Dublin National Library, 5/2/1998
Griffiths Valuations:
Tipperary, Ballinard, Shronell Parish, Clanwilliam Barony. Ord 58&66.
William Chadwick, 7 entries as immediate lessor, 51 acres.
one of these occupied by Edward Chadwick, esq Occupied
House and land of 200 acres from Lord Portalington.
Ballinglanna: William Chadwick, 442 acres as immediate lessor and occupied 44
acres leased from Lord Portalington.
Ballycoury: Mrs Anne Chadwick, immediate lessor of 87 acres, occupied 73 leased
from Lord Portalington.
Ballycohy: Edward Chadwick occupied 8 acres from Lord Portalington.
23/10/2000
MS8734:
a rent roll for "Mr Upton's estates and debts theron chargeable at the
intermarriage with the daughter of Wm Stewart of Killymoon".
Rent payable: £205-3-4 Freehold: £377-11-11
Interest: £348-0-0 Ld Dungannon: £463-1-0
£553-3-4 Other lands: £364-0-0
£1204-12-11
Less £553-3-4
Net: £651-9-7
Nat Library of Dublin has a collection of papers (MS 8734) containing rents
rolls for mid 18thC:
a) Undated income:
Freehold Rent: £2287-5-5
Church lands: £2424-9-11
£4711-15-4
b) 1772:
Freehold Rent: £2287-5-5
Church Lands: £2359-5-4
c) 1764:
Recd Arrears of Nov 1763: £709-12-10
Recd Rent for Nov 1764: £1168-13-5
Arrears at Nov 1764: £3676-3-11-3/4
£5547-10-2-3/4
Also
Arrears at Nov 1763: £2176-15-3.5
May & Nov 1764 rents: £3370-14-11.25
£5547-10-2.75
Note increase in arrears! Document lists all tenants.
Also included a bundle of letters to James Stewart of Clare St, Dublin about his standing in the General Election, which he won.
Also two letters from a friend, AH Trench.
MS103 p113:
Certificate of Arms of Henry Stewart of Starnorlar, Donegal, 2nd surviving son
of the later William Stewart of Killymoon. 20/2/1799.
MS105 p41:
Note of rights to use arms to descendants of William Stewart of Killymoon.
MS108 p73:
Richard Cooper of Killenure Castle, Tipperary, and Catherine Chadwick dau &
co-heiress of William Chadwick of Ballinard co Tipperary allowed to use surname
Chadwick after their marriage: he became Richard Cooper Chadwick, 1855.
MS111c p31:
Grant of Arms to Major General William Wallace Kenny 1922, younger son of
Randall Young Kenny of Killeshandra co Cavan, & Anna Maria his wife and daughter
and co-heiress of William Armstrong of Kilbracken, Leitrim, and grandson of
William Kenny of Drumboory co Monahan.
Analecta Hibernica Vol 15 1944 p372:
Baker Papers
Lease by Edward Water of Bolboe, Co Limerick to Richard Chadwick of
Ballinamoght, Co Tipperary for a fine of £120 and rent of £45 pa for 3 lives
(viz William Bourke, 2nd son of Dr Ulises Bourke of Drumkeene, Arthur Blenner
Hassett of Ballinagananagh Co Limerick, and said Richard Chadwick) or 300
years, of the lands of Castlelaughny in parish of Kilcornane Co Tipperary
containing 300 acres lately enjoyed by Alexander Crease.
Also in this issue under Longford papers:
Marriage settlement of Michael Cuffe of Ballinrobe, Mayo and Frances dau of
Henry Sandford of Dublin 30/7/1718.
Description[1]
By the end of the 17th century the Chadwick family was
established at Ballinard, county Tipperary. In 1738 Richard Chadwick of
Ballinard married, as his first wife, Rebecca Ellard. In 1799 John Craven
Chadwick married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Cooper of Killenure Castle,
county Tipperary. They had seven sons and four daughters. The eldest son,
William, had three daughters and when he died in 1876 he was succeeded by his
son-in-law, Richard Austin Cooper, who assumed the additional name of Chadwick.
At the time of Griffith's Valuation, William Chadwick held land in the parishes
of Shronell and Solloghodmore, barony of Clanwilliam and Donohill, barony of
Kilnamanagh Lower, while Mrs Anne Chadwick held land in the parish of Shronel.
The representatives of Richard Chadwick held property in the parish of Cullen.
In the 1870s William's grandson, William Cooper Chadwick, owned 882 acres in
county Tipperary. In November 1882 the estate of Thomas Dowling at Clonbrick
and Cotifiagh, barony of Clanwilliam, was advertised for sale. Richard Cooper
Chadwick was the tenant. This property was finally sold in the Land Judges'
Court in January 1886 to David Clarke, a silk manufacturer from Macclesfield,
Cheshire. The estate of Eliza and Annie Kennedy, at Bishopsland, in the barony
of Middlethird, was also offered for sale in 1886. The tenant was J.J.
Chadwick. The court proceedings indicated that Mr. Chadwick was interested in
purchasing the property.
Ballinard:
This house was the seat of the Chadwick family in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The present house dates from the early 19th century and incorporates parts of
an older building. John Chadwick was resident in 1814 and William Chadwick in
1837. In 1840 the Ordnance Survey Name Books note it as the seat of Ostin
[Austin] Sadlier and describe the house as "a very large building in good
repair". At the time of Griffith's Valuation, the house was valued at £33
and held from the Earl of Portarlington. The Chadwicks were still living at
Ballinard at the beginning of the 20th century.
From Buildings of Ireland[2]
Detached six-bay two-storey house built, c. 1820, having porch addition to front
flanked by side lights in main building façade and incorporating two-storey
earlier possibly seventeenth-century house to rear, latter having having gable
to south end of rear. Hipped slate roof to front block and pitched slate roof
with rendered end chimneystacks and one dressed limestone lateral chimneystack
to earlier block, with ridge tiles and cast-iron rainwater goods. Flat-roof
with render coping to porch. Painted smooth rendered walls with render quoins
and having pilasters to corners of porch. Square-headed timber sliding sash
one-over-one pane windows to front block and two-over-two pane and one-over-one
pane to earlier block, with cut limestone sills. Camber-headed door opening to
porch with render surround and replacement glazed timber door and limestone
threshold. Courtyard of outbuildings to north, one outbuilding having dressed
limestone bellcote to gable end. Cut limestone piers with cast-iron gates and
railings to boundary.
Damerville (H4132)
Austin Cooper Chadwick, third son of John C. Chadwick, lived
at Damerville in the 1830s. In 1840 the Ordnance Survey Name Books describe it
as "a modern structure in good repair". By the time of Griffith's
Valuation [his widow] Mrs Anne Chadwick was resident. The house was valued at
£10 and held from the Earl of Portarlington. It is still extant.
GLEBE HOUSE Built by Rev Richard Chadwick Preb. of Doon Civil Parish Co.
Limerick Ireland
The 'Glebe House' which is situated in the townland of Knocknacarriga in the
East end of the Parish was the residence of the Protestant Clergy for the
Parish of Doon as Knocknacarriga was in that parish until 1973. This
magnificent house was built around the year 1808 by Rev. Richard Chadwick at
the expense of £700, of which £100 was received from the Board of First Fruits.
This following extract is from John ODonovan's Ordnance Survey of 1840
"This Glebe contains 41 acres, which are arable with limestone. The
latter is sold through all parts of the parish. The Glebe House, the
seat of the Rev. Thomas Atkinson, Preb, is situated near the centre of
the Glebe, and is 3 stories high. It was built in 1808 by the Rev. Richard
Chadwick at the expense of £700, of which £100 was from the Board of
First Fruits and exclusive of the above sum, a further £1, 143 was
spent on it in 1831".
Glebe House was a three storey mansion complete with an enclosed courtyard at
the back of the house containing cellars, stables and servants quarters. (1).
It also had a walled in orchard and kitchen garden. For entertainment there was
a billiard room and in later years a tennis court and there was a conservatory
adjoining the house. There was also a gate lodge although there is no trace of
it left now. This lodge is referred to in the Protestant Church Records for
Doon and is also referred to in the Official Documents of this holding. There
are two entrances up to the house, one from the Gortnascarry side and the other
on the Knocknacarriga side, this being the main entrance. The gates, it is said
were made by a local man, Mr. Crowe who lived in Knocknacarriga and they are
said to have had his stamp on them. (2). The hill on which Glebe House was
built was once covered in 10‑15 acres of trees and the avenue up to the
house was lined with trees but now there are very few left.
A number of vicars have resided at 'The Glebe'. Rev. Richard Chadwick B.A. was
the first. He was succeeded in 1811 by Edward Labeste M.A. and in 1813 by Rev.
Charles Coote M.A. who has been referred to in the Tithe War. The tithes were a
form of tax paid by both Catholics and Protestants for the support of the
Established Church. C.1831 a number of Catholics refused to pay the tithes
encouraged by the local Catholic Priest, Fr. Hickey. 7. Rev. Thomas
Atkinson M.A. succeeded Rev. Coote 1838 and was therefore in residence during
the Famine Years' in Ireland.
During the Famine, people were dying of starvation and many were being evicted
by their landlord for not having paid their rent. Rev. Atkinson saw this as an
opportunity to increase his flock. Bible schools and soup kitchens were set up.
