Simon was born abt. 1750 in Stratherrick, Inverness-shire, Scotland.  He lived until he was 13 years old, in the humble cottage you see on the home page of this website.  His father John, upon coming home from the French and Indian war (called the 7 Years War in the UK), having served as a Lieutenant with the Fraser Highlanders, realized that the future lay In America.  When Hugh Fraser (who served with John) asked for his daughter Elizabeth’s hand in marriage and told of his plans to move to New York, John agreed with the stipulation that Hugh and Elizabeth take young Simon with them.  Simon was 13 years old at the time.  He is believed to have apprenticed for a period and then is found living in Detroit, in 1773, trading in the Niagara region.  As the American Revolutionary War broke out he moved to Montreal, which became his headquarters.

 Simon soon joined up with the Frobisher brothers, Joseph, Benjamin, and Thomas.  Soon they and others, including McGill, Pond, Todd and Mackenzie formed a partnership known as The Northwest Company.  In no time at all, Simon became the controlling partner of this fur trading company.  To round out his financial holdings he soon purchased and developed a saw mill, cookie factory, and a coopery.  His London firm McTavish, Fraser and Company, handled insurance, resupplying and credit. 

 He was soon nicknamed the Marquis, some say because of his elegance and refined personality, and others say because of his arrogance.  Either way, by 1793 Simon married Marie-Marguerite  Chaboillez, daughter of an establish French Trader, securing a place in French Montreal’s society. 

SIMON’S CHARACTER IS BIGGER THAN LIFE, I WILL CONTINUE TO ADD TO THIS STORY, WITH LETTERS AND DOCUMENTATION.

 When Simon died, he left his first cousins in Scotland a sizable amount of cash.  If we can identify these people we will come closer to solving the mystery of the McTavish and Fraser’s in the Boleskine and Dores areas of Scotland. 

Letters between Simon McTavish Esq. of Montreal and Lachlan McTavish of Dunardry between 1792 and 1794.

The sections of Simon's Last Will and Testament pertaining to the Dunardry Title and Estate

McTavish Ghost Haunts Mountain - by Alan Hustaak, The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec

THERE IS MUCH MORE TO COME