Pagan, William

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: David S. Macmillan and Roger Nason, “PAGAN, WILLIAM,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/pagan_william_5E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Businessman and politician; b. 1744 in Glasgow, Scotland, eldest son of William Pagan and Margaret Maxwell; d. unmarried 12 March 1819 in Saint John, N.B.
    • In 1766 William Pagan Jr was master of the sloop Britannia trading to St Eustatius. Operating in what was probably his father’s vessel, he participated in the traditional trade in sugar and rum between the West Indies and the coast of North America, principally the stretch from Virginia to New York. By 1769 he had become firmly enough established in business at New York to warrant his admittance as a freeman of the city.
    • By the time that Robert, William, and Thomas moved to Penobscot (Castine, Maine) in 1780, they had perfected a trading pattern which put them in touch with commercial establishments up and down the coast from Halifax to the West Indies. Spurred on by the prospect of a permanent loyalist haven at Penobscot, the Pagans cemented their links with Halifax through James McMaster and his three brothers, originally traders of Boston, Mass., but later of Nova Scotia, and through them established a close relationship with John Wentworth, who was to become lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia.
    • When it was eventually learned that the peace negotiations in early 1783 would designate the St Croix River and not the Penobscot as the boundary line between the new United States and British North America, William Pagan and his brothers made preparations to move to Nova Scotia.
    • As an agent, along with William Gallop, of the Penobscot Associated Loyalists, William assisted in re-settling nearly 430 families at St Andrews, in what was shortly to become the new colony of New Brunswick. His brother Robert decided to stay at St Andrews, but William moved up the coast to Saint John where, with Thomas, he established the firm of William Pagan and Company.
    • It was not only through business that Pagan made his mark in New Brunswick. During the first, controversial elections to the House of Assembly in 1785, he was returned for Saint John County.
  • Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=4768
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61652318/william-pagan