Food was offered as a bribe, and in exchange for food a person had to renounce
their Catholic faith and become Protestant. There was a soup kitchen in the
Glebe (3) and also in the Erasmus Smyth School, which was set up by Rev.
Atkinson in this Parish. John Bogwell Cordon, M.A. succeeded Rev. Atkinson in
1865.Rev. Alexander McLoughlin was the next occupant in 1872. According to the
Church records; '1874 August 23, Arthur Mansell son to Grace and Alexander
McLoughlin of Doon Glebe (clergyman)" was baptised. Rev. McLoughlin was
succeeded by Canon John White Bell as Rector in Doon when Cappamore was united
with Doon in 1893.
Canon J. White Bell was the last Protestant minister to have charge of
in Doon Glebe, although it appears that he continued to reside in
Cappamore Glebe. He ministered in Cappamore from 1878 and in the united
parish of Doon and Cappamore from 1893. He had two children a son,
Willie who joined the British Army in 1914 and who was killed during
World War 1 and a daughter Mary (Mollie). Mollie married a Captain Parr
who was a son of William Parr, Bank Manager.M. Captain Parr was also
Commissioner Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs. (5). He bought the lands
and Glebe House in March 1904 from the 'Representative Body of the
Church of Ireland' (sic).
On the 12th November 1908 Kathleen Molly was born to William and Mary
Parr and died on 13th March, 1909 aged 4 months.
By 1918 Captain Parr had moved to Shanghai in China and the House and
approximately 5 statute acres of land were temporarily let to the
Munster and Leinster Bank for the purpose of a Bank Managers
residence.(6). The letting was for two years commencing on the first of
January 1918 and thereafter on a yearly tenancy terminable by six months
on either side on 1st.January and 1st. July. on side and
the rent was £45
payable half yearly on lst January and 1st July. The Munster and
Leinster Bank opened in Doon on Thursday 14th February, 1918 at a
temporary premises which was at James O'Dwyers (Hibernian House).M.
There were also sub‑offices in Cappamore, Cappawhite and Kilcommon. Then
on the 7th February, 1919 a plot was purchased to build a bank house
which was opened for business on September 27th, 1921. The Bank Manager
was Mr. Kelly Lynch.8
In 1919, Captain Parr, now Major Parr, put the property and Glebe House
up for sale by Public Auction.
House up for sale by Public Auction.
REFERENCES
1. John O'Donovans Ordnance Survey Letters
2. John Lonergan
3. Diocesan Archives Thurles.
4. Cappamore Church Records, Stradbally Church Castleconnell.
5. Cappamore Church Records, Stradbally Church Castleconnell.
6. Official Papers relating to Glebe House.
7. Official Papers relating to Glebe House.
8. Diocesan Archives Thurles.
9. Official Papers relating to Glebe House.
10. John Lonergan.
SALE by Public Auction of a very desirable residence and tillage and
grass lands adjoining same‑To be sold in one lot by Public Auction on
Wednesday the 29th day of January 1919 by Messrs. Lloyd and Lloyd, the
Auctioneers, at Pallas Court House County Limerick at the hour of one
O'clock. (g).
Besides selling the Glebe House and property, he was also selling lands in
Knocknacarriga and Ballycoshown. The tenants on these holdings were Thomas
Quigley, John Ryan, Mary Kelly and John Cilbert who rented the Lodge. The new
owner took over their leases.
At this time the house was described as follows:
The property offered for sale consists of a very desirable residence known
as Doon House with stabling for six horses also out offices, orchard,
shrubbery, kitchen garden and Paddock. The House which is well sheltered
contains on the ground floor Drawing Room, Diningroom, Billiard Room, Morning
Room, Front and Back Halls, Large Kitchen, 2 Pantries and Scullery. It Contains
9 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms with Lavatories, also servants apartments, Harness Room
and Coachhouse. An ample water supply is obtained from tank on the top storey
which is fed by a powerful force punp.
The lands offered for sale contain 79 acres 1 rood 13 perches statute
measure or there abouts and are of excellent quality and suitable for pasture
of cattle and sheep. There is a valuable and extensive turf bank which adjoins
the public road and is quite convenient to the house. The turf is of excellent
quality and can be readily let, the rent being estimated each year according to
the quantity cut. The Poor Law Valuation of said Dwelling house is £25 and of
the lands £58.5.0
The property lies about one mile from Cappamore and about 3 miles from Pallas
which is the nearest Railway Station".
Mr. McCarthy purchased Glebe House and property through the Irish Land
Commission under the Land Purchase Acts. Mr. McCarthy continued to let the
dwelling house to the bank. During this time the War of Independence had
commenced. During these troubled times, the Glebe House was burned down, as
information was received that the British Army were going to 'take' the house
as a look out position because it was built on a hill and had a commanding view
of the surrounding countryside. (10). It is believed that petrol which was
stolen from Castlegarde on the said night was used for the inferno which could
be seen from the adjoining parishes.
In old Church records, the names of people, who had been employed employed at
Glebe House throughout the years, occur, Mr. James Bovinger, who came from West
Limerick, and Bob Best and George Church who were from the North of Ireland
served as Emergency men. These Emergency Men were brought in by landlords to
take over and work farms from which tenants had been evicted. They also
provided work on behalf of boycotted landlords and were under police
protection. They were financed by an Emergency Committee of the Orange Order.
Bob Best was married to Mary Ann Church and they lived on the Doon Road.
Mr. James Moylan once served as farm Bailiff at the Glebe. Others include
Edward Bibby and Tom George who worked as Coachmen and lived in the Gate Lodge.
Samuel Switzer also worked as Coachman at the Glebe around 1904. Mr. Willie
Martin was employed as Driver to Rev. John White Bell.
Since 1921, the Glebe House stands in ruins, partly covered in ivy, its
days of elegance long over.
177
Source: Extract from The book of “Cappamore a parish history by Cappamore
historical Society (Pages 172-176)
John Kelly.
The Iron Church Story
An extract from "The Iron Church" (1860-1985), by Stuart Underhill.
A history of St John's Church, Victoria, B.C.
The extract begins at the move from the old "iron church" to the new
one, built on Quadra St. FAP Chadwick became rector shortly after the move.
One week later, on December 22, 1912, the first services were held there.
It was nearly Christmas, a time for rejoicing, and the ladies had outdone
themselves with their decorations. The sadness of departure was forgotten in
the excitement of the new surroundings.
For several weeks Sunday School classes continued in the hall on Herald
Street but at last the basement in the new church was considered ready for the
children.
Meanwhile a new problem arose: what to do with the Iron Church? Some
people though the synod should take it over and preserve it as the first church
consecrated in the province. The suggestion was declined. A proposal to present
it to the parish of St. Mark's also was vetoed.
Mr. Jenns had the last word: "Leave the old landmark to the
contractors to dispose of as they deem best." In 1913 the old church was
pulled down at a cost of $220. The organ that had been used latterly went to
St. Paul's, Esquimalt, where it still does service.
The way was now clear for the Hudson's Bay Company to begin construction
of its new store. A start was made but eight years were to elapse before its
doors were opened to customers.
The bubble of British Columbia's prosperity was about to burst. Overseas
investors began pulling out of the province. Astute local entrepreneurs
liquidated their holdings while property values were high. Land prices began to
sag, then crashed, wiping out the investments of thousands of speculators. In
1914 came the final catastrophe - the Great War.
Before that happened Mr. Ard resigned as assistant priest of St. John's.
Was he upset because he was not chosen to succeed Mr. Jenns, whose replacement
was imminent? We do not know. The honour went to the Rev. Frederick Austen
Pakenham Chadwick, a more experienced churchman with an impressive record of
parish-building. Ard returned to England.
Mr. Jenns spoke of him affectionately. Bishop Roper told the synod:
"It is a happy experience when, after 10 years of work together, an aged
rector can say of his younger assistant: "He has been like a son to
me."
The Chadwicks were a handsome couple with family connections that passed
muster with the sternest social critic. He was born in Guelph, Ontario, which
made him, when the time came, the first Canadian rector of St. John's. His line
reached back into English peerage.
She had been Creina Russell Henderson of Windsor, Ontario,
Page 46
her father a civil engineer who later became vice-president of the Canada Salt
Company. They met when Chadwick was rector of All Saints', Windsor. He had been
wed once before and brought two sons of that match to their marriage, which
took place a year before they came to St. John's. A boy and a girl were added to
the family.
Their positive virtues were soon tested in Victoria. When Chadwick gave
up St. Paul's, Vancouver, it was understood that after a trial period he would
take over from Mr. Jenns. The transition was slow. The old gentleman showed no
sign of giving up the rectory which meant the Chadwicks had to manage in rented
premises. During their first year in Victoria they moved four times.
Nor did Jenns absent himself from the church. He spent much time there,
shuffling along the aisles in his bedroom slippers, pausing now and then in
reverie. He still loved to preach although his voice was almost inaudible.
"He wanted to die in the church. That's why he kept on
preaching," Mrs. Chadwick said many years later.
Patience won the day. In December, 1914, Jenns formally retired and Mr.
Chadwick was appointed rector. The following month, January 22, 1915, Jenns
died. Rose and his other children were at his bedside.
After a proper interval the Chadwicks moved into the rectory. It was an
attractive house with its large, panelled downstairs rooms, its glassed-in
bookcases, its six rooms upstairs. The single bathroom was a drawback for a
family with four children, especially when visiting clergymen came to stay.
Necessity taught everyone the way to the church washrooms.
