Robert Unwin Harwood

Birth 1798 in Sheffield, England

Death 1863 in Vaudreuil

FROM SHEFFIELD TO MONTRÉAL

Born on January 22, 1798 in Sheffield, England, Robert Unwin Harwood was the third child¹ of William Harwood (1766-1826) and Elizabeth Unwin (1768-1847)². In 1821, he arrived in Canada to help two of his brothers, John Harwood (1799-1823) and William Harwood³. They opened a Montréal branch of the family business: William Harwood and Sons⁴.

FROM MERCHANT TO SEIGNEUR

On December 15, 1823, Robert Unwin Harwood married Marie-Louise-Josephte (1803-1869)⁵ at the Anglican Christ Church in Montréal. She was the eldest daughter of Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière (1748-1822), seigneur of Vaudreuil, Rigaud, and Lotbinière⁶. Six years later (1829), Marie-Louise-Josephte inherited the seigneury of Vaudreuil and the couple settled in Vaudreuil⁷. Robert Unwin Harwood therefore became seigneur by marriage. From then on, he developed a great interest in the financial management and profitability of the seigneury, particularly in collecting overdue payments totalling approximately 58,000 pounds from Vaudreuil landowners⁸. Administrator of the Compagnie de chemin de fer de Vaudreuil, he was also a fervent advocate for the Grand Trunk (Canadian National). In fact, one end of this company's bridge linking Île Perrot to Vaudreuil was located on land owned by his wife and the site of the former seigneurial mansion⁹. Like Pierre-Gustave Joly (1798-1865), husband of Julie-Christine Chartier (1810-1860), seigneuresse of Lotbinière near Québec City, the couple benefited from the seigneurial tenure reform, allowing them to transform one third of the seigneury into free and common soccage¹⁰ in March 1853, before its abolition in December 1854. Thus, between 1829 and 1854, the seigneurial couple of Vaudreuil granted very little land. Robert Unwin Harwood waited for the reform before selling the land at advantageous prices. As a result, the Lotbinière-Harwood family were millionaires before the end of the 19th century¹¹.

A WINDMILL AND A NEW MANSION

In 1840, Robert Unwin Harwood had an imposing mill built in Pointe des Cascades, hoping to gain a significant income from flour production. Unfortunately, the company was no longer in operation in 1851¹². Pointe Quinchien manor, which was the residence of the Chartier de Lotbinière family from 1765 to 1829, was left empty, rented and then finally abandoned after the construction of a new three-storey stone manor house in 1829-1830. It was in this home that the Harwood-Lotbinière’s eight of the ten children were born¹³.

A POLITICAL CAREER

While managing the seigneury, Robert Unwin Harwood pursued a political career¹⁴. In 1832, he was appointed member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada, but his term was not renewed at the time of the Act of Union (1840). On three occasions, he unsuccessfully ran as a Reform candidate in the elections. It was not until 1858 that he was elected to the assembly as the Vaudreuil representative. He left this position in 1860 to be elected to the Legislative Council as the Rigaud County representative.

ESTEEMED BY HIS COMMUNITY

During his lifetime, testimonies published in the newspapers commended this reformist-minded politician. Vaudreuil residents certainly maintained cordial relations with the Vaudreuil « seigneur »; citizens supported him on the political level as well as in his productive endeavours in the area of transportation. Although he was a seigneur of rather conservative allegiance, he also had a liberal spirit, showing indulgence and moderation during the insurrection of 1837-1838¹⁵. Churches, schools and several residents acknowledged his generosity. For nearly 40 years, Robert Unwin Harwood, the "last Seigneur of Vaudreuil", left his mark on the collective memory of the Vaudreuil-Dorion community through his active and dynamic presence, his business sense, and his interest in the region's economic development¹⁶.

He died in the Vaudreuil Bay family mansion on April 12, 1863. He was buried at Montréal's Mount Royal Cemetery¹⁷.

