4th Montreal Mayor, Entrepreneur. He served in that position from 1844 to 1846. Born in Fife, Scotland, he worked at mercantile pursuits for several years before finally immigrating to Canada and settling in Montreal, Quebec in 1821. Upon his arrival, he established himself as a Scots-Quebecer merchant and he opened his first store on the Rue Notre Dame, a famous residential street in Montreal, Quebec. By 1836, he had amassed himself a large fortune from his store and several real estate holdings from around the city of Montreal, Quebec, and he decided to enter politics. He first served as a Member of the Montreal City Council from 1841 to 1848. He was named Justice of the Peace and later served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the local militia. In 1842, along with politician William Lunn, Justice of the Peace William Collis, and the Reverend Henry Esson he opened the High School of Montreal, Quebec, in hopes of providing a solution to the growing influence of Anglicanism in education during this time. The school opened a year later in 1843. In 1844, he became the fourth Mayor of the city of Montreal, Quebec, and served until 1846. As Mayor, he organized relief for the citizens of the Quebec City faubourg of Saint-Roch who were suffering the effects of a severe fire. In 1847, he continued his business ventures and he became a promoter and a long-time director of the New City Gas Company and was also active as a Member of the Montreal Fire Assurance Company and as an incorporator of the Montreal Credit Company. In addition, he also had large considerable investments in his son's hardware firm, Bryson and Ferrier until that partnership dissolved when the latter company became Ferrier and Company. From 1847 to 1851, he leased and operated the Saint-Maurice Ironworks and was a promoter and president of the Montreal Mining Company. He was also one of the promoters of the Montreal and Lachine Railway and became a director of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1855. He served as a director of the International Bridge Company and was part of the Canadian and West Indian Royal Mail Steamship Company and the Waterloo, Magog and Stanstead Railway. He also served as a Member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada for Victoria from 1847 to 1867, Member of the Legislative Council of Quebec for Victoria from 1867 to 1888, and as a Senator representing Shawinigan, Quebec, from 1867 to 1888. A devoted religious man, he contributed throughout his life to the rise of the Methodist Church and participated in many philanthropic and educational works. He donated his own money to help build churches throughout Canada and even took time out of his busy schedule to teach Sunday school to children. He took a personal interest in the Wesleyan Theological College in Montreal, Quebec, was a member of the Senate of Victoria College at Cobourg, Ontario, was president of the Montreal Auxiliary Bible Society in Montreal, Quebec, was an officer in both the Sabbath School Association of Canada and the French Canadian Missionary Society, was several times president of the Saint Andrew's Society and a member and president of the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Learning from 1845 to 1852. He was, as well, active in the Montreal Protestant House of Industry and Refuge and in several temperance and prohibition societies, serving as president of the Quebec Temperance and Prohibitory League. In his later years, he traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, and brought back souvenirs that were donated to the Natural History Society of Montreal and McGill University. He was appointed and served as the Chancellor of McGill University from 1884 to 1888. He passed away in Montreal, Quebec, following a brief illness at the age of 87. For his service and contributions to the city of Montreal, Quebec, he is commemorated by Ferrier Street in northwestern Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, Quebec.