1830 Canadian Cargo Contract Between an Early Fur Trade Voyageur and W.L. Whiting & Co.

On offer is a sensational Canadian cargo contract document for an early fur trade voyageur showing an important and lively commercial river link between Upper and Lower Canada.

Dated 1830, this is a printed document with hand-written details. The document is a contract written by W.L. Whiting & Co, forwarding agent located in Prescott, and docketed on the verso of the second page. The contract is for the shipment B&Q (best and quickest) of 80 barrels of flour proof (moisture proof) from Prescott, Upper Canada to Montreal by «Two Batteaux » (planked batteaux boats), along the St. Lawrence River. Freight charges with insurance amounting to £10.7.6 to be paid to James McCutcheon. 

The contract was for the Montreal firm of Baldwin & Quesnel, addressed to one partner, Julius Quesnell (Jules Maurice Quesnel) (1786-1842), an early fur trade voyageur, Montreal. With a partner in Montreal, John Spread Baldwin, from 1820 to 1832, Quesnell became involved in the buying and selling of goods, including the export of timber and flour and owned shares in steamships operating in the region.

BIO NOTES: 

Jules Quesnel (1786-1842) was a fur trader, militia officer, businessman, office holder, JP and politician. He formed that company with John Spread Baldwin. I In the late summer of 1807 he was sent to New Caledonia (B.C.) with supplies and instructions for Simon Fraser to follow the Columbia River to its mouth. He accompanied Fraser on his perilous voyage in 1808 down what turned out to be the Fraser River, not the Columbia, and back. The first major tributary they reached was named the Quesnel; later the lake it drains and the town which developed at the confluence of the Fraser and Quesnel rivers, Quesnel Lake and Quesnel, BC would be named for him as well. By 1813 he was resident in Kingston, Upper Canada, and engaged in trade there, and by 1814 he had settled in York (Toronto) from 1815 until 1818 where he was warned by his brother about the dangers of speculating in rum on his own account. In 1818, now in Montreal, Quesnel purchased wholesale from the city’s importers a wide array of foodstuffs, drinks, and merchandise; as well he sold Upper Canadian produce, particularly flour and potash, on behalf of a store in York operated by Baldwin and another in Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake)." Quesnel and Baldwin was formed on 1820 and ended in 1832. In Montreal, Quesnel purchased wholesale from the city’s importers a wide array of foodstuffs, drinks, and merchandise; as well he sold Upper Canadian produce, particularly flour and potash, on behalf of a store in York operated by Baldwin and another in Niagara (Niagara-on-the Lake). Quesnel was named a justice of the peace, also served as warden of Trinity House at Montreal from 1830 to 1839 and was a member of the commission for the Montreal harbour. In 1838, he was named to the special council that governed Lower Canada after the Lower Canada Rebellion and, in 1841, he was named to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada.

The document is three pages. Small paper hole, 3/8 x 1/2 inches due to the removal of the wax seal not affecting any text, otherwise, very good, folded.