John Askin

Who was John Askin?

John Askin was a fur trader, merchant and official in Upper Canada. He is remembered as being instrumental in the invention of the Mackinaw jacket in 1811.

He was born in Aughnacloy in Ireland in 1739; his ancestors are believed to have originally lived in Scotland with the surname Erskine. He came to North America with the British Army in 1758. After the British took over New France, he entered the fur trade and operated a trading post at Fort Michilimackinac. In 1781, he formed a partnership with Robert Hamilton and Richard Cartwright; Askin was based in Detroit. From 1786 to 1789, he was part of a group of trading companies known as the Miamis Company. He was also involved in a shipping business and land speculation; he was one of the partners involved in the Cuyahoga Purchase along the south shore of Lake Erie. In 1789, he was named justice of the peace at Detroit. When Detroit was turned over to the Americans in 1796, he became a justice of the peace for the Western District and moved to Sandwich in 1802. Askin was connected to the Family Compact through a number of business and social ties, particularly associating with James McGill, who underwrote much of his debt. Through these connections, he assumed a number of political roles, including lieutenant-colonel for the local militia, member of the Land Board of Hesse, and local magistrate.