According to "Hochelaga Depicta" or "The History and Present State of the Island and City of Montreal", by Newton Bosworth, published by William Greig in Montreal in 1839 ¹, Messrs. Shaey and Merritt took possession of the yard at St. Mary's Current, Montreal, from Canada Ship Building Company of London in 1829 (probably David Munn's old yard) under the firm name of Shaey and Merritt. However, the firm went through several business reversals, resulting that while the barks Colborne and Weatherall were being built, Edward Merritt was obliged to declare barkruptcy in March, 1838, in the absence of Luke Shaey². Luckily, John Molson and George Davies of the firm of Molson, Davies & Company and others accepted two shillings to the pound on the debt for the next three years, allowing him to complete the construction of the Colborne and also the Weatherall, launched a few weeks after. Later in 1838, the firm Molson, Davies and Company was disolved³ , which leaves even more questions on what happened to the firm of Shaey and Merritt.

G.R. Bossé©1998.

Posted Nov. 1, 1998.

Updated Nov. 18, 2002.