Mr. Chadwick flung himself into his work enthusiastically. He had strong
ideas of how a church should be run. He left his mark on every parish he had
from Port Arthur, Dunnville and Windsor in Ontario to St. Paul's in Vancouver.
In each one he left behind improvements, be it an extension to the church, a
new organ, a new rectory or parish hall.
He was shocked by Mr. Jenns' indifference to missions and quickly acted
to rectify it. He often told his congregation: "Christ's command is 'Ye
shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem (our own parish) and in all Judea (our
diocese) and unto the uttermost parts of the earth (our foreign
missions)."
An auxiliary for missions was set up, its fund-raising efforts including
fairs and teas in the gardens of parishioners or in the
Page 47
church grounds. He was an energetic gardener and improved the surroundings of
the church by putting in a lawn and a rockery.
Jenns in his later years had been unable to do much parish visiting,
though Mr. Ard tried to make up for that. There was a revolution when Chadwick
took over. Nearly every weekday he could be seen somewhere in the parish,
spinning along on his bicycle rain or shine. He averaged some 600 home calls a
year. He was also in great demand at funerals, there being three funeral
parlours close by St. John's. He was asked to officiate at so many - over 60 a
year - that it interfered with his holidays.
Chadwick had been educated at Trinity College in Toronto, the
training-ground of so many outstanding clerics. He was active in athletics
there - captain of the rugby, cricket and baseball teams and president of the
debating society.
Surprisingly he did not win high marks from his congregation as a
speaker. His preaching voice was not compelling. "It was scratchy,"
said one parishioner. "My brother used to say it was like a gramophone
that needed the needle changed."
It grew weaker as he was increasingly affected by diabetes which plagued
him for much of his ministry. He read most of his sermons. He favoured a low
church form of service so was spared from trying to sing any of the liturgy. He
was intensely devout, marking Good Friday with a three-hour service.
He showed a calm courage in difficult situations whether it was helping
to fight a house fire or standing up in public to speak his mind. He was active
in Rotary and at one supper meeting blanched to hear a member tell an
off-colour story.
Chadwick was on his feet in a flash. Such conduct was indefensible and
must never be repeated at a Rotary meeting, he declared. The Rotarians
applauded him.
"Well done," said his neighbour when he sat down. "That
was a brave thing to do."
"My knees were shaking," Chadwick confessed.
The church groups knew him well, for he was always turning up at their
meetings and stirring them to new endeavours. He was not noted for his sense of
humour but his friendly smile won people to his side. He liked young people and
encouraged them to participate in every aspect of church life.
How bitter to him were those 1914-18 war years which saw so many of them
leave Victoria, never to return. Two hundred and eighty men and women from St.
John's served overseas. Twenty-five lost their lives.
Page 48
Sixty-five years later Mrs. Chadwick shuddered when she thought of it.
"Those dreadful casualty lists," she said.
It was a time to test men's faith. Thoughtful churchmen wrestled with the
conflict between sturdy patriotism and their Christian teaching.
Bishop Augustine Scriven, who succeeded Bishop Roper in 1915, summed up
their dilemma at the 16th diocesan synod in February, 1916. He spoke of the war
in these terms:
"Of the ultimate result we are in no doubt, for it cannot be that
the cause for which our Empire and her allies are fighting shall fail. We stand
for Truth and Righteousness and Liberty; for the sacredness of treaties; for
the defence of weaker nations; against the spirit of militarism; against the
doctrine that right is might; against the overweening ambition of a nation
which seeks to impose by force its tyranny upon others.
"It is not then in the courage of our soldiers, though that has been
proved a thousand times to be worthy of the best traditions of our race; nor in
the strength of our navy, though we believe that navy to be, as it has ever
been, invincible; it is not in the arm of the flesh that we trust but in the
justice of our cause and in the defence of the Almighty.
"It is with the sincerest conviction that we are fighting on the
side of righteousness that we boldly claim the help of God against our enemies
and say: 'The Lord of Hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our refuge.'”
The bishop agreed that there were those on the other side who would be
praying for the same things. God would be the judge. Whatever He decided, the
nations should emerge strengthened morally and spiritually.
"Meanwhile it is our duty to pray for victory, to work for it and
fight for it, because we believe the things for which we are fighting are the
things that God would have prevail upon the earth. God is the arbiter of
battles .
"Good shall assuredly come out of evil and both we and they against
whom we are now fighting shall share alike in the blessings which will
eventually accrue. Only, let us prepare our hearts to learn and profit by the
lessons of war.
"God is calling us to a purer, an honester and a higher national
life which - since the nation is composed of individuals - means that God is
calling us all - men, women and children - to greater purity and honesty and to
higher ideals of life."
Page 49
Chapter Seven
Bishop Scriven did not live to see his pious hopes for the post-war world put
to the test. He died soon after his address to the synod, to be succeeded by
Bishop Charles de Veber Schofield. The new rector of St. John's, incidentally,
was immediately active in the affairs of the synod, sitting on several of its
committees.
Scriven's patriotic fervour found ready listeners within and outside the
churches of his diocese. Sometimes they reacted in a way he had not intended.
Antagonism toward the enemy easily became hatred of all things German.
Otherwise gentle people turned into zealots. There were violent incidents in
which property was damaged and men and women with German connections were
harassed. A forgiving heart won no merit marks where the Hun was concerned.
St. John's struggled through the war years despite a depleted
congregation. Practically all the male members of the choir enlisted. Those who
remained felt it was their sacred mission to preserve and enhance the church
for those who would one day come back from the wars. When they sang of
"soldiers of the Cross" they thought of allied troops fighting for
them in the dreadful conditions of the western front.
Sometimes the meagre attendance was augmented by church parades. There
were overflow congregations when local regiments or their reinforcements came
to St. John's on the eve of their departure from Victoria. When the khaki-clad
figures marched away the church seemed emptier than ever.
"A large number of our church members have enlisted in the service
of their king and country," the wardens reported in 1916. "This makes
it all the more incumbent upon those of us, who through various causes are
unable to go, to maintain to the very utmost of our ability the services of our
beloved church."
Church committee meetings ended with the singing of God Save the King.
The little jokes that once enlivened the sessions
Page 50
with laughter were seldom heard. Apart from the war news there was constant
anxiety over church finances. The Sunday School property on Herald Street had been
mortgaged to help with building expenses and it was difficult to meet the
interest payments. Eight thousand dollars was still owed on the organ. Taxes
were overdue and it took a superhuman effort on the part of the Ladies Guild to
raise $550 to clear them.
No one complained - least of all Mr. Chadwick, already locked in his
personal battle against diabetes. The rule of the day was to carry on, like
good soldiers. In these and subsequent years he had stalwart support from
laymen of the parish. It was not unusual for son to follow father on the church
committee.
The relief brought by Armistice Day on November 11, 1918, was tempered by
sorrow for those who would not return. They were remembered by a reredos
installed behind the altar below the tall east windows which portrayed major
events in the life of Jesus.
Returned soldiers carried out the work on the reredos in the Red Cross
workshop on Johnson Street. Gracefully arched panels of oak took shape under
their hands. It was unveiled and dedicated on April 18, 1920, at a morning
service attended by Lieutenant-Governor E.G. Prior, Premier John Oliver and
other dignitaries. The Rt. Rev. A. U. de Pencier, known as "the soldier
bishop of the Canadian church," preached the sermon. He spoke again at
evensong and at a special afternoon service for soldiers.
The congregation loosened its purse strings generously for the memorial.
The giving did not stop there. The war had frustrated Mr. Chadwick's talents as
a builder and fund-raiser. Now he could give them free rein.
His first ambition was to clear the church of debt and this he promptly
set about. By now he was well acquainted with his flock. Substantial gifts were
needed and he went to those who could make them. He was a persuasive talker, at
ease in the presence of moneyed people. D. R. Ker (commemorated in the south
side windows portraying the apostles Peter, James and John, called by St. Paul
"pillars of the church") is one of those mentioned as instrumental in
the liquidation of the Herald Street mortgage.
In 1920, Chadwick was able to announce that the church was free of debt
except for money still owed on the organ. That too was cleared away in 1923. In
June, 1924, St. John's was consecrated at morning service by Bishop Schofield.
In the evening a special "service of praise" was held. For a long
time thereafter similar
Page 51
evening services were held from time to time in remembrance of the
consecration.
There were other grave financial problems that were not solved so
readily. The Rectory Trust Fund, set aside in 1912 with high hopes that it
would ensure forever the rector's stipend, was not living up to expectations.
It had been invested mostly in mortgages which at the time seemed "safe as
houses." Interest rates fell and during the war some mortgagers defaulted
on their payments. The church committee pledged $50 a month out of church funds
to bridge the gap between trust fund revenue and the rector's salary.
These difficulties did not deflect Chadwick from a pet project. He wanted
to build a parish hall. It would provide better facilities for the Sunday
School and the church's numerous social groups. The 1924 annual general meeting
heard reports from the Ladies Guild, the Boys Corinthian Club, the Anglican
Young People's Association, the Men's Society, the Women's Auxiliary, the St.
John's Athletic Association, the bowling club and the Girls Beacon Club.
Television was unknown. Radio was a noise on the distant horizon.
Religious observances aside, St. John's was a place where many people went
during the week for fun and companionship.
