Hearn & Harrison

Title

Hearn & Harrison

Type

Company

Coverage

Montreal, QC

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)

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

1987.0505 - Anemometer - 6
027 - Hearn & Harrison - Weather Observations

Citation

“Hearn & Harrison,” Precision Instrument Culture in Canada, accessed October 9, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/instrument-precision/items/show/27.

Output Formats

Item Relations

This Item dcterms:creator Item: Transit Theodolite
Item: Augustus Frederick Potter foaf:knows This Item