Gault, A. F. (Andrew Frederick), 1833-1903

Andrew Frederick Gault was born on April 14, 1833, in Strabane, Tyrone County, Northern Ireland.

He was a Canadian merchant, industrialist, and philanthropist known as the Cotton King of Canada. In 1842, his family emigrated to Lower Canada, settling in Montreal, Quebec. His father Leslie Gault (1787-1843), a merchant and shipowner, died soon after and left the family with huge financial losses. After attending the High School of Montreal, Andrew joined the dry-goods firm of Walter MacFarlane, and from 1853 to 1858 he was in partnership with James B. Stevenson as Gault, Stevenson and Co. He then formed a company with his brother Robert Leslie, as Gault Brothers and Company, Andrew being the leading partner. After the initial struggles, the company flourished in the 1870s and branches opened in Manchester, England, Winnipeg, and Victoria. In 1896, it incorporated as Gault Brothers’ Company Limited. Andrew became a prominent member of the Montreal Board of Trade and sat on the boards of directors of insurance companies, banks, and cotton textile firms. He became president of Canada’s three largest cotton textile firms, the Dominion, Canadian, and Montreal. Apart from his business activities, he devoted his energies and his wealth to his family, the Church of England, and the community.

In 1864, he married Louisa Sarah Harman (1847–1937). He died on July 7, 1903, in Georgeville, Quebec.