Robert Lester (ca 1746 – July 12, 1807) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.
He was born in Galway, Ireland around 1746 and came to the town of Quebec around 1770. He became a merchant there, importing cloth and spirits, exporting wheat, supplying provisions to the army and providing small loans to individuals. He served in the militia as a captain during the American invasion of 1775–6. Lester was among those lobbying for a representative assembly and, in 1792, he was elected to the 1st Parliament of Lower Canada for the Lower Town of Quebec; he was defeated in 1796 but elected again in 1800. He was named lieutenant-colonel in the militia in 1799. With his nephew, Robert Morrogh, as partner, Lester's business expanded into the timber trade; the partners had ships built for use by the business and set up a distillery and a brewery. Lester was also speculating in land in the Eastern Townships. As a Roman Catholic, he was able to cultivate close ties with the Quebec clergy, including Bishop Joseph-Octave Plessis.
Although on the surface the company appeared to be doing well, it had overextended itself financially and went bankrupt in 1807, a common fate of businesses importing goods at that time. Lester died at Quebec City a few months later.
External links
- "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
- "Robert Lester". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
- 1740s births
- 1830 deaths
- 18th-century Irish businesspeople
- 19th-century Irish businesspeople
- Businesspeople from County Galway
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada
- Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec
- Canadian Roman Catholics
- 18th-century Canadian businesspeople
- Immigrants to the Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
- Politicians from County Galway