] It was in response to the economic collapse that occurred from 1817 to 1820, that Thomas convinced his partners to enter the distillery business, which was industrially a virgin land.

[32] The Molson company official historian maintains that until 1846, the single most substantial source of revenues were duties on alcoholic beverages.

In those pioneer days, alcohol was the primary form by which was monetized grain, and in the absence of Scotch supply the British craved Canadian whiskey.

[33] In 1828, the temperance movement in Canada was begun, with Methodist preachers setting up shop first in the Niagara Peninsula, then in Montreal and at Bedford, Nova Scotia.

[36] Never resting, Molson continued to build his empire by purchasing multiple steamships and creating the St Lawrence Steamboat Company.

Molson became the Railroad's largest shareholder,[1][37] when a cholera epidemic that struck Canada in 1832 and 1834 added to echoes of the economic depression caused by the crisis closure of the Second Bank of the United States.

The people were losing their faith in English businessmen like Molson and were turning to men like Papineau and Robert Nelson, both members of the Patriote movement.

[40] When things returned to normal after the second cholera epidemic, Molson's railroad project began to gain speed.