Joshua Mauger

{{Infobox person

| name = Joshua Mauger

|honorific_suffix=Esq.

| image = Joshua Mauger.png

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Joshua Mauger

| birth_date = 25 April 1725

| birth_place =St John, Jersey, Kingdom of Great Britain

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1788|10|18|1725|4|25|df=y}}

| death_place =Warborne, England, Kingdom of Great Britain

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation = Merchant
Politician

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| father = José Mauger

| mother =Sarah Le Couteur

| relatives =

| spouse =

| children =

}}

Joshua Mauger (April 1725 – 18 October 1788) was a prominent merchant and slave trader in Halifax, Nova Scotia (1749–60) and then went to England and became Nova Scotia's colonial agent (1762).{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=4p3FJGzxjgAC&dat=17530217&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |newspaper=The Halifax Gazette |via=Google News Archive Search |date=17 February 1753 |access-date=24 June 2023 |issue=47 |title=Halifax}} He has been referred to as "the first great merchant and shipowner" in Halifax.{{cite book |last=Patterson |first=Stephen E. |chapter=1744–1763: Colonial Wars and Aboriginal Peoples |editor-first=Phillip |editor-last=Buckner |editor2-first=John G. |editor2-last= Reid |title=The Atlantic Region to Confederation: A History |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2spDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP1 |year=1994 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4875-1676-5 |page=129}} He was a member of St. Matthew's United Church (Halifax). Along with prominent merchant Captain Ephraim Cook (mariner), Mauger pushed Governor Lawrence for an elected assembly (1757).

Life

Joshua Mauger, born in the early 18th century in Jersey, had his baptism on 25 April 1725. He was the son of José Mauger and Sarah Le Couteur. He went to sea with his uncle, Matthew Mauger, whose daughter he'd marry and have a daughter with.Namier, L. B. (1985). The House of Commons, 1754-1790 (p. 119). United Kingdom: History of Parliament Trust.

He eventually became master of his own ship. Initially, Joshua Mauger conducted business in Louisburg, Nova Scotia, but after the French regained control in 1749, he shifted his operations to Halifax. In Halifax, he was active as a merchant, trading fish and lumber to the West Indies in exchange for rum, molasses, and sugar. By 1751, he served as an agent victualler to the British navy at Halifax.Smith, T. W. (1899). The Slave in Canada. Canada: Nova Scotia Historical Society. On 15 May 1752, an advertisement appeared in the Halifax Gazette stating, "Just imported, and to be sold by Joshua Mauger, at Major Lockman's store in Halifax, several Negro slaves, as follows: A women aged thirty-five, two boys aged twelve and thirteen respectively, two of eighteen and a man aged thirty."

In 1754, Mauger established shops at Pisiguit, Windsor, New Minas, Horton, and other places where he traded goods and spirits to the French and Native peoples. The merchant and shipowner, along with John Fillis, constructed the earliest rum distilleries in Nova Scotia.The Atlantic Region to Confederation: A History (p. 128). (1994). United Kingdom: University of Toronto Press. In Halifax, he ran a distillery that manufactured rum, which was then distributed to the army and navy.

His distillery was located between the Royal Naval Dockyard and the grounds of the Halifax Naval Hospital. Akins, T. B. (1895). History of Halifax City (p. 221-236). Canada: Nova Scotia Historical Society. Mauger encountered some difficulties with Governor Edward Cornwallis regarding illicit dealing. Mauger, the agent victualler, was accused by the government of secretly turning Halifax into a storage point for Louisburg goods while illicitly trading. The Governor ordered a search of Mauger's stores for contraband from Louisburg.

Around 1761, after returning to England, the merchant served as the Nova Scotia Assembly's agent in London, only to resign the following year when he secured a parliamentary seat in Britain.

In 1764, Captain Francis Peabody set up the township known as Maugerville in Sudbury County, New Brunswick, where he established a community of about 400 English settlers, mostly colonists from Massachusetts.Conwell, R. H. (1877). History of the Great Fire in Saint John, June 20 and 21, 1877 (p. 103). United States: B. B. Russell; Saint John, N. B., Jones & Morrison.. Through the efforts of Joshua Mauger, who had influence and great interest in the new county formed on the banks of the Saint John River, the area was secured for the earlier settlers.Clement, W. H. P. (1898). The History of the Dominion of Canada (p. 103). Canada: W. Briggs. He was the first name listed among the land grantees.Transactions of the Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society (p. 45). (1898). Canada: (n.p.).

Mauger served as a Member of parliament and was twice elected for Poole in 1768 and 1774.{{cite DCB |title=Mauger, Joshua |first=Donald F. |last=Chard |volume=4 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mauger_joshua_4E.html}}{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/constituencies/poole |title=MAUGER, Joshua (1725-88), of Warborne, Hants. |work=History of Parliament Online |access-date= 30 November 2017 |first=Sir Lewis |last=Namier}} In 1769, he was appointed as a Director of the French Hospital.Agnew, D. C. A. (1866). Protestant Exiles from France in the Reign of Louis XIV: Or, The Huguenot Refugees and Their Descendants in Great Britain and Ireland (p. 345). United Kingdom: private circulation.

Death

Joshua Mauger died on 18 October 1788.

Legacy

Maugerville, New Brunswick (q.v.) is named for him. He is the namesake of Mauger Beach (later known as "Hangman's Beach") on McNabs Island.[http://digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca/islandora/object/macrepo%3A31419 Charles Morris 1759 map - Mauger Beach marked] The beach on McNab's Island was initially owned by Mauger, as he owned large amounts of land.Payzant, J. M. (1985). Halifax: Cornerstone of Canada. Canada: Windsor Publications.