John Purss

Who was John Purss?

John Purss was a Canadian businessman, militia officer, and office holder.

Purss was born in Elgin, Scotland in 1732, the son of a merchant there. He moved to Quebec after the British victory and, in 1762, entered into a business partnership with fellow Scot James Johnston. Their business traded wheat, iron, and seal furs and oil. The businessmen partnered with Jean-Baptiste Bouchette in 1765 to take advantage of his trading post and Gulf of Saint Lawrence fishery. They also bought a share of an ironworks in 1767, although they sold it a few years later. In 1770 they entered into a long term lease for the King’s Wharf in Quebec, a vital resource for commerce in the city.

In the 1780s the firm entered into a partnership with Johnston's brother-in-law, Henry Taylor, to run a distillery on Rue Champlain. With four stills, four boilers and eight evaporation tubs, the distillery produced spirits, beer and an invention of Taylor's called "essence of spruce for making beer", which was exported to New York and the West Indies.

By the end of the 1780s the partners owned shares in the Dorchester Bridge and owned a number of houses which they leased.