Almon, Mather Byles

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE:  K. G. Pryke, “ALMON, MATHER BYLES,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/almon_mather_byles_10E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Banker, politician, and philanthropist; b. at Halifax in 1796, son of William James Almon and Rebecca Byles; d. at Halifax, 30 July 1871.
    • Mather Byles Almon was a member of a prominent Halifax family; his father was a loyalist and his mother was a daughter of Mather Byles Jr., a loyalist. Almon may have been educated privately for there is no record of his having attended the University of King’s College in Windsor, N.S., or of his having been educated abroad. On 31 Jan. 1825 he married Sophia, fourth daughter of John Pryor, a loyalist, a member of the assembly of Nova Scotia, and a merchant. 
    • In 1832 Almon joined others to establish the Bank of Nova Scotia; Almon became a member of its first board of directors and in 1837 became its president. The bank established a branch in Windsor in 1832 and branches in Pictou, Yarmouth, Annapolis, and Liverpool in 1839. During this period the bank also made financial arrangements with the Baring Brothers in London and with the Merchant’s Bank of Boston, as well as with banks in New York, Portland, Maine, Saint John, N.B., and Montreal.
    • Almon and several other directors of the Bank of Nova Scotia played a prominent role in the Tory party. This political tie helped the bank, but it also gave the party a commercial tone. Almon, like other wealthy merchants of the day, probably gave financial contributions to the party.
  • Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1101
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152394820/mather_byles-almon