It took time to get the ball rolling. People grumbled about demands on
their purses, especially now that the cathedral was soliciting funds for a new
building. Chadwick pressed on. In 1929 additional land was bought on the east
of the church property. Maj. Spurgin, designer of Oak Bay High School, was
invited to draw up plans for a parish hall.
He envisaged an auditorium with a gallery that would seat 500 and would
be equipped with folding partitions to create separate classrooms, a luxury the
Sunday School never enjoyed. Manipulation of the partitions would also make
possible a Guild room, a kitchen, a stage with dressing-rooms, a young people's
classroom, a chapel, a gymnasium and a men's club room.
Alas for Mr. Chadwick's hopes. They shrivelled before the chill economic
winds which now began to circle the globe. He was lucky, perhaps, that before
the year was out the church committee decided to install a new oil-burning
furnace in the rectory, which everyone agreed was disagreeably draughty.
The parish hall project was shelved with $1,683 left in the fund. Just as
the Great War checked Mr. Chadwick's expansionary dreams, so did the Great
Depression. It brought a new kind of casualty: the unemployed who were
Page 52
not hailed as heroes but as rather frightening spectres of a crumbling social
fabric. Their tragedy touched churches throughout Canada. Conscience demanded
that the unfortunates be helped. Falling revenues dictated that such help would
be minuscule. The seeds of church involvement in social and economic problems
were sown in those years known as the Dirty Thirties.
The story was the same across the country. Church attendance fell off
because people were too poor to put anything on the plate; too poor, some of
them, to dress in what they considered a respectable manner. These were years
when children were kept home from school because they lacked shoes.
Churches could not meet their apportionments. Mr. Chadwick noted a marked
decline in the number of weddings. Every day desperate men came knocking at the
rector's door in search of alms. Some were suspected of spending money on drink
so all were given food tickets redeemable at the local soup kitchen. Morning
often disclosed ragged figures huddled in the church garden where they had
crept for overnight shelter.
St. John's counted every penny twice. Emergency expenditures were
especially painful, as in 1932 when the copper sheeting fell off the steeple
during a storm and had to be replaced. Economies were sought everywhere. The
wages of the organist and janitor were reduced. Mr. Chadwick volunteered to
surrender $10 of the $50 the church provided each month to make up his salary.
If the chronicle of St. John's at this point seems joyless, it was not.
Hard times bring people together. There were many examples of unselfish
sharing, many laughs over the stage props and costumes improvised out of
unlikely materials for amateur theatricals. Church groups still had their
annual picnics. The Anglican Young People's Association had its dances, its
hikes, its Pancake breakfasts.
There was excitement too. One Sunday while Mr. Chadwick was reading the
lesson there was a commotion at the back of the church. A naked male figure (he
had disrobed in the vestibule built at the Quadra Street entrance to reduce
draughts) came streaking down the aisle, shouting "Christ is risen!"
Mr. Chadwick went on reading as if nothing unusual were happening. Two
sidesmen darted into the vestry and reappeared with white choir robes which
they wrapped around the distraught intruder before bundling him out of the
church.
Mrs. Chadwick never forgot the pleasant contacts she had with
parishioners especially when they invited her into their sum-
Page 53
mer gardens. She loved flowers and openly begged them for church decorations.
Sometimes the response took her aback. On one occasion she admired her host's
flowering cherry and asked for a few branches for the next Sunday's
decorations.
He stared at her horrified. "Madam," he said, "I would
rather cut off one of my arms than cut a branch off that tree."
Sometimes it was Mrs. Chadwick's turn to surprise the parishioners. She
tried to persuade one gentleman to join the choir, in which his wife already
sang. No, he said, he had served on committees and in other capacities for 16
years and so had done his Bit for the church.
Mrs. Chadwick retorted: "Sixteen years, yes, a long time. I wonder
how long eternity is going to last."
She had been trained as a Sunday School teacher and social worker before
she married Chadwick and threw herself enthusiastically into all church
activities. Now the care of her ailing husband absorbed her increasingly and
limited her participation.
She had always been fascinated by medicine - had, in fact, wanted to be a
doctor - so she did not flinch from the snacks, medications and injections
which he required. She fought like a tigress to obtain insulin for her husband
after reading in a popular magazine of its discovery. She pursued every
treatment that might ease his condition.
Chadwick was a good patient. "He was easy-going and didn't let it
worry him," Mrs. Chadwick recalled when I interviewed her. At 94 her laugh
was as bubbly as a girl's. "He did what I told him."
As his illness grew worse there was a drift away from St. John's. The
cathedral offered a counter-attraction in Dean Cecil Quainton, a powerful
preacher. Those who worked most closely with Mr. Chadwick refused to hold him
responsible for the decline. Stanley Hawkins, a cheerful power-house who kept many
of St. John's activities alive through those difficult days, blamed it on the
Depression.
Chadwick's friends fretted over his condition and tried to make life
easier for him. Within the limited means available there were efforts to
provide him with an assistant. None was successful. One called for St. John's
to make a contribution to the stipend of the rector of St. Saviour's in
Victoria West, who would also act as Chadwick's assistant. The arrangement did
not last long. It would have been worse without the Rev. Montague Bruce who for
years helped out at services, refusing any remuneration.
By 1936, Canon Chadwick as he now was had to recognize the
Page 54
limitations imposed by his ill health. He told the church committee that if
only a curate could be found he would forgo $400 a year from his own salary. By
year's end the Rev. G. R. B. Bolster had joined St. John's as an assistant.
The previous year - 1935 - saw St. John's celebrate its 75th anniversary.
There was no sign of weakness in the messages that Canon Chadwick delivered in
a special leaflet prepared for the occasion. His devotion to his church and to
the mission field shone through them.
He dissected St. John's fixed commitments to the diocese which included a
synod assessment of $135 a year, a sum of $720 a year to the Diocesan Mission
Fund and $200 to the Missionary Society of the Canadian Church (MSCC).
The Diocesan Mission Fund, he explained, was to help outlying parishes on
Vancouver Island where populations were too sparse to yield the incumbents'
stipends of $1,200 a year.
The MSCC had a wider task. It maintained mission work among the Indians
and Eskimos, and helped struggling missions on the prairies, Oriental missions
in British Columbia, missions to the Jews in large cities of the East, and the
Columbia Coast and other missions in B.C.
In the foreign field the MSCC was fully responsible for the diocese of
mid-Japan which had a bishop and staff of 26 workers, plus 18 Japanese clergy
and five celebrants. In China it supported the entire work of the diocese of
Honan where the British had recently withdrawn, leaving nine Chinese clergy
"holding the fort."
In India the Canadian church supported 16 missionary workers in the
diocese of Kangra. It had representatives in Palestine, Chile and Korea.
"When we consider that the whole Canadian church contributes
annually the splendid sum of $350,000 for all this work, surely we will
cheerfully assume our small share of $200 and consider it the irreducible
minimum," he said.
Another section of the leaflet dealt with "duplex" envelopes
which had been introduced some years before but were slow in catching on. The
envelopes were divided into two sections, one for the parish, the other for
missions, "reminding us of our duty to support the church at home and
abroad." They were supposed to land on the collection plate each Sunday.
"The two parts also remind us of the TWO SERVICES (at least) each
Sunday," he said. "Give the one half at the morning service, the
other at evening service."
Page 55
He stressed the need for regular giving.
"The burden of the support of the church rests upon a few devoted
attendants, which burden often becomes too heavy for those few to bear, and the
work suffers.
"Usually those who attend but occasionally give but occasionally. It
is a sad fact that but a few realize the responsibility for giving as the Lord
has prospered them. The Scriptures teach that systematic and proportionate
giving is the only proper giving."
He found space to revert to his old love: the need for a parish hall. The
fund now stood at $3,400. It took a little while to blow the spark into flames
but by early 1939 the people of St. John's once more seemed ready to support
the project.
There were signs that Canada was emerging from the worst of the
Depression. Few associated the improvement with preparations for an approaching
world war. "Peace in our time" statements calmed anxiety about the
situation in Europe; Japan's aggression in China was a distant altercation
between yellow men.
Once more the parish hall appeared on the agenda of church committee
meetings. Estimates were obtained. They ranged from $5,650 to $10,000. Would
the project finally get off the ground? The answer was No. By June the slide
toward war was unmistakable. Once more the parish hall was set aside until
times were more "propitious."
Mr. Chadwick's days of activity were nearing an end. He knew it, his wife
knew it, the congregation knew it. He was subject increasingly to diabetic
comas. The main obstacle to an early departure was his pension but at last that
too was cleared.
In January, 1940, Canon Chadwick announced he was leaving St. John's, the
church he had served so bravely for 26 years. He died in 1952, aged 79.
Selection of a successor provoked some friction between the church
committee and the Rt. Rev Harold Sexton who had succeeded Charles Schofield as
bishop of British Columbia. Strong-willed, outspoken, the Australian-born
bishop liked to get his own way.
He had his own ideas about who should be the next rector. His candidate
preached at St. John's without stirring up much enthusiasm. The church
committee was homing in on its own candidate. Once they found him they pressed
stubbornly for his appointment.
By this time radio had invaded nearly every home in North America as a
source of entertainment and information. Religious
Page 56
programs were popular. In southern British Columbia there was a wide audience
for a Sunday evening broadcast from a Vancouver station. Called At Eventide it
followed a simple pattern: some sacred music, a few prayers, a few words of
comfort and exhortation from an unidentified preacher.
