David Morrice (1829-1914)
President of Canadian Cottons Ltd., of Montreal
He was born in Scotland at St. Martin's, Perthshire, and after starting his mercantile career in Dublin, Liverpool, London and Manchester he emigrated to Canada in 1855. He came to Montreal from Toronto where he established D. Morrice & Co., General Merchants and Manufacturers' Agents. Not before long, he controlled over 40-cotton and woollen mills. He was President of Canadian Cottons, Ltd., the Canadian Colored Cotton Co., the Montreal Freehold Investment Co., and Penmans, Ltd. He was a Director of the Bank of Montreal; the Royal Trust Company; Dominion Textile, Ltd.; and, the MacKay Institute for the Deaf & Dumb. He was Life Governor of the Montreal Boys' Home, Chairman of the Montreal Presbyterian College (where he erected Morrice Hall, now part of McGill University), and Vice-President of the Montreal Tuberculosis Association, the Montreal General Hospital, and the Montreal Sailor's Institute. He was described by his contemporaries as, "a true merchant prince".
In 1861, he married Annie Stevenson Anderson and they had 8-children (listed), including the famous landscape artist J.W. Morrice. From 1871, the family lived at 10 Redpath Street (see images) and by 1911 he was reckoned to be a millionaire. He belonged to the St. James' Club, the Mount Royal Club, the Forest & Stream Club, and rode with the Montreal Hunt.
In 1861, he married Annie Stevenson Anderson and they had 8-children (listed), including the famous landscape artist J.W. Morrice. From 1871, the family lived at 10 Redpath Street (see images) and by 1911 he was reckoned to be a millionaire. He belonged to the St. James' Club, the Mount Royal Club, the Forest & Stream Club, and rode with the Montreal Hunt.
