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and owned a number of houses which they leased. Their fortunes seemed to decline in the subsequent decades as they sold property and the distillery, sublet the King's Wharf, borrowed money and sold their shares in the bridge. The partnership ended with
Johnston's death in 1800. The firm's assets were
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in 1767, although they sold it a few years later. In 1770 they entered into a long-term lease for the King's Wharf in Quebec, a vital resource for commerce in the city.
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on Rue
Champlain. With four stills, four boilers and eight evaporation tubs, the distillery produced spirits, beer and an invention of Taylor's called "
30:
in 1732, the son of a merchant there. He moved to Quebec after the
British victory and, in 1762, entered into a business partnership with fellow Scot
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84:. In 1787 Purss became a lieutenant in the militia and was promoted to captain around 1799. He served as assessor in 1797.
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Purss died on 8 April 1803. Having never married, his estate was left to relatives in
Britain and to his partner's widow.
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In the 1780s the firm entered into a partnership with
Johnston's brother-in-law, Henry Taylor, to run a
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Purss played a role in the city's public life. He was an important figure in the
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split between Purss and
Margaret Macnider, Johnston's widow.
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By the end of the 1780s the partners owned shares in the
19:(12 December 1732 – 8 April 1803) was a
42:in 1765 to take advantage of his trading post and
157:Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec
23:merchant, militia officer, and office holder.
125:. Vol. V (1801–1820) (online ed.).
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34:. Their business traded wheat, iron, and
46:fishery. They also bought a share of an
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119:. In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.).
59:essence of spruce for making beer
38:. The businessmen partnered with
122:Dictionary of Canadian Biography
167:18th-century Canadian merchants
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127:University of Toronto Press
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61:", which was exported to
162:Immigrants to New France
40:Jean-Baptiste Bouchette
115:Bérubé, André (1983).
44:Gulf of Saint Lawrence
82:Quebec Fire Society
26:Purss was born in
74:Dorchester Bridge
36:seal furs and oil
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152:1803 deaths
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67:West Indies
141:Categories
91:References
55:distillery
17:John Purss
48:ironworks
65:and the
63:New York
21:Canadian
143::
99:^
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129:.
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