Bethune, Donald

DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Peter Baskerville, “BETHUNE, DONALD,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 9, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bethune_donald_9E.html
DCB profile notes:
- Shipowner, lawyer, and politician; b. 11 July 1802 in Williamstown, Charlottenburg Township, Upper Canada, youngest of nine children of the Reverend John Bethune and Véronique Waddin; d. 19 June 1869 at Toronto, Ont.
- At age 14 Donald began articling in law under the prominent Brockville lawyer and politician, Jonas Jones, and in 1823 was called to the bar of Upper Canada. In 1826 he was appointed commissioner of customs for the Midland District and between 1826 and 1835 he was twice appointed judge of the Bathurst District Court and once of the Prince Edward District Court. In Kingston, where he had settled in 1824, competition between lawyers was rigorous. Of necessity Bethune began to diversify his interests. He became involved in local banking politics and ran as an independent conservative in the 1828 House of Assembly elections,
- Bethune launched his first steamboat in 1833. The pattern of his initial experience was to be repeated throughout his career as an owner of steamboats on Lake Ontario. He quickly ran out of cash as did his brothers, James Gray and Norman, with whom he had close financial dealings.
- Bethune moved his operations to Toronto after 1843. Aspiring to monopoly, he was faced with only one major competitor by 1846 – Hugh Richardson of Toronto, owner of three vessels. Price-cutting ensued and when Richardson declared bankruptcy in the summer of 1846, Bethune probably anticipated no financial difficulties. But by 1845 he had already severely overextended his credit, and the purchase of one or more of Richardson’s boats in 1847 sealed his fate. Desperate, he mortgaged boats in favour of his major creditor, the Bank of Upper Canada. His wife’s uncle, John David Smith, endorsed for him a note for £16,000 which both he and Bethune ultimately failed to meet. Bethune raised rates for the transport of goods and passengers, and even ran unsuccessfully for the assembly in Toronto in 1847 on a platform decrying the lack of protection for the merchants of Canada’s inland seas. All his measures failed.
- Donald Bethune’s business activities had no permanent results for Upper Canada. Yet his career is important as a significant example of the reckless promotion characteristic of both water and rail transportation. Banking methods were loose and credit was easy; owners and operators were often prepared to seek profits at the expense of customers and creditors. Bethune’s career accurately reflects the expansive tempo of the times.
Son of Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=565
Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/269196766/donald-bethune