John McDougall

MCDOUGALL, JOHN. shipbuilder; b. 28 February 1832 in Orwell, son of Donald McDougall and Eppy MacPherson; Roman Catholic; d. 1901. John McDougall, a Conservative, was elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1882 for 3rd Kings. McDougall was a prominent shipbuilder in Bridgetown. He operated a shipyard that built many ships, including some for William Welsh*. McDougall, William Welsh*, L. C. Owen*, and Robert Longworth were prominent in the large shipbuilding industry along Grand River East, now known as the Boughton River. They built primarily for the British market, where McDougall sold 11 vessels to customers in Great Britain. Other ships built by him were sent to Newfoundland. Although McDougall did not finance his own vessels, he had shares in at least 40 ships built in the Grand River area. On 5 June 1864, his shipyard was destroyed by fire. Despite the fire, McDougall launched a ship later that year. He remained active in the industry until the 1880s.