Archief - William Graves fonds

William Graves (fl. 1815-1856), merchant of New Ross, Ireland, was involved in the emigrant trade from New Ross to Quebec in the first half of the nineteenth century. William was the son of Anthony Graves, a banker in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Facing financial difficulty in 1805, Anthony Graves moved with his family to New Ross, where he established himself as a merchant.

Anthony's son William continued the trade and formed a partnership with Sandham Elly, a brother-in-law and member of a Quaker merchant family in New Ross. By 1815, the firm was engaged in the emigrant trade from New Ross to Quebec. By 1825, Graves and Elly owned four large ships, all committed to the Quebec route, transporting emigrants to Quebec and carrying timber home.

The firm was dissolved in 1827. Graves established a business relationship with another Quaker merchant, a Mr. Watson. The new firm was a recruiting agent for the Canada Company (Ontario) in 1830. It also operated a 400-ton steamer between Ross and Liverpool. The Graves family continued with the Quebec trade until 1850 , as well as the emigrant traffic to Boston. By 1856, however, it was primarily involved in the supply trade. Its premises on the Ross quay were finally dismantled in the 1980s.