John Askin

John Askin (1739 –  1815) was a fur trader, merchant and official in Upper Canada.He was born in Aughnacloy in Northern Ireland in 1739; his ancestors are believed to have originally lived in Scotland with the surname Erskine. He came to North America with the British Army in 1758. After the British took over New France, he entered the fur trade and operated a trading post at Fort Michilimackinac. In 1781, he formed a partnership with Robert Hamilton and Richard Cartwright; Askin was based in Detroit. From 1786 to 1789, he was part of a group of trading companies known as the Miamis Company. He was also involved in a shipping business and land speculation; he was one of the partners involved in the Cuyahoga Purchase along the south shore of Lake Erie. In 1789, he was named justice of the peace at Detroit. When Detroit was turned over to the Americans in 1796, he became a justice of the peace for the Western District and moved to Sandwich (Windsor) in 1802. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel for the local milita.
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