and he died on August28. Early life and immigration (1795–1824) Background, early years in Scotland, and education William Lyon Mackenzie was born on March 12, 1795, in Dundee, Scotland. Both of his grandfathers were part of Clan Mackenzie and fought for Charles Edward Stuart at the Battle of Culloden. His mother, Elizabeth Chambers ( Mackenzie), a weaver and goat herder, was orphaned at a young age. His father, Daniel Mackenzie, was also a weaver and seventeen years younger than Elizabeth. The couple married on May 8, 1794. After attending a public dance, Daniel became sick, blind and bedridden. He died a few weeks after William was born. Although Elizabeth had relatives in Dundee, she insisted on raising William independently and instructed him on the teachings of the Presbyterian church. Mackenzie reported he was raised in poverty, although the extent of his family's wealth is difficult to authenticate. At five years old, Mackenzie received a bursary for a parish grammar school in Dundee. When he was eleven, he used the reading room of the Dundee Advertiser newspaper and meticulously documented and summarized the 957 books he read. In 1811, he was a founding member of the Dundee Rational Institution, a club for scientific discussion. In 1813, William moved to Alyth, Scotland, to help his mother open a general store. He had a sexual relationship with Isabel Reid, and she gave birth to their son James on July 17, 1814. His congregation agreed to baptize James after Mackenzie endured public criticism for fathering an illegitimate child and paid a fine of thirteen shillings and fourpence () to the church. A recession followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, and Mackenzie's store went bankrupt. He moved to southern England and worked as a bookkeeper for the Kennet and Avon Canal Company. He spent most of his money on wild behaviour and became a gambler. Early years in Canada Mackenzie's friend John Lesslie suggested they emigrate to Canada in 1820, and the two men travelled there aboard a schooner named Psyche. When Mackenzie arrived in North America, he worked in Montreal for the owners of the Lachine Canal as a bookkeeper and The Montreal Herald as a journalist. Later that year he moved to York, Upper Canada, and the Lesslie family employed him at a bookselling and drugstore business. He wrote articles for the York Observer under the pseudonym Mercator. The Lesslies