William Allan: York Merchant and Bank of Upper Canada Head

William Allan (about 1770 to July 11, 1853) was a Scottish-born merchant who settled at York, now Toronto, in 1795 and became the first president of the Bank of Upper Canada, which opened in 1822. He held a long list of local and provincial offices, built the house called Moss Park, and sat on both the Legislative and Executive Councils of Upper Canada, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

Life in brief

Item	Detail
Born	About 1770, at the Moss, near Huntly, Scotland
Died	July 11, 1853, Toronto
Role	Merchant, public official, banker, militia officer, land speculator
Toronto connection	Moved to York in 1795; lived at Moss Park; first president of the Bank of Upper Canada

From Huntly to York

Allan was born about 1770 near Huntly, Scotland, the son of Alexander Allan and Margaret Mowatt. His schooling was limited and his family background is not well documented. He reached Canada about 1787, probably as a clerk for a Montreal supply firm that was reorganized in 1790 as Forsyth, Richardson and Company. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography suggests that a tie between Huntly and the Forsyth partners may have secured the post. By 1788 or 1789 he was at Niagara, working for the firm’s branch there.

In 1795 he received a town lot and a 200-acre (81-hectare) grant at York and moved there as the local agent of Forsyth, Richardson and Company. A few years later he traded his town lot for property by the harbor and, in 1798, received the adjoining water lot for a wharf. Around 1797 he opened a general store in partnership with Alexander Wood. The partnership ended in 1801 after a dispute over debts and stock, and both men did well afterward.

Offices and trade

Allan collected local appointments in the first years of the nineteenth century. He became a justice of the peace on January 1, 1800, and district treasurer on April 9, 1800. On August 6, 1800, he was named collector of customs at York and district inspector of flour, potash, and pearl ash. That year he also built a potashery. In 1801 he took over from William Willcocks as postmaster of York. He served as a returning officer at provincial elections as well, and in 1807 he presided over the election of Robert Thorpe.

He was an early supporter of St. James’ Church, serving as churchwarden from 1807 to 1812, and he welcomed John Strachan as rector. In 1809 he married Leah Tyrer Gamble at Kingston. His store business passed through several partnerships, and in 1815 he took John William Gamble into the firm. In July 1822 he sold his store interests to the Gambles.

The War of 1812

Allan had joined the Lincoln militia in 1795 and transferred to the York militia in 1798. In April 1812 he became major of the 3rd York Militia. When American forces took York in April 1813, Major-General Roger Sheaffe withdrew the regular troops toward Kingston, and Allan and Lieutenant-Colonel William Chewett negotiated the surrender, which protected private property. Allan was paroled. His store was looted, and it was looted a second time when the Americans returned in July 1813. In August 1813 he sat with Strachan and four others on a committee of investigation that led to sentences for people accused of aiding the Americans.

The war also brought business. The commissariat paid more than 50,000 pounds to York merchants, and Allan received at least 12,724 pounds of it. After the war he received a grant of 1,000 acres (about 405 hectares) under the Prince Regent’s bounty.

Moss Park

Allan bought a park lot in 1819 and built a large house on it about 1828, named Moss Park. The lot ran roughly a mile and a half (2.4 kilometers) from present-day Richmond Street to Bloor Street, and west from Sherbourne Street toward Jarvis Street. His son George William later subdivided the property.

The family suffered heavily there. Nine of Allan’s eleven children died before reaching age 20. His daughter Elizabeth died in 1832, and his wife died of consumption in 1848. Only George William outlived him.

The Bank of Upper Canada

In 1818 Allan became the Bank of Montreal’s agent at York. He then led the York group that won the Bank of Upper Canada’s charter in 1821 and headed its subscription committee. The bank opened in 1822, and Allan was elected its first president. He held the office each year until he resigned in 1835, except for 1825 and 1826. Thomas Gibbs Ridout served as cashier.

The bank grew by agencies and branches: Kingston in 1823, Niagara in 1824, Montreal in 1829, and Cobourg in 1830, with more in the early 1830s. It paid eight per cent dividends from 1824 and, in 1833, took on the British Treasury’s business in Upper Canada. Allan favored cautious growth. Critics, among them William Lyon Mackenzie and members of the Baldwin family, saw the bank as a political instrument of the governing circle, and in 1830 they sought disclosure of its affairs, which Allan resisted. William Proudfoot succeeded him in 1835. A later and unrelated bank is covered in the article on the history of Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Councils and companies

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography dates Allan’s appointment to the Legislative Council to 1825, while the Canadian Encyclopedia gives 1824 and a term to 1841. In March 1836 Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head formed a new Executive Council after the old one resigned, and Allan was among its four members. He retired from politics when the Canadas were united in February 1841.

His business and civic roles were wide:

Welland Canal Company: director from 1825, later vice-president.
Canada Company: commissioner from 1829, when he moved its Upper Canadian headquarters to York. He retired in 1841.
British America Fire and Life Assurance Company: governor from 1836 until his death.
Toronto Board of Trade: first president, elected in 1834.
St. Andrew’s Society: founder and first president in 1836.
City of Toronto and Lake Huron Rail Road Company: president from 1837.

Death

Allan died in Toronto on July 11, 1853. His obituary attributed the death to exhaustion, and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography calls him probably the oldest resident of the city. He left his estate to George William Allan, with small bequests to relatives, the church, and charities. His close working tie to the rector of York is described in the biography of John Strachan.

Where sources differ

Both the Dictionary of Canadian Biography and the Canadian Encyclopedia give his birth only as about 1770. The Legislative Council appointment is 1825 in the former and 1824 in the latter. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography says the bank operated from Allan’s store building until 1825, while a local heritage association page gives 1827. The bank’s own records would settle these dates.

Who was William Allan in Toronto history?

He was a merchant and official who arrived at York in 1795 and became the first president of the Bank of Upper Canada in 1822.

Where was Moss Park?

It was Allan’s estate, built about 1828 on a park lot that ran from about Richmond Street to Bloor Street, east of Jarvis Street.

How long was Allan president of the Bank of Upper Canada?

From 1822 until he resigned in 1835, with a break in 1825 and 1826, according to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

What happened to his family?

Nine of his eleven children died before age 20, and only his son George William survived him.

Last verified: October 2026

Sources

Dictionary of Canadian Biography, “ALLAN, WILLIAM”, vol. 8
The Canadian Encyclopedia, “William Allan”

Cite this page

APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). William Allan: Merchant and First Bank President in York. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/william-allan

MLA: “William Allan: Merchant and First Bank President in York.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/william-allan. Accessed .

Chicago: History of Toronto. “William Allan: Merchant and First Bank President in York.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/william-allan.

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