Background
Born at Paisley in Scotland, he was a younger son of William MacNider (b1660), of Balsarock (or Balsarach), Ayrshire.
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Mathew Macnider
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He was a Justice of the Peace and represented Hampshire County in the 1st Parliament of Lower Canada. He was the uncle of John MacNider, the pioneering 2nd Seigneur of Grand-Métis and Métis-sur-Mer. Taking advantage of the British Conquest of New France, MacNider came to the new colony around 1760, extending the reach of his business to Quebec City.
The MacNiders quickly became one of the leading mercantile families there, selling Canadian timber and supplies to the Royal Navy and trading in wine and spices from Europe and the British West Indies to Quebec, London and Scotland.
At Quebec City, MacNider was made a Justice of the Peace. In 1788, he purchased the seigneuries of Grondines and Bélair.
He was elected to represent Hampshire County in the 1st Parliament of Lower Canada from 1792 to 1796. They helped to garner support for him in the Upper Town of Quebec.
In 1801, MacNider purchased the Barony of Portneuf County, Quebec and the Seigneury of Sainte-Croix on a fifty year lease from the Ursulines of Quebec.
He built several stone mills and a manor house by the Portneuf River.