The program had its listeners in Victoria. More were added when the
vacancy loomed at St. John's. It was easy to discover the identity of the
speaker. He was invited to preach at St. John's. He was an instant success.
The church committee passed a resolution asking for his appointment and
sent their representatives to present it in person to Bishop Sexton. The bishop
was not pleased by this turn of events and hemmed and hawed. The
representatives stood firm. They would not leave the bishop's office until he
telephoned the invitation to Vancouver.
Sexton yielded reluctantly. "But mind, you'll have to pay for the
'phone call," he growled as he reached for the instrument.
That was how the Rev. George Biddle was asked to become rector of St.
John's, a post he occupied for the next 25 years.
DESCRIPTION DU LIEU PATRIMONIAL
The Ernest G. Henderson House, situated at 803 Victoria
Avenue, is a two-and-a-half-storey residence constructed in the Arts and
Crafts, Tudor Revival architectural style. It is located on the west side of Victoria
Avenue, between Elliot and Erie streets in downtown Windsor.
It is recognized for its heritage value by the City of Windsor By-law 6961.
VALEUR PATRIMONIALE
Victoria Avenue was intended to be a gracious, residential
street. The Windsor Land and Building Company placed conditions on buyers of
building lots, which stipulated a minimum setback of twenty feet, a house value
of at least $3000.00, and an assurance that any business carried on would not
be deemed a nuisance. As a result, the earliest houses (built between 1890 and
the Stock Market “Crash” of 1929), show diversity of design, quality of
material, and fine workmanship. They were the valued residences of some of the
community's most influential and respected families during the middle period in
Windsor's development. Victoria Avenue, from Wyandotte Street East to Erie
Street, is a designated “heritage area” in Windsor's Official Plan. The Ernest
G. Henderson House located within the heart of this area.
The Ernest G. Henderson House speaks to the prosperity of those who resided on
Victoria Avenue in the early part of the twentieth century. It is associated
with prominent Windsor citizen Ernest G. Henderson. Mr. Henderson was born in
Holywood, County Down, Ireland, in 1858. He worked as a civil engineer for the
Belfast and County Down Railway and later the Great North Railroad of Ireland.
In 1883 Mr. Henderson moved to Canada where he began working for the Canadian
Pacific Railroad. In 1888 he was appointed to the position of Assistant
Engineer. Mr. Henderson moved to Windsor when the opportunity to supervise the
construction of the Windsor Salt Works came about; he eventually rose to the
position of president. Mr. Henderson was also very involved in the community.
He was President of the Windsor Board of Trade, a member of the School Board,
and he held various offices in the Provincial and General Synods of the
Anglican Church. During his presidency at Windsor Salt Works, Mr. Henderson had
this stately home built for him and his wife Agnes Quinn, also from Ireland. He
had four children; however, both of his sons died while on duty during WWI. The
Henderson's remained in the home until Mr. Henderson died in 1920 at the age of
62. The house was purchased by Dr. C. L. Fuller, a local surgeon, in the 1940s.
He converted the house into a five-unit apartment building and this use
continues to today.
The Ernest G. Henderson house constructed between 1899 and 1900, is an
excellent example of an Arts and Crafts, Tudor Revival style residence. The
house exhibits fine workmanship, proportion and detail in its windows, carved
vergeboards, and massing of forms. It is built of English Bond Brick, and
features half-timbered, carved verge boards. It also features detailed
brickwork on the front porch, which itself is secured by square wooden columns.
Sources: City of Windsor By-law 6961.
ÉLÉMENTS CARACTÉRISTIQUES
Character defining elements that express the heritage value
include its:
- two-and-a-half-storey massing
- use of English Bond brick with stucco and half-timbering (on the upper level)
- bevelled leaded glass windows
- frosted glass window with 40 small panes on the north side of house
- large brick chimney
- covered porch with paired square wooden columns and small gable over the
steps and topped by a decorative verge board and finial
- wooden front door flanked by sidelights and original bronze screen
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Kathleen Henderson House, built in 1922, is located on
the east side of Victoria Avenue at Grove Street, north of Giles Boulevard. It
is a two-storey Colonial/Georgian Revival style home with a low hip roof, and
boasts both a stucco and red brick exterior.
It is recognized for its heritage value by the City of
Windsor By-law 340-2000.
HERITAGE VALUE
From the onset, Victoria Avenue was intended to be a
gracious, residential street. The Windsor Land and Building Company placed
conditions on buyers of building lots, which stipulated a minimum setback of
twenty feet, a house value of at least $3000.00, and an assurance that any
business carried on would not be deemed a nuisance. As a result, the earliest
houses (built between 1890 and the Stock Market Crash of 1929), show diversity
of design, quality of material, and fine workmanship. They were the valued
residences of some of the community's most influential and respected families
during the middle period in Windsor's evolution. Victoria Avenue, from
Wyandotte St. E. to Erie St., is a designated heritage conservation area in
Windsor's Official Plan. Located within this area, the Kathleen Henderson House
is a fine example of the quality homes that were built on Victoria Avenue in
the early part of the twentieth century.
The Kathleen Henderson House is a fine example of the quality housing that
developed on Victoria Avenue during the early part of the twentieth century. It
is associated with the E. G. Henderson family. The house was built by Agnes
Henderson for her and her daughter Kathleen shortly after the death of her
husband, Ernest G. Henderson, in 1922. E. G. Henderson was the President and General
Manager of the Canadian Salt Co. Ltd. in Windsor, and was a prominent local
citizen. Shortly after Agnes and Kathleen moved into the home in 1922, Agnes
passed away and Kathleen took possession of the home. Kathleen continued to
live in the home for 55 years.
The Kathleen Henderson House is a well-preserved, two-storey, symmetrical,
Colonial and Georgian Revival style home. Its symmetrical front facade features
a stucco exterior on the second storey. However, on the ground floor, red brick
in stretcher bond, with a soldier course at the base and a bond course at the
top, was used on the exterior. The most distinctive architectural element of
the home is the central entrance which boasts a columned semi-circular
bracketed hood and five-paned side lights.
Sources: Building Analysis Form, March 13, 2000; Designation Report, February
8, 2000; City of Windsor By-law 340-2000, October 30, 2000.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the
Kathleen Henderson House include its:
- two-storey building mass
- well-preserved Colonial and Georgian Revival style
- symmetrical facade, including its window and door arrangement
- red brick and stucco exterior
- central entrance with columned semi-circular bracketed hood and five-paned
side lights
- double-hung, six over one windows with shutters
- wood side porch with bracketed overhang and balustrade
- location within a recognized heritage conservation district
- siting on the large lot
The Transformation of an Establishment Firm:
From Beatty Blackstock to Faskens
1902-1915
by
C. Ian Kyer[3]
The “Remarkable Entertainment”
On March 13th, 1913 Edward Marion Chadwick, a 73 year old
conveyancing lawyer, wrote to a relative in Ireland about a "remarkable
entertainment" that had recently been held at his house to celebrate the
fiftieth anniversary of the Beatty Blackstock firm. He noted that had William
Henry Beatty lived just three months longer, he and Chadwick would have been
partners in the firm for fifty years, something that Chadwick believed was
"without parallel in this province".[4]
Chadwick explained:
The fiftieth anniversary was celebrated by the gathering at my house of
all of the members of the firm and their wives, and the students, numbering all
together about 30, to which we added ourselves and immediate relations to the
number of about 20. At the same time the firm entertained the women clerks of
the office at McConkey's which you may remember as a swell downtown
establishment,[5]
where they sat down 18. All of which was quite an expansion from the original
two partners and one clerk.
Although this “remarkable entertainment” was a celebration of fifty years
of practice, it could not have been lost on some of the attendees that it was
also a wake, marking the passing of one of the great law firms of its time.
Chadwick and others noticed that the only former partner of Beatty Blackstock
who attended was Mr. Justice William Renwick Riddell. This was not surprising
to some. They knew that the Beatty Blackstock firm that Chadwick had help found
fifty years before was in the process of being completely transformed by two
dynamic, entrepreneurial lawyers from Elora – David and Alex Fasken. They also
knew that the Fasken transformation of the firm was not without its casualties
and tensions.
It is difficult for us to appreciate the significance of this event. Few
people today would even recognize the Beatty Blackstock name. There would have
been no such problem in 1913. On W.H. Beatty’s death, just months before the
Chadwick party, Beatty Blackstock had been said to have done “more business
than any [law firm] in all Canada”.[6]
Later it would be referred to as "Canada's largest law business"[7] and "the famous Beatty
Blackstock firm".[8]
In looking at the history of any firm, one must look at the key
individuals in the firm that give it its character. A partnership, unlike a
corporation, is not a legal entity with separate legal existence from its
partners. As anyone who has worked in a law partnership knows this is not a
legal fiction. While a law partnership may look to the outside like a single
entity with a common name, office, and perhaps even a distinct character and
philosophy, in many respects the firm is a collection of individuals, each with
his or her own practice. Each practice to a greater or lesser degree overlaps
and compliments the practices of others in the firm. The firm is effectively
the aggregation of these individuals and it draws its character from these
individuals and particularly from certain dominant partners – in this case
William Henry Beatty and David Fasken.
Under W. H. Beatty, the firm was extremely large for its day, having 15
lawyers in 1902. It was in many ways, however, a close knit group. Most of
its members shared a common place in the society of late 19th Century Toronto.
