Hugh Allan - Family Life and Death

Family Life and Death

In 1860, Hugh bought part of the estate of Simon McTavish and demolished the old manor house that stood there to make way for his new home, Ravenscrag, a sumptuous Italian Renaissance house, arguably the principal residence of the Golden Square Mile. The house, which then only rivalled Dundurn Castle in scale and grandeur, was completed in three years in 1863, and the ballroom alone could comfortably accommodate several hundred guests. After his death it was lived in by the Allan's second son, H. Montagu Allan, until he donated it to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal in 1940. The Allans entertained Prince Arthur of Connaught, Lord Lisgar, Earl of Dufferin, Viscount Wolseley etc.

At Montreal, August 13, 1844, Hugh Allan married Matilda Caroline Smith (1828–1881), the eldest of the four daughters of John Smith (d.1872) of Athelstane Hall, Montreal, and his wife Betsy Rea. John Smith was a native of Athelstaneford in Scotland and became one of Montreal's leading dry goods merchants. Caroline's sister, Isabella, had married Hugh's brother Andrew in 1848. Lady Allan's two remaining sisters married respectively Hartland St. Clair MacDougall (brother of George Campbell MacDougall) and James St. George Bellhouse, of the firm Bellhouse & Dillon. Lady Allan died in Montreal, June, 1881, aged 53. They were the parents of four sons (a fifth predeceased his father) and eight daughters,

• Alexander R. Allan (d. June 29, 1901), "was not cut out for business". He married Eva Belford Travers, daughter of John N. Travers and a niece of General James Travers V.C. The couple lived quietly with ther son at 112 King Street in Brockville, Ontario, where he managed the Bank of Montreal office.
• Matilda Jane Allan (b.1855)
• Margaret Macfie Allan (b.1857), married Charles McEachran (1864–1919) of Montreal
• Sir Montague Allan (1860–1951), vice-chairman of the Allan Line, President of the Merchants Bank. Principal heir of his father, he inherited Ravenscrag and married Isabel Mackenzie. All their children, including Martha Allan, predeceased them.
• Bryce James Allan (b.1862), managed the Allan Line from Boston. He lived at "Allanbank" near Boston (now known as Tupper Manor and part of Endicott College). He married Anna, daughter of Francis Winthrop Palfrey of Boston.
• Phoebe Mary Allan. She married March 1, 1877, Sir George Lauderdale Houstoun-Boswall, 3rd Bart., grandson of General Sir William Houston, 1st Baronet. Lady Houstoun-Boswall was the mother of one daughter and two sons.
• Edith M. Allan (b.1865), married (James) Colin Routledge. They inherited one of Edith's father's farms at Belmere, Quebec, and were the parents of two sons.
• Florence Allan, married Albert H. White, of Quebec. Their daughter, Gladys, married Major Alexander Thomas Ogilvie, nephew of William Watson Ogilvie.
• Mabel Gertrude Allan (1867–1955), married Colin Augustus Monk Campbell (1860–1926), Seigneur de Rouville. They lived at Manoir Rouville-Campbell and were the parents of a son and two daughters. One daughter married, but left no children.
• Arthur Edward Allan (b.1871), died young in an accidental fire
• Jean Allan (d.1935), married Dr William Shaw about 1884. They settled in Govan, an industrial town near Glasgow where he tended patients in the crowded tenements of Glasgow. He died within a few years of tuberculosis. Jean afterwards returned to Canada with their son, and lived at Owen Sound.

In 1871, Hugh Allan was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George by Queen Victoria for his services in connection with the development of ocean steam navigation in Canada. Not long after the death of his wife, he died while visiting his son-in-law, Sir George Houstoun-Boswall, in Edinburgh, December, 1882. At his death he was one of the richest men in the world with a fortune estimated to be between eight and twelve million pounds. His remains were brought back to Montreal and he was buried with his family at the Mount Royal Cemetery. The Allan's Canadian enterprises, almost entirely built by Hugh, were continued by his brother, Andrew Allan.