Aaron Hart and His Children

Often considered to be the founder of Canadian Jewry, Aaron Hart was one of several Jewish traders who arrived in Quebec following the British takeover. Hart was likely born in London, though some sources claim Germany; we find him in Montreal, by way of Jamaica and New York, in 1760. A supplier of goods for the British troops, he accompanied them to the city of Trois-Rivières and settled there. He became a successful fur trader, acquired land, and was even appointed the town’s postmaster, notable given that just a few years before, non-Catholics had not even been permitted to live in New France. While Hart maintained connections to the Jewish communities in New York and Montreal, his wish was to keep his family in Trois-Rivières.