John McCance was the son of John McCance of Farmhill, Dunmurry.  He was educated at the Belfast Academy.  He lived at Roselands, Dunmurry, and in the early part of his career, worked for his uncle, William, running his linen business at Suffolk House.  In 1799 he formed a partnership for bleaching cloth with his cousin, John Stouppe (who, incidentally, married John's sister, Mary).  The same year he married Maria Finlay (b.1775) and their son, William, was born in 1801.  Maria died that same year and within a year he married Jane Russell (b.1782), daughter of William Russell.  In 1810 his uncle died, leaving Suffolk to John's son, William, but first to John and his cousin for 15 years and then to John for his lifetime.  In 1812 Jane died having had no children and in 1813 he married Sarah Law (1790-1866), daughter of James Law of Banbridge.  They moved to Suffolk House after his uncle's death and over the years they had ten children.

James (1814)
Jane (1815)
John (1816)
Mary (1817)
Joseph (1819)
David (1820)
George (1823)
Elizabeth (1825)
Henry (1829)
Charlotte (1831)

Although he worked hard to develop the linen operations, he also had political ambitions.  In 1801 he had become a Belfast Magistrate and by 1825 he was made High Sheriff of county Down and of county Antrim in 1827. In 1821 he joined the private bank of Orr, Sloan and Montgomery which then became known as Orr, Sloan McCcance and Montgomery until it became the Northern Bank in 1824, John McCance holding the Chair of its Management Committee until his death in 1835. He was involved with overhauling the vitriol works on Vitriol Island near Lisburn.  He was also a trustee for the Belfast Botanic and Horticultural Society, and as such leased the land for the Botanic gardens from the Marquis of Donegall (the first president of the society) in 1829. He is named with William Tennent and Valentine Whitla as the trustees of the lease taking over the land from the previous lessee, John Bullen, who had used it for a nursery.

On a recreational basis he was a keen huntsman, and kept a pack of hounds, inviting his many personal friends to hunt with him. In 1829, when he gave up keeping his own hounds he was presented with the 'McCance Hunt Cup' inscribed : "Presented by Wm. Coats, John Charles, George Suffern, J. Johnson, Alexander Arthur, Isaac Hardy, Murray Suffern to John McCance Esq., as a slight but sincere tribute to express their high sense of the kind attention which they have experienced whilst hunting with his hounds". He was also a life member of the Maze racecourse and two of his horses, Mayboy and Navarino were winners at the Maze races.

In January 1835 John McCance took his interest in public life one step further and stood as Whig candidate in the Belfast parliamentary elections, opposing Lord Arthur Chichester (son of the Marquis of Donegall) running for the Tories. John McCance won by a small majority and took his seat as MP in April 1835. However, his parliamentary career was short-lived. He took ill and died of a fever in London on 11th August 1835. He is buried at Kensal Green in London, but there is a memorial to him and many other members of the McCance family in Drumbeg parish Churchyard. It was in fact John McCance himself who had the memorial erected to earlier members of his family during his own lifetime; his name and others were subsequently added.

We are extremely grateful to Dermot McCann, Education Officer for the Colin Glen Trust, who has provided masses of detail about the McCance family.  (Colin Glen used to be known as McCance's Glen).  An extract from their "Local History Page" on their website is reproduced below.

At the turn of the century the McCances were the big land owners in the area. They had been in Suffolk since the 18th century after moving from Mullinganstown (Dunmurry) in the 17th Century. It is thought that the land at Suffolk had previously been in the hands of Donegall family, and suggestions that it had been lost in a game of cards!

John McCance was born in 1772, son of John McCance Senior 1744-1811. He was brought up in Glenville House, near the Glen, at a time when things were going well for the McCance family.

Although John became a respected member of the Linen trade, he was more prominent in the politics of the day. His first political post was as Magistrate for Belfast, and he was then appointed High Sheriff of County Down. The highlight of his political career was being elected as the first Liberal MP for Belfast in 1835, the year he died.

Although his life was deeply steeped with politics he never neglected the family linen business or his Suffolk Estate and in 1810 following the death of his Uncle William McCance he became owner of Suffolk Estate and Suffolk House. With his increased prosperity he extensively transformed Suffolk House into an exquisite Victorian mansion.

The McCances started bleaching linen in Suffolk around the 1770's-1780's. The bleaching was done at Glenville House (now Carrigart Avenue in Lenadoon) and Suffolk House (opposite Glengoland on the Stewartstown Road). It was John McCance who was responsible for building the McCance linen operation into a successful thriving business.

Linen was not John McCance's only business concern, also played a prominent role in Ulster banking having connections with the Northern Bank, the Ulster Bank and the Belfast Bank. This connection carried on through his sons and grandsons.

At the foot of Divis Mountain
My dwelling's to be seen
Where purling streams do gently glide
Beside my father's Green
All covered o' er with linen cloth
That was wrought near Tandragee
And purchased by young McCance
From a man named James Magee