Samuel Cunard: Hugh’s great-great-great grandfather!
We had a chat with Connolly Group’s very own Hugh Paton about Samuel Cunard, his great-great-great grandfather!
Samuel Cunard is known for being a first baronet, Canadian shipping magnate and the founder of the Cunard Line, but is there anything that the average person may not know about your great great great grandfather?
HP: Samuel Cunard was an innovator in steam. He was involved in ship building, coal, lumber, and forestry, then he put them together to build his company. He was also the first person to foresee that ships could cross the Atlantic Ocean on a regular schedule – leaving on time and arriving on time – and he put the technology of locomotives into the ocean.
How has your relation to Samuel Cunard had an impact on you and your family’s lives?
We’ve developed a lot of interest in family history because Samuel Cunard is so interesting! We were invited to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a Cunard Ship for Cunard Line’s 175th anniversary. The kids also did heritage projects in school based on him.
In your opinion, what makes him influential on PEI?
He owned about 1/5th, or 230 000 acres of land, on PEI; he’s very influential as one of the absentee landlords in the 1800s. His two grandsons, Arthur and Frederick Peters, were also premiers of Prince Edward Island.
Do you think you’ve acquired any of his personality traits or qualities from what you have heard of him passed down through generations?
Entrepreneurialism runs through the family – right down to lemonade stands on the front yard! Samuel Cunard used to gather things and sell them in Halifax, for example he used to sell tea door-to-door. He was always buying and selling.
Can you tell me a little about how his legacy still lives on today?
I was blown away by how big the name Cunard still is in Liverpool, England, as the company was headquartered there in the early days. Four years ago, during the 175th anniversary, Liverpool had a huge welcome and ceremony. Cunard was the biggest employer 100 years ago in the town for decades. The people there are very proud of Cunard even though he’s Canadian, and he seems to be much more well known there. Halifax also had a statue of him erected about 10 years ago.
You were invited to celebrate Cunard Line’s 175th anniversary; what did this entail?
In 2015 the company decided to commemorate the 175th by retracing the route that original ship sailed on the same dates that it sailed. We were invited on board the Queen Mary 2- largest ship in the fleet- and sailed from Southampton (headquarters of Cunard Lines after Liverpool) to Liverpool, then to Halifax, Boston and New York. It was the same route Britannia used to deliver the mail. I spoke at the Liverpool Cathedral ceremony in front of thousands of people for an over-the-top celebration of Cunard Line. My speech was about family history while others spoke about the contribution of Cunard ships in the war.
Thank you for enriching us on the life and legacy of your extremely influential great-great-great grandfather, Hugh!