They were principally members of the congregation of St. James Anglican
Cathedral. Politically they were Conservatives. Most were from prominent
Toronto families. It was, in short, an establishment firm. Beatty himself was
a pew holder at St. James, a personal friend of Sir John A. Macdonald, the
son-in-law of the late James Gooderham Worts and the confidant and chief adviser
of George Gooderham.
Under Beatty, the firm was in many respects the Gooderham family firm,
serving the legal needs of the Gooderham & Worts businesses and providing
employment for the sons and sons-in-law of George Gooderham and their
relatives.[9]
The Gooderham and the Worts families invested the profits they made from their
very lucrative distillery business in financial institutions like the Bank of
Toronto, Manufacturers Life Insurance and Canada Permanent Mortgage. The
Beatty Blackstock firm, which acted for these “family businesses”, became
pre-eminent among those law firms serving the needs of Canada’s burgeoning
financial sector.[10]
In the thirteen years from 1902 to 1915, the firm took a sharp turn away
from these roots in the Toronto establishment to take on a decidedly different
character. David Fasken and his brother Alex placed more emphasis on legal
skills than family connections, at least beyond their own strong family bond.
The Fasken brothers recruited skilled and experienced lawyers from outside
Toronto for their firm.[11]
Unlike Beatty, the Faskens were “self made” men, Methodists and Liberals, who
made immense personal fortunes in insurance and in Ontario’s newly developed
mining enterprises and who used the law firm to serve the needs of the
companies that they themselves directed.
To some extent the changes in the firm reflected changes in the Ontario
economy as Ontario opened its northern lands and as dynamic, hard working
Methodists like Timothy Eaton and Joseph Flavelle came to the fore in Canadian
business.[12]
But David and Alex Fasken’s transformation of the Beatty Blackstock was so
complete as to be almost unique. They gave the firm a new name and a new
office. They brought in new members from outside Toronto who tended, like
themselves, to be Methodists and Liberals. Although they retained key Beatty
Blackstock clients, like the Bank of Toronto and Toronto General Trusts, they
acquired many new clients and a new area of expertise.
While much changed, there were some striking similarities between the two
firms, principally in their approach to law and business. Both were dominated
by a strong managing partner who used the law and the law firm as a stepping
stone into business. In many ways each was a businessman as much as or even
more than he was a business lawyer. Each shaped the firm that he managed in
his own image to service his own business interests.
The Early Years
The Beatty Blackstock firm, although the largest law firm in the
country[13]
and one of the largest in North America[14]
in 1902, seemingly arose from humble circumstances. As Chadwick recalled in
1913:
We commenced to practise in one room about half furnished, and when we
got along so well so that we were able to have a student we considered we were
doing very well, and when we got on so as to be able to take another room and a
few more chairs we thought our success was assured.[15]
Chadwick’s characterization, however, is somewhat disceiving. The fact is that
the firm’s success was, if not assured from the beginning, certainly enhanced
because of the background of the two partners. Both men were from well-to-do
Irish families. Beatty’s father, James, had settled in York (as Toronto was
then known) in 1830 where he was a prominent merchant, operating the British
Woollen and Cotton Warehouse, and a Colonel in the militia.[16] The Beatty family lived
in a two story brick house at 29 William Street,[17] just south of the
substantial property owned by the Honourable William Pearce Howland, a
prosperous grain merchant, member of the Legislative Assembly and a future
“Father of Confederation”.[18]
Farther up the street was the home of Mr Justice John Hagarty, a Supreme Court
Judge.[19]
Chadwick’s family had formed part of the Irish landed gentry.[20] John Craven Chadwick,
Edward Marion's father, had come to Canada in about 1837, settling at Ancaster
in Wentworth County, where Edward Marion, his third son, was born in 1840.
When Edward Marion was 11 years old, his family moved to Guelph, where his
father served as Justice of the Peace and was very active in the Anglican
church, serving on the Diocesan Synod of Toronto and the Corporation of Trinity
College. The Chadwick family were large land holders and very prominent in the
Guelph area.[21]
Edward Marion’s uncle was a member of the Guelph Board of Trade and would serve
as Mayor of Guelph. Edward Marion's younger brother, Austin Cooper Chadwick,
also went into law, being called to the Bar in 1864. Austin was later made a
County Court Judge for Wellington County in 1873, serving in that capacity
until he retired in 1914.
At the time that Beatty and Chadwick studied law, legal education was
primarily a matter of apprenticeship to an established practitioner. The
period of articles was three years to be admitted as a solicitor (or attorney
as they were then called) and a further one year to be called as a barrister.
As the introduction to the 1862 Law List stated, “the professions of Barrister
and Attorney may be and usually are followed together.” Students could enter
legal studies at age 16. Chadwick could not have been much older than this
minimum age when he began his studies. Beatty articled with John Leys, a
barrister and solicitor who had his office on Church Street in the City
Building, just south of King Street and within a very short walk of St. James
Cathedral.[22]
We do not know where Chadwick articled. The hours spent in a law office likely
involved assisting in drafting or engrossing legal documents (i.e., writing
documents out in long hand), serving and filing materials, doing legal research
and searching land titles. This on the job training was supplemented by
readings that students were expected to do on their own as well as, to some
extent, by lectures given at Osgoode Hall, the seat of the Law Society of Upper
Canada. In 1858 the Law Society had appointed two permanent lecturers, S.H.
Strong for equity and J.T. Anderson in law,[23]
and it can be assumed that Beatty and Chadwick each attended these lectures.
It was likely these lectures that brought Chadwick to Toronto. In 1862, just
before Beatty's graduation the school was expanded further but it is doubtful
that either Beatty or Chadwick benefitted from this.
The Gooderham & Worts Connection
In mid-February 1863, Beatty, who had been admitted as a solicitor on
February 5, entered into partnership with Chadwick, who had been admitted
almost a year earlier on May 20, 1862.[24]
From the very beginning the firm was linked to the milling and distillery
partnership of Gooderham & Worts.[25]
Beatty and Chadwick’s first office in The Toronto Exchange building,[26] was between two Gooderham
& Worts offices. Beatty was then likely already engaged to marry the
daughter of James Gooderham Worts.
In a firm where family relations played a prominent role, it is not
surprising that marriages helped cement business relationships for both
partners. In 1864 Chadwick married Beatty's sister, Ellen Byrne.[27] Regrettably in February
of the following year Ellen, only 21 years old, died in child birth.[28] In April, 1865 at a time
when the newspapers were full of the news of President Lincoln’s recent
assassination in Washington, Beatty married Charlotte Louisa Worts at Little
Trinity Church.[29]
The newly-weds made their home at 290 King Street East,[30] not far from the family
homes of William Gooderham and James Gooderham Worts on Front Street.
Chadwick's short-lived marriage to his partner's sister helped bring the
two partners together, but the success of the firm was intimately connected
with Beatty's marriage. His father-in-law, James Gooderham Worts, was not only
one of the two partners in the Gooderham & Worts distillery and milling
business but he was also an important figure in a number of other businesses.
James Gooderham Worts had left England in 1831 at the age of 13.
Accompanying his father, James Worts, he had come to York to establish a
milling business and to make the way easier for other members of his family and
the Gooderhams, to whom James was related by marriage, who were to come shortly
with William Gooderham, James’ brother-in-law. The father and son began to
construct a windmill at the mouth of the Don River, to the southeast of the
town. The next year William Gooderham arrived with 54 people including members
of both families as well as servants and 11 children whose parents had died on
the journey. William also brought the combined family fortune, £3,000, to
invest in the business. The two brothers-in-law went into partnership as Worts
and Gooderham, carrying on a flour milling business.
Unfortunately, James Gooderham Worts found himself an orphan in 1834
when, following his mother’s death in childbirth, his father committed suicide
by throwing himself down the family well. William Gooderham assumed control of
the milling operation and began to groom his nephew for a role in the family
business, which in 1837 was expanded to include a distillery to use surplus
grain. The family also operated a cattle business to use by-products of the
distillery. In 1845, William Gooderham made his nephew James a full partner
and renamed the partnership Gooderham & Worts.
The business proved extremely successful. While William dedicated his
energies to the milling and distillery operations, James came to play a
prominent role in a number of businesses into which the families invested their
profits, including the Bank of Toronto and the Canada Permanent Building and
Savings Society.[31]
The families lived on a large estate on Front Street just north of the
distillery and just south of Little Trinity Church. They were devout members
of the Anglican congregation of Little Trinity. Both William Gooderham and
James Gooderham Worts served as wardens of the church for over thirty years.
In his history of Little Trinity, Alan Hayes states that in this period,
"the parish functioned rather like a proprietary chapel, with Gooderham,
his nephew and partner James Gooderham Worts, and some other captains of
industry and commerce of St. Lawrence ward as the benevolent proprietors".[32] In 1850 the Gooderham and
Worts families had a gallery of the church constructed and reserved for their
use.[33]
This then was the family, or more properly, families that Beatty married
into, because although Beatty married a Worts he became a member of the
Gooderham extended family as well. There were few families in the Toronto of
1865 that could offer a young lawyer so much and there were few families that
were so close-knit.
It is important to note how much the fortunes of the two families were
directed by William Gooderham initially and then later by his son George. Each
of these individuals, in turn, played the role of “pater familias”, directing
the investments of the family firm and its many enterprises. Through trusts,
they owned most of the homes of the various family members. James Gooderham
Worts acted as the right hand man of William Gooderham, his uncle. His
son-in-law William Beatty would later assume the same role with George
Gooderham.