Related buildings and sites

Références

John Beswarick Thompson, « Robert Unwin Harwood ». Accessed August 28, 2017 on the Dictionnaire biographique du Canada website, <http://www.biographi.ca>; Robert Unwin Harwood and Robert-Unwin-Harwood Building’s files. Accessed August 28, 2017 on the Répertoire culturel du Québec website, <http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca>; Robert-Unwin-Harwood Building’s file. Accessed August 28, 2017 on the Vieux-Montréal website, <http://www.vieux.Montréal.qc.ca>; Robert Unwin Harwood's file. Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec depuis 1764. Accessed August 28, 2017, <http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/deputes/harwood-robert-unwin-3611/biographie.html>.
Also, when citing this heritage tour, please do so as follows: Sébastien Daviau, Jean-Luc Brazeau, and Édith Prégent. If buildings could speak. A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion. Vaudreuil-Dorion, City of Vaudreuil-Dorion / Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017, <https://www.circuitvd.ca>, accessed [insert date].
John Beswarick Thompson, « Robert Unwin Harwood ». Accessed August 28, 2017 on the Dictionnaire biographique du Canada website,, <http://www.biographi.ca> and Portraits of William Harwood (1766-1826) and Elizabeth Harwood (1768-1847), collection database of the Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, accessed August 28, 2017.
John Beswarick Thompson, "Robert Unwin Harwood". Accessed August 28, 2017 from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography website, <http://www.biographi.ca> and Announcement of the end of the association, December 31, 1823, between William Harwood and Edward Harwood, both of Sheffield, and Robert Unwin Harwood of Montréal, partner of William Harwood, the eldest, and John Harwood, deceased, trading as William Harwood and Sons in Sheffield and Montréal, published in The London Gazette on January 1, 1828.
Little documentation exists about the William Harwood and Sons company. According to author John Beswarick Thompson, in Montréal, the company used the name John Harwood and Company before changing it in 1822 to William Harwood and Sons; the name used by the family business in Sheffield. It included merchants William Harwood (Sheffield), Edward Harwood (Sheffield), John Harwood (Montréal), William Harwood (Montréal) and Robert Unwin Harwood (Montréal). Documents suggest that it was the father, William Harwood (1766-1826), and four of his sons. In Sheffield in 1822, the building was located at 44 Norfolk Street, while in Montréal, the building was located at the corner of Saint-Paul and de la Commune streets. This building still exists (Robert-Unwin-Harwood Building - 20-22 Saint-Paul Street) and was built in 1824-1825 for Robert Unwin Harwood (William Harwood and Company). Before that date, the company's location in Montréal has not yet been found. The Montréal subsidiary seemed to cease its activities at the end of the 1830s. The exact date is not known. That being said, in 1837, the Journal of the House of Assembly of the Upper Canada states that Harwood and Sons of Montréal still exists (John Beswarick Thompson. Harwood, Robert Unwin. Document addressed to Henry de Lotbinière Harwood by John Beswarick Thompson, May 10, 1973 (Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Henry de Lotbinière Harwood Fund, P6/D1,2.1); Announcement of the end of the association, on December 31, 1823, between William Harwood and Edward Harwood, both of Sheffield, and Robert Unwin Harwood of Montréal, partner of William Harwood, the eldest, and John Harwood, deceased, trading as William Harwood and Sons in Sheffield and Montréal, published in The London Gazette on January 1, 1828; Edward Baines. History, Directory & Gazetteer of the County of York. Londons, Edward Baines, at the Leeds Mercury Office, 1822, p. 373; John Blackwell. The Sheffield Directory and Guide containing a History on the Town [...] with Commercial Informations. Sheffield, John Blackwell, Iris Office, High Street, 1828, p. 376; Appendix to the Journal of the House of Assembly of the Upper Canada. Session 1836-1837. Toronto, 1837, Appendix to Report on Welland Canal, No. 3, p. 9; Robert-Unwin-Harwood Building's file. Accessed August 28, 2017, from the Vieux-Montréal website, <http://www.vieux.Montréal.qc.ca>).
She was named Louise-Joseph or Louise-Josephe at her baptism on March 1, 1804 in Vaudreuil. Occasionally on baptism, marriage or notarial deeds, we find the first names Louise-Josette and Louise-Josephte, the latter being the most commonly accepted. She often signed Louisa J.
Extract from the registry of Christ Church in Montréal (photocopy), Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Henry de Lotbinière Harwood Fund, P6/D1,2.15. It should be noted that Robert Unwin Harwood's sister, Ann Harwood, was present at the ceremony and that she signed the document as a witness.
To facilitate reading and to respect Vaudreuil-Dorion’s historical development, the text in this heritage tour uses the names of Vaudreuil or Dorion for events prior to 1994, year in which the cities merged.
