Hearn & Harrison
Title
Hearn & Harrison
Type
Company
Coverage
Montreal, QC
Visit Exhibits
Precision Making in Canada Before 1918. https://omeka.uottawa.ca/instrument-precision/exhibits/show/precision-makers-1857-1918
Begin Date
1874
Active Until
1920
Location
242-244 Notre Dame Street, Montreal, Quebec (1874)
1640-1642 Notre Dame Street, Montreal, Quebec (1885)
10 and 12 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec (1907)
418 Notre Dame Street West, Montreal, Quebec (1920)
1610 St. Denis, Montreal, QC (1931)
Product Areas
Scientific
Surveying
Navigation
Drawing
Activities
Manufacturing, Repairing, Supplying, Importing
Timeline
- 1857? – William Hearn & Charles Potter dissolve a partnership called Hearn & Potter, a Toronto business. (Montreal Illustrated 1894, 253)
- 1859 – Charles Hearn is acting as agent for William Hearn who has separated from the firm of Hearn & Potter and established a separate business at 85 King Street W., Toronto. (Caverhill’s Toronto City Directory 1859-60)
- 1860 - Charles Hearn moves his business to Montreal, establishing himself at 154 or 160 Notre Dame Street [Rue Notre Dame]. (Montreal Illustrated 1894; Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1861-62)
- 1865-1869 - Charles Hearn dies, leaving his business to his wife Susan Watson Hearn. In 1869, the business is located at 242 Notre Dame Street ?West [Rue Notre Dame ?Ouest], listed as “C. Hearn” and is selling “mathematical and optical instruments”, including thermometers, barometers, etc. (Montreal Illustrated 1894, 253; Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1869-70: 23)
- 1870 - Susan Hearn marries Thomas H. Harrison, and the company becomes known as Hearn, Harrison & Co. or Hearn & Harrison. (Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1870-71)
- 1878 - Thomas L. Harrison, T. H. Harrison's son, becomes "active manager" of Hearn & Harrison. (The Commerce of Montreal and its Manufactures 1888)
- 1885 - Hearn & Harrison, “opticians and mathematical instrument makers” is taking daily meteorological observations at 1640-1642 Notre Dame Street ?West [Rue Notre Dame ?Ouest]. (The Montreal Daily Herald and Daily Commercial Gazette)
- 1893 - Thomas L. Harrison leaves Hearn & Harrison to found a rival company, Harrison & Co. (Montreal Illustrated 1894, 199)
- 1904, September - The goods at 1640-1642 Notre Dame are sold off by auction by the Marcotte Brothers (Marcotte Freres), includes: “the whole stock, fixtures, rent and goodwill of the store, known as Hearn & Harrison’s and established in 1857. Stock and goodwill, about $20,000, Fixtures about 1,000… Stock comprising: Engineers’ and Draughtsmen’s Tools, Levels, Telescopes, Opera Glasses, Marine Glasses, Compasses, Thermometers, Baromets, Kodaks, Hydrometers, Surveyors’ Instruments, and Chains, Electric Batteries and Lanterns,…” (The Daily Witness)
- 1907 - Hearn & Harrison celebrating a "semi-centennial" under the management of M.R. deMeslé. (Brooks & Daniels, 1042)
- 1931 - Company listed under M.R. deMeslé, registered at 1610 St. Denis, Montreal; may not be active. (Lovell’s Montreal Business Directory 1931-32)
- 1859 – Charles Hearn is acting as agent for William Hearn who has separated from the firm of Hearn & Potter and established a separate business at 85 King Street W., Toronto. (Caverhill’s Toronto City Directory 1859-60)
- 1860 - Charles Hearn moves his business to Montreal, establishing himself at 154 or 160 Notre Dame Street [Rue Notre Dame]. (Montreal Illustrated 1894; Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1861-62)
- 1865-1869 - Charles Hearn dies, leaving his business to his wife Susan Watson Hearn. In 1869, the business is located at 242 Notre Dame Street ?West [Rue Notre Dame ?Ouest], listed as “C. Hearn” and is selling “mathematical and optical instruments”, including thermometers, barometers, etc. (Montreal Illustrated 1894, 253; Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1869-70: 23)
- 1870 - Susan Hearn marries Thomas H. Harrison, and the company becomes known as Hearn, Harrison & Co. or Hearn & Harrison. (Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1870-71)
- 1878 - Thomas L. Harrison, T. H. Harrison's son, becomes "active manager" of Hearn & Harrison. (The Commerce of Montreal and its Manufactures 1888)
- 1885 - Hearn & Harrison, “opticians and mathematical instrument makers” is taking daily meteorological observations at 1640-1642 Notre Dame Street ?West [Rue Notre Dame ?Ouest]. (The Montreal Daily Herald and Daily Commercial Gazette)
- 1893 - Thomas L. Harrison leaves Hearn & Harrison to found a rival company, Harrison & Co. (Montreal Illustrated 1894, 199)
- 1904, September - The goods at 1640-1642 Notre Dame are sold off by auction by the Marcotte Brothers (Marcotte Freres), includes: “the whole stock, fixtures, rent and goodwill of the store, known as Hearn & Harrison’s and established in 1857. Stock and goodwill, about $20,000, Fixtures about 1,000… Stock comprising: Engineers’ and Draughtsmen’s Tools, Levels, Telescopes, Opera Glasses, Marine Glasses, Compasses, Thermometers, Baromets, Kodaks, Hydrometers, Surveyors’ Instruments, and Chains, Electric Batteries and Lanterns,…” (The Daily Witness)
- 1907 - Hearn & Harrison celebrating a "semi-centennial" under the management of M.R. deMeslé. (Brooks & Daniels, 1042)
- 1931 - Company listed under M.R. deMeslé, registered at 1610 St. Denis, Montreal; may not be active. (Lovell’s Montreal Business Directory 1931-32)
Sources
Caverhill’s Toronto City Directory 1859-60 (1859): 92
The Commerce of Montreal and its Manufactures 1888 (George Bishop Engraving and Printing Co., Ltd., 1888): 176-177
The Daily Witness (Montreal), 14 September 1904: 7
Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1861-62 (1961): 292
Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1869-70 (1869): 23, 28
Lovell’s Montreal Directory 1870-71 (Lovell, 1870): 52
Lovell’s Montreal Business Directory 1931-32 (1931): 2057
The Montreal Daily Herald and Daily Commercial Gazette, March 6, 1886: 1
Montreal Illustrated: The Metropolis of Canada (Montreal: Consolidated Illustrating Co., 1894): 199, 253
Files
Citation
“Hearn & Harrison,” Precision Instrument Culture in Canada, accessed October 16, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/instrument-precision/items/show/27.
Item Relations
| This Item | dcterms:creator | Item: Transit Theodolite |
| Item: Augustus Frederick Potter | foaf:knows | This Item |