Samuel Street was born in Connecticut in 1775. He came to Chippawa, Upper Canada in 1787 to live with his uncle Samuel Street after his father was killed in New York. His uncle was involved in mercantile affairs in the Niagara Peninsula, which helped Samuel Street Jr. in establishing successful businesses and partnerships in later years. As the son of a Loyalist he was also entitled to 200 acres of land, but his uncle successfully petitioned for an additional 400 acres. In 1798, Street struck up a partnership with Thomas Clark, an important merchant in Queenston. They parted ways the following year, but renewed their association around 1809. The result was the firm of Clark and Street, a business that proved to be one of Upper Canada’s largest, and endured until Thomas Clark’s death in 1835. Initially the business centred on two milling complexes, the Falls Mills and Bridgewater Mills. Both mills were destroyed by fire in 1814 and only the Falls Mills was rebuilt. The success of their milling operation provided Clark and Street with a large amount of capital. They utilized this capital by money-lending, and became one of the largest financiers in Upper Canada. The firm’s clients ranged from farmers to prominent political, business and religious leaders such as Attorneys general William Henry Draper and Christopher Alexander Hagerman, Bishop John Strachan, William Hamilton Merritt, and Captain Hugh Richardson.

Thomas Clark was born in Scotland. He arrived in Upper Canada in 1791 to work for his cousin Robert Hamilton, a businessman in Queenston. In 1796 Clark opened a shop in Queenston, and soon after established a partnership with Samuel Street. This first partnership was short-lived, and Clark formed a partnership with Robert Nichol, establishing the firm of Thomas Clark and Company. The firm traded in flour and other commodities in 1802 and 1803, but the business did not prove to be beneficial to either partner and was dissolved. Clark renewed his partnership with Samuel Street around 1809. During the War of 1812, Clark served as lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd Lincoln Militia and was at the Battle of Queenston Heights, as well as the American surrender at Beaver Dams and raids on Fort Schlosser (Niagara Falls), N.Y., and Black Rock (Buffalo). After the war, he was one of the commissioners who assessed war losses in the Niagara District. Unlike his partner, Clark became active in politics, becoming a member of the Legislative Council in 1815. Clark had business interests separate from his partnership with Samuel Street, including an agreement with John Jacob Aster of New York and some of his business associates for the sale and shipment of flour in Montreal, New York and Jamaica. He also conducted business with the Earl of Selkirk, including support for the Red River expedition in 1816. Clark also speculated in land independently of his firm with Street, but not nearly as extensively as his partner. Thomas Clark died in 1835 in Niagara Falls. It was estimated that the value of his estate was £100, 000. He was survived by his wife Mary Margaret Kerr.

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