Edward Ermatinger

Who was Edward Ermatinger?

Edward Ermatinger was a Canadian fur trader, businessman and political figure.

He was born on the isle of Elba in 1797, the grandson of Lawrence Ermatinger, was educated in England and went to York Factory in 1818 with his brother Francis as a clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company. He served with the company until 1828 in what is now Manitoba and the Columbia district. He visited England in 1828 and then returned to Upper Canada the following year. He settled in St. Thomas, where he served as postmaster, reeve, owned a general store and was manager for the Bank of Upper Canada, then the Commercial Bank and finally the Bank of Montreal. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Middlesex in 1844 as a Conservative. He was editor and owner of the St. Thomas Standard. In 1851, he helped found the Bank of the County of Elgin. Ermatinger published The Hudson’s Bay territories; a series of letters on this important question in 1858 and an autobiography of Colonel Talbot in 1859. He was a member of the Church of England, a Freemason and a fervent anti-Catholic.

Ermatinger died at Saint Thomas in 1876.

His uncle, Charles Oakes Ermatinger, was also a member of the Hudson's Bay Company. His son Charles Oaks served in the Ontario legislative assembly.