On financial management, arrears, and their recovery, the authors consulted approximately 300 concession renewal titles granted by the seigneuresse of Vaudreuil and her husband mainly in 1829 as well as the division of the seigneuries of Lotbinière, Rigaud and Vaudreuil between the three daughters of the late Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière. It is in this act of partition of January 17, 1829, by notary Joseph Papineau, that we learn of the attribution, after auction, of the seigneury of Vaudreuil to Louise-Josephte, his eldest daughter; we also learn the sum of the arrears due by the censors in each of the three seigneuries. Also consulted was the terrier des mutations de la seigneurie de Vaudreuil (1771-1829), available on microfilm at the Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, in which we discovered the sums due by each censal and the date of collection of the arrears.
In 1853, Robert Unwin Harwood participated in the establishment and administration of the Vaudreuil Railway Company (Robert Unwin Harwood's file. Accessed August 28, 2017, from the website of the Assemblée Nationale du Québec - Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec depuis 1764 - Robert Unwin Harwood, <http://www.assnat.qc.ca>).
On the transfer of part of the seigneuries of Lotbinière and Vaudreuil to a free and common soccage, see: André LaRose. La seigneurie de Beauharnois, 1729-1867 : les seigneurs, l’espace et l’argent. Université d’Ottawa, thèse de doctorat, 1987, p. 230; Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, microfilms, Terrier des mutations de la seigneurie de Vaudreuil 1829-1874; Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, Henry de Lotbinière-Harwood Fund, P6/B2; Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges Fund, I05, March 10, 1853, Plan of the seigneury of Vaudreuil drawn by John Nolph. Free and common soccage refers to ownership of a fief or land granted or sold at a fixed price, without royalties (e. g. censuses and annuities) and in full ownership; or land tenure in townships in Canada under the British regime and characterized by the absence of seigneurial rights. Victor Morin. Seigneurs et censitaires, castes disparues. Montréal, Les Éditions des Dix, 1941, p. 93 et Benoît Grenier. Brève histoire du régime seigneurial. Montréal, Boréal, 2012, p. 221.
With regards to the sale of the land between 1850 and 1869, and then until 1895, notary records of Joseph-Octave Bastien, son, François-de-Sales Bastien and François-de-Sales-Octave Turcotte were consulted. Microfilms available at the Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. The acts of notary Turcotte are available on the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec website, <http://bibnum2.banq.qc.ca/bna/notaires/index.html>. The coasts or concessions not yet established in 1854 are: New Lotbinière, Harwood, Saint-Robert, Saint-Pierre, Saint-Paul, Saint-François, Sainte-Angélique and Sainte-Élisabeth. To establish the complete list of real estate sales made by Louise-Josephte Chartier de Lotbinière, her husband and their children between 1850 and 1900, consult the nominal indexes of the Registre foncier du Québec online, <https://www.registrefoncier.gouv.qc.ca/Sirf/Script/14_06_01-02/pf_14_06_01_reglr.asp>.
With regards to the flour mill at Pointe-des-Cascades, see the protest issued on November 23, 1841, notary Nicolas Manthet, by Georges-René Saveuse de Beaujeu, seigneur of Soulanges and Nouvelle-Longueuil, against the seigneuresse of Vaudreuil and her husband following the construction of the mill probably in 1840. The microfilm of the notary Manthet's registry is available at the Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges and an original copy of the deed is available in the De Beaujeu Fund, P03/C.052 (Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges). A note from the 1851 census enumerator indicates that the mill had not functioned since 1849; on this note, see the 1851 census (1851 Census. Accessed August 28, 2017, from the Bibliothèque et Archives Canada website, <http://data2.collectionscanada.gc.ca/e/e093/e002321505.jpg>).
On the seigneurial manors of Vaudreuil, see the Former seigneurial mansion of the Chartier de Lotbinière family (coming soon) in the Buildings and Places section (in preparation) (Sébastien Daviau, Jean-Luc Brazeau and Édith Prégent. If buildings could speak. A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion. Vaudreuil-Dorion, City of Vaudreuil-Dorion / Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, 2017, <https://www.circuitvd.ca>.
For more on this subject: Robert Unwin Harwood's file, Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec depuis 1764. Accessed August 28, 2017, <http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/deputes/harwood-robert-unwin-3611/biographie.html>.
On the minimal involvement of Robert Unwin Harwood during the unrest of 1837-1838, Robert-Lionel Séguin was consulted. Le mouvement insurrectionnel dans la Presqu’île de Vaudreuil 1837-1838. Montréal, Librairie Ducharme Limitée, 1955, p. 24-25; 90-92.
On the many aspects of Robert Unwin Harwood's life and political career, on the appreciation of his contemporaries as seigneur, businessman and patron, John Beswarick Thompson was consulted. The Life of Robert Unwin Harwood, Lord of Vaudreuil. S.l., unpublished, 1969 (Centre d'archives de Vaudreuil-Soulanges in the Henry de Lotbinière-Harwood Fund. P6/J12).
Database of the Mount Royal Cemetery, genealogy section. Accessed August 28, 2017 from <https://www.mountroyalcem.com/index.php/fr/nos-services/genealogie.html>.

If buildings could speak… - A historical and architectural tour of Vaudreuil-Dorion

Related buildings and sites

Références