William Smith Plenderleath (1780-1845)
Major William Smith Plenderleath Christie; of the King's Royal Rifle Corps
He was born in London, England, and was commissioned into his father's regiment (the King's Royal Rifle Corps) in 1793. He reached the rank of Major but had to retire in 1810 due to ill health, having served in the West Indies, Italy and Madeira. By 1816, he had settled in Quebec where his father had been among the largest landowners. He kept a house, Clifton Lodge, at Montreal and had a farm at Cornwall while owning a further 1,200-acres in Ascot Township. On the death of his half-brother (Napier Christie Burton) in 1835, he inherited the Christie property in Quebec (the Seigneuries of Repentigny, Bleury, Sabrevois, Noyan, Léry, and Lacolle) and took his rightful surname of "Christie" and the family coat-of-arms. He built the Manoir Christie at Bleury and purchased the Maison Papineau as his townhouse in Montreal.
He set about developing his land by creating drainage systems; building mills; and, promoting the construction of Protestant schools and churches. In 1840, he built Trinity Church on St. Paul Street, opposite the Bonsecours Market, Montreal. He also inherited shares in the Bank of England, the Bank of Montreal, the City Bank, and the British-American Land Company. He returned to England for his health in 1843 and died at Blackwood, Co. Kildare, two years later. He was married three times. In 1808, at London, he married the widow of Simon McTavish (1751-1804) for whom the McTavish Mansion was built. They lived at Stroud-on-the-Green near Kew with her children and later at Ramsgate, Kent. In 1820, he married his second wife, Elizabeth McGinnis; and, in 1835, he married his third wife at Montreal. He died without children by any wife.
He set about developing his land by creating drainage systems; building mills; and, promoting the construction of Protestant schools and churches. In 1840, he built Trinity Church on St. Paul Street, opposite the Bonsecours Market, Montreal. He also inherited shares in the Bank of England, the Bank of Montreal, the City Bank, and the British-American Land Company. He returned to England for his health in 1843 and died at Blackwood, Co. Kildare, two years later. He was married three times. In 1808, at London, he married the widow of Simon McTavish (1751-1804) for whom the McTavish Mansion was built. They lived at Stroud-on-the-Green near Kew with her children and later at Ramsgate, Kent. In 1820, he married his second wife, Elizabeth McGinnis; and, in 1835, he married his third wife at Montreal. He died without children by any wife.