Although the early success of the Beatty & Chadwick firm was at least
partly attributable to Beatty's connections with the Gooderham and the Worts
families, Beatty and his law firm had to earn the families' business. This
was a pattern that one notes in the Gooderham family. The young men were given
small roles in the businesses initially and expected to work their way to the
top. Thus, even though Beatty's father-in-law was on the Board of Directors of
the Bank of Toronto and was its Vice-President and second largest shareholder,[34] it was not until 1877 that
the firm became the Bank's solicitors.[35]
The role that Beatty and his firm were coming to play as company lawyers
reflects one of the cardinal principals of William Gooderham and his son George
in running the Gooderham and Worts businesses of the day – work was to be kept
in the family or given to relatives of family members to the extent possible.[36] These families, in fact,
played a key role in all aspects of Beatty’s life. In 1875 Beatty’s
father-in-law, James Gooderham Worts and his nephew, George Gooderham, helped
Beatty build a large brick and stone home on Queen’s Park Crescent.[37] At about the same time
Joseph Walker Beatty, William’s younger brother, is found working as the
accountant for Gooderham & Worts.[38]
The relationship between the firm and the bank was cemented when, in 1879
Beatty moved his firm into the Bank of Toronto building at the north-west
corner of Church and Wellington Street.[39]
This location was across from the site on which the Gooderham building would be
built a decade later. The Bank of Toronto building, which had been built by
the Bank in 1863, was an "impressive home rivalled by few of the other
banks that crowded Toronto. Three storeys high, 64 feet wide on the Wellington
Street facade and 100 feet on the Church Street facade, it was impressive in
the streetscape for its sheer bulk alone. It was designed in the Italian
Renaissance style, faced with Ohio sandstone".[40]
The firm’s link with the Bank was solidified in 1881 when, on William
Gooderham's death, Beatty's father-in-law became the Bank's President and
Beatty its Vice-President.[41]
Then in June 1882, Worts died. In a very unusual provision, Worts directed in
his will that Beatty be elected to succeed him on the Bank's board of
directors.[42]
This, of course, would not have been binding on the shareholders of the Bank
but it did happen and it does indicate the influence that Worts had and his
sense of proprietorship over the Bank.
In addition to assuming Worts’ seat on the board, Beatty became one of
the executors of his father-in-law's estate and as such for many years directed
the estate's many investments and business interests.[43] This position gave him
significant influence and the ability to direct much legal work to his firm.
It also brought him into direct and bitter confrontation with members of the
Worts family. Prior to his father-in-law’s death, Beatty and his firm helped
James Gooderham Worts establish a trust for his children.[44] The trust empowered the
trustees, including Beatty, to continue for a year any business in which Worts
had been engaged and to then invest the bulk of the estate in such securities
as they thought fit and proper. On August 1, 1882, just a few months after
Worts death, Beatty’s firm assisted George Gooderham to incorporate a company
known as Gooderham & Worts, Limited. Beatty and the other trustees
invested much of the trust funds in the shares of this company. The trustees
and George Gooderham entered into a shareholders agreement that stipulated that
up to one third of the profits of the company were to be retained by the
company in a reserve fund and not paid to the shareholders as dividends.
Although the investment paid large annual dividends despite this provision and
was sold to George Gooderham in 1889 at a substantial profit, the beneficiaries
of the trust brought a series of legal actions against Beatty. Chancellor Boyd
of the Ontario court would later find that Beatty and the other trustees had
“technically” breached the terms of the trust, but that no significant harm had
been suffered.[45]
Beatty’s relations with the Worts family became very strained. In 1882
shortly after his father’s death, James Gooderham Worts Jr. also died. Beatty
and the widow, Mary Worts, were appointed co-executors of the estate. In 1887,
Mary signed over her rights to Beatty. Then for whatever reason there was a
falling out. Beatty refused to pay her the annuity due her under her husband’s
will and he had her evicted from the home on College Avenue that he rented to
her. She brought a legal action, charging him with having procured her
agreement in 1887 with fraud and misrepresentation and with having converted
the large estate of her husband to his own purposes. The case was settled but
the rift between Beatty and the Worts family persisted.[46] The rift seems to have
been due at least in part to the fact that Beatty developed a very close
relationship with George Gooderham. The Worts family was of the view that
Beatty was favouring Gooderham's interests over their own. There can be no
doubt that Beatty became Mr. Gooderham’s principal business and legal adviser
and that Beatty used his position to direct much legal work to his firm.
The Beatty Blackstock Lawyers in 1902
By 1902, Beatty’s firm[47]
had grown to 15 lawyers, making it the largest in the country.[48] Beatty was the glue that
held the firm together. He had gathered lawyers for the firm through the
Gooderham family connection and especially his special relationship with George
Gooderham, as well as through wise recruiting. It is very instructive to
profile the fifteen men[49]
who made up the firm.
For its day Beatty Blackstock was an exceptionally large and in many
respects very talented group. What is striking is that family connections
played such a key role in the make-up of the firm. There was Beatty, his son
and his son-in-law. There were two Blackstock brothers and the two Fasken
brothers. Of the fifteen lawyers, two were sons-in-law of the firm's principal
client, George Gooderham, and one was Gooderham’s son (In 1899 another
son-in-law, W. H. Brouse, had left the firm). Almost all were Anglicans and
Conservatives and members of prominent Toronto families.
The fact that Anglicans played a key role in the firm was not unusual for
Toronto firms at the end of the last century and the beginning of the Twentieth
Century. There can be no more dramatic proof of the dominant role of Anglicans
in the law, than to walk through St. James Cathedral and read the many plaques
to the leaders of Toronto’s legal community or to stroll through St. James Cemetery
where one finds the remains of many, many "name partners" in the
large Toronto firms, like the Blakes, the Oslers, the Beattys and many more.
But it is worthy of note that both Beatty and Chadwick were heavily involved in
the affairs of the Anglican Church in Toronto[50]
and that their firm had a professional involvement in church matters.
Since 1884 Beatty, Chadwick and their firm had been key players in a
significant, albeit much troubled, project of the Church – the building of St.
Albans Cathedral, a magnificent new Anglican Cathedral being constructed just
north of the then city boundaries in the area which came to be known as the
Annex. William Howland, who owned the land, sold it to a syndicate headed by
both Beatty and William Howland's son, Oliver, each then managing partner of a
different law firm.[51]
St. Albans Cathedral was to be the centre piece of the development to be known
as Cathedral Park. When the project later failed, Chadwick, who did the real
estate and conveyancing work for the syndicate while serving on the building
committee for the new cathedral, would be much criticized.[52]
Let us profile some of the key members of the firm in 1902 and in doing
so take special note of the factors that linked them together as a firm – their
religion, their social standing, their politics and in many cases their ties to
the Gooderham family.
The Beatty’s: Father, Son and Son-in-law
William Beatty was the managing partner, overseeing the many details of
the firm’s operation. He practised as a business lawyer, helping his clients
establish and manage their businesses. He oversaw incorporations, help raise
and invest funds and negotiated on their behalf. But Beatty was more than a
business lawyer. He was also a businessman. As the Bank of Toronto Board
noted, "His wide experience in commercial affairs and his far-sighted and
well balanced judgement made his counsels of the highest value and his deep
sense of responsibilities...made him most scrupulous in the discharge of [his]
duties".[53]
By 1902, Beatty was one of the most prominent members of the developing
Canadian financial community. He served as a director of Gooderham &
Worts, Limited, as Vice-President of London and Ontario Investment Company, the
Toronto General Trusts Corporation (Canada's first trust company), the Bank of
Toronto and the Canada Permanent Mortgage Corporation. He was also President
of the Confederation Life Association[54]
as well as the Toronto Silver Plate Company, a company in which he and several
of the Gooderhams had a substantial shareholding.[55] He was active in the
Toronto Board of Trade, acting as their legal counsel. He also co-authored
with Wallace Nesbitt[56]
a set of arbitration rules for the board and had represented the Board in 1896
at the Congress of the Chambers of Commerce of the Empire in London, England.[57] He also served as
President of the Old Boys Association and as a trustee of Upper Canada College.[58]
Beatty did what he could to direct the legal work from these various
enterprises to his law firm. There were instances, however, when he did not do
so. Beatty was one of the original “promoters” of Confederation Life in 1871.[59] He served on its board of
directors until shortly before his death. He was a member of its Insurance
Committee.[60]
He became its Vice President in 1893 and its President in 1902. Yet
notwithstanding this close connection, Beatty’s firm never seems to have
provided legal work to Confederation Life. This was done by James Beatty,
Q.C., who was not related. It may have been thought to have been inappropriate
to have the firm represent Confederation Life because they acted for
Manufacturers Life, a Gooderham company.
Ironically, it seems to have been the Gooderham family that got Beatty
involved in Confederation Life.[61]
One of the other promoters was William Gooderham junior, the eldest son of
William Gooderham, the uncle and partner of Beatty’s father-in-law. William
junior lacked the business acumen of his father[62] and Beatty was likely
asked to assist young William in representing the family interest in
Confederation Life. Beatty did, however, invest some of his own money in the
enterprise, becoming a holder of 50 shares and the seventh person to be insured
by the company.[63]
Both Beatty and William Gooderham were elected to the board of the new company
but William Gooderham dropped off the board the next year.
