Peter McGill

Not to be confused with Peter MacGill.

Peter McGill (August 1789 – September 28, 1860) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman who served as the second mayor of Montreal, Canada East from 1840 to 1842.

The Honourable Peter McGill
2nd Mayor of Montreal
In office 1840–1842
Preceded by	Jacques Viger
Succeeded by	Joseph Bourret
Personal details
Born	August 1789 Creebridge, Wigtownshire, Scotland
Died	September 28, 1860(1860-09-28) (aged 71) Montreal, Lower Canada
Profession	Businessman

Biography

He was born Peter McCutcheon in the village of Creebridge, Wigtownshire (now Dumfries and Galloway) in Scotland. His parents were John McCutcheon and his second wife, Mary McGill. In 1821, he changed his name when he became the heir of his uncle John McGill, at the latter's request.

McGill held a seat in the Legislative Council of Lower Canada from 1832 to 1837, the Special Council of Lower Canada from 1838 to 1841, and the Legislative Council of the United Provinces from 1841 to 1860.

Peter McGill's image in stained glass in the McGill Station of the Montreal Metro, next to the image of his predecessor as mayor, Jacques Viger.

McGill served as president of the Bank of Montreal from 1834 to 1860. He founded the first railway company in Canada in 1834. It is he, rather than James McGill, who is depicted in the stained-glass mural in the McGill station of the Montreal metro, even though the station is named for its proximity to McGill University.

McGill was St. Andrew's Society of Montreal's first president.

Rue Peter-McGill in Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough is named after him.

On his passing in 1860, Peter McGill was interred in Montreal's Mount Royal Cemetery. McGill had three sons with two surviving him:

• Snydeham Clitheroe McGill 1841-?? - joined as Ensign with the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment (1859), Cheshire Regiment before becoming Staff-Adjutant (1883–1900) and also as acting Commandant at Royal Military College.

• John Shuter Davenport McGill 1839-?? - born in Montreal but spent rest of his life in England and served in the British Army's 60th King's Royal Rifle Corps

External links

• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
• "Peter McGill". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.