Editing Cuthbert Grant (section)

==Life==
Cuthbert Grant was born in about 1793 at Fort de la Rivière Tremblante, a [[North West Company]] trading post located near the present-day town of [[Togo, Saskatchewan]], where his father was a manager. His father was Cuthbert Grant Sr., a North West Company partner, and his mother was Métis. In 1801, at the age of 8, he was sent to be educated, perhaps to [[Scotland]], though this is uncertain. It is not known exactly when he returned to [[Western Canada]], but in 1812, he entered the service of the North West Company at the age of 19. He then travelled with the spring brigade to the ''[[Pays d'en Haut]]'', the "high country" of the northwest.

He was recognized as a leader of the Métis people, and became involved in the bitter struggle between the Nor'westers and the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] stemming from the [[Pemmican Proclamation]], which forbade anyone from exporting [[pemmican]] from the [[Red River Colony]]. The capture and destruction of the North West Company's [[Fort Gibraltar]] in 1816, caused further anger at the HBC from the Nor'westers and the local Métis. This led to the bloody encounter known as the [[Battle of Seven Oaks]], where [[Robert Semple (Canada)|Robert Semple]] and 21 colonists from the Red River Colony were killed.<ref name="Cuthbert Grant">{{Cite web
| title = 	Memorable Manitobans: Cuthbert James Grant (1793-1854)
| work = Manitoba Historical Society by William Morton
| accessdate = 2014-12-09
| url = http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/grant_cj.shtml
}}</ref>

Despite this, when the two rival companies merged in 1821 under the name the Hudson's Bay Company, the new governor, [[George Simpson (administrator)|Sir George Simpson]], requested Grant to head a Métis settlement of some 2,000 people situated some 16 miles west of the Red River Colony on the [[Assiniboine River]]. The settlement was to be known as Grantown for many years then  was renamed [[St. François Xavier, Manitoba|St. François Xavier]] after the patron saint of the town.<ref name="Cuthbert Grant"/>

By 1825 wheat was becoming an important food crop and although there were several [[windmill]]s in operation in the area, Cuthbert Grant was the first to undertake the construction of a [[watermill]]. His mill was completed on [[Sturgeon Creek (Manitoba)|Sturgeon Creek]] in 1829. While the exact location is not known, it is probable that it was close to where the [[Portage Trail]] crossed the creek; and it is altogether likely that the [[dam]] was used as a bridge for crossing the creek during the season of high water. Unfortunately the dam proved unequal to the spring floods and for three successive years it was washed out. Grant finally abandoned the site and moved his machinery to Grantown where he constructed a successful windmill. There is a mill called Grant's Old Mill that is located in [[Winnipeg]].<ref>{{Google maps |url= http://www.google.com/maps/place/Grant's+Old+Mill/@49.8791083,-97.276241,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x52ea0c98c83604bf:0xc2a1f7fd0cc6ead0!8m2!3d49.8793693!4d-97.2753786 |title= Grant's Old Mill |access-date= 18 May 2021}}</ref>

In 1828, the Hudson's Bay Company placed him in charge of the defence of the Red River Colony. He later became a [[sheriff]] and [[magistrate]] in the [[Assiniboia|District of Assiniboia]].<ref name="Cuthbert Grant"/>

On July 15, 1854, Cuthbert died from injuries sustained after falling from his horse.<ref name="Cuthbert Grant"/>