Although, in Beatty’s words he did not take "any active interest in
politics",[64]
he was a "true blue Conservative"[65]
and when he thought it necessary, he used his political connections and his
personal friendship with Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Charles Tupper to assist
his clients. In 1879, for example, he had asked Sir John A. to intercede on
behalf of the Bank of Toronto which was seeking to collect some money owed by
the federal government to one of the Bank's debtors in connection with the
building of the Lachine Canal.[66]
In 1888, he had called on Sir John A. to assist the Gooderham & Worts
Distillery in preventing the Canadian Pacific Railway from using the former
estate of his father-in-law, located just north of the distillery, for a
shunting yard.[67]
He made it clear that he and George Gooderham had “a claim not only as
citizens” on Sir John, an obvious reference to financial and other help they
had provided to the Prime Minister.
On Sir John A.'s death, Beatty had been chosen by the local Conservatives
to chair the Macdonald Memorial Committee of Toronto.[68] Interestingly he
consistently refused appointment as Queen's Counsel and later King's Counsel,
when the honour was offered, first by Macdonald and later by Tupper,[69] perhaps because he thought
it an honour properly bestowed on barristers and he had never acted as one.[70]
By 1902 one of Beatty’s sons and one of his sons-in-law were members
of the firm. Wallace Nesbitt, Beatty’s son-in-law, had left McCarthy Osler
Hoskin in 1892 where he had juniored for two of Canada's leading barristers,
D'Alton McCarthy and Britton Osler,[71]to
join the Beatty Blackstock firm. He was then 33 years old. As the 1898 Men
& Woman of the Times stated, during his days at McCarthy’s, he had
been “connected with many important suits, among them the historic legal fight
between the firm of Conmee and McLennan, contractors and the Canadian Pacific
Railway and the memorable St George's railway disaster”. When Wallace Nesbitt
joined the firm he was a widower but a few years later he married Amy Gertrude
Beatty, Beatty's daughter.[72]
In 1898, three years after being called to the bar, Charles William
Beatty, William Henry Beatty’s second son joined the firm. Significantly C.W.
was also George Gooderham’s son-in-law, having married Lillian May Gooderham in
1896.
Edward Marion Chadwick
Although E. Marion Chadwick was still with the firm in 1902, by then he
was playing a much smaller role. Chadwick's legal practice focussed on real
estate conveyancing. J.B. Robinson, who would join the firm in 1918 as a
conveyancing lawyer, recalled that:
He was an expert in conveyancing and he designed most of the
forms used in the office, deeds, powers of attorney, mortgages, etc. and we
printed our own forms for many years. He was very strong on not using any
excess verbiage and his power of attorney took only one page and was very
complete. He also ignored any punctuation in a document claiming that if the
words did not speak for themselves without punctuation, the deed was not
properly drawn.[73]
Perhaps it is not surprising that as a founder of a
firm in which family connections were so important, Chadwick was a noted
genealogist. As time went on, this work consumed more and more of his energy.
In fact, The Dictionary of Canadian Biography prepared by Stewart
Wallace lists Chadwick as a "genealogist." From 1898 to 1901 he
edited the Ontario Genealogist and Family Historian. He also wrote a
leading work entitled Ontarian Families, which was published in 2
volumes in 1894-98 and has been republished a number of times since, most
recently in 1974. Other books he wrote include The People of the Long House
(1898)[74]
and later The Chadwicks of Guelph and Toronto (1914).
The Blackstock Brothers
From 1892 the firm had been known as Beatty Blackstock.[75] This reflected the key
role played by Thomas Gibbs Blackstock and his brother, George Tate Blackstock,
as well as the declining importance of Chadwick.
T. G. Blackstock had joined the law firm in 1879[76] at a time when he was
engaged to Harriet Victoria Gooderham, one of George Gooderham’s daughters.
They were married early in 1880.[77]
Thomas had been called to the bar in 1877 and for a time had practised with
Alexander McNabb under the name McNabb & Blackstock. He was the son of the
Reverend William S. Blackstock D.D., a Methodist minister who had married into
the Gibbs family, a prominent Ontario family. Reverend Blackstock was pastor of
the Berkeley St. Methodist Church.[78]
Thomas Gibbs Blackstock was named after his grandfather, Senator Thomas Gibbs
who had joined William Beatty as one of the promoters of the Confederation Life
Association.
T. G. Blackstock, who was said to be "one of the best known members
of the Ontario Bar", had a "corporation law" practice.[79] He assisted Beatty in
advising the Gooderham family businesses. He acted as solicitor for the Bank
of Toronto (Blackstock was a shareholder and acted as scrutineer for the Bank's
general meetings from 1888-97 and again in 1901)[80], Manufacturers Life
Insurance Company, Gooderham & Worts, Limited, the Central Ontario Railway
and other businesses in which the Gooderhams invested their funds. The fact
that he lived immediately north of George Gooderham's mansion in a house that
Gooderham had built for him and his wife underlines the close relationship
between the two men.[81]
He assisted George in many projects including the building of the King Edward
Hotel, in connection with which Blackstock acted as President of the King
Edward Hotel Company. He was also involved in some mining ventures, serving as
Vice President of the War Eagle, Centre Star and St. Eugene Mining Companies.[82] In 1901 he had
successfully petitioned the federal government to encourage the development of
lead mining and smelting in British Columbia. He is said to have "made an
urgent plea for a bounty on lead refining, to be limited in amount, duration
and as to tonnage, and claimed that much incidental benefit would accrue to
other mining interests from such a policy".[83]
George Tate Blackstock, Thomas Gibbs' brother, was one of Canada's
leading trial lawyers. His joining of the firm was meant to strengthen a
serious weakness in the firm. In 1890, when George Gooderham, the firm's
foremost client, launched a legal action against the City of Toronto,[84] the lead counsel was not a
member of the firm.[85]
Obviously this was not a healthy state of affairs for the firm. Within two
years. George Tate Blackstock had joined the firm. G.T. Blackstock and Wallace
Nesbitt would lay the foundation for the firm's reputation as a top litigation
firm.[86]
When G.T. Blackstock died in December 1921, he was referred to as
"one of the foremost members of the Canadian Bar, whose name is associated
with many a cause celebre." Like Beatty and Chadwick, he was politically
Conservative. George Tate, however, was much more active politically than his
partners. He often spoke in support of the Conservative Party and he ran for
office provincially in 1884 in Lennox and federally in 1887 and 1891 in West
Durham. Each time he was unsuccessful despite his ability as a gifted
speaker. He was an ardent supporter of the British Empire, calling for a union
of the English speaking races.
G.T. Blackstock had been called to the bar in 1879, joining the firm of
Rose McDonald Merritt & Blackstock.[87]
The senior partner of that firm was John Rose, whose son, Hugh, would later
join the Beatty firm. Blackstock was then “a dark-haired, good looking fellow,
with an easy and friendly gift of conversation and an entire freedom from
restraint or nervousness on social occasions”.[88]
In 1882, Blackstock had left to join Wells Gordon & Sampson, but this was
short-lived and soon he was practicing as a barrister on his own. He had an
active litigation practice, travelling about the province acting in both civil
and criminal actions and as both a defence counsel and as a crown prosecutor.
He acted for the Bank of Toronto on occasion, likely work referred to him by
his brother. He was for a time counsel to the Canadian Pacific Railroad[89] and was involved in the
late 1880’s in the arbitration between the Canadian Pacific and the federal
government over the character of the road handed over by the federal government.[90] Then in 1890 he earned
much admiration for his skillful, although unsuccessful, defence of Reginald
Birchall in a famous Woodstock murder trial.[91]
By 1892, however, Blackstock was beginning to experience serious personal
problems. It may well be that he was offered a position in the firm to assist
him through a difficult time. He was finding it harder to give his law
practice the attention it observed. His friend, Wyly Grier, a noted portrait
painter, would later write in his memoirs that “at times when he was the
leading barrister on one or other side of cases of great moment, which called
for his undivided absorption in the issues at stake” “domestic worries” “made
him distraught and preoccupied”.[92]
His wife would divorce him in 1896, but it is unclear whether his family
problems were the source of or the result of his personal difficulties. Wyly
Grier states:
A sinister cloud had arisen on the apparently brilliant
horizon of this gifted lawyer, nor am I able to say he was entirely blameless
when it enveloped him. Battles in court and minor conflicts at home gradually
undermined the nervous system which had evoked my father’s admiration and
bereft Osgoode Hall of one of its most brilliant figures. I remember that a
symptom of the approaching breakdown of our friend was confided to me (or more
correctly, to my brother, Alex Munro). Blackstock had stated that when waiting
for his turn to address the court the perspiration would drop off his
finger-ends.
At the suggestion of T. G. Blackstock, his
brother-in-law,[93]
Melville Ross Gooderham, one of George’s sons, joined the firm in 1901. Ross
Gooderham, characterized as "a shy, reserved man, who lived very
simply",[94]
was not a force in 1902 but he would be a key figure in the reshaping of the
firm.
Lawyers from Other Prominent Families
Thomas Percival (“Percy”) Galt, then 27, had joined the firm in
1885. He was another member of a prominent Anglican family who attended St.
James Cathedral,[95]
being the third son of Thomas Galt, who in 1887 became Chief Justice of
Ontario. He was also the nephew of Alexander Tilloch Galt, a Minister of
Finance and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Although Galt would remain
with the firm for almost 30 years, he never rose to a position of prominence in
the firm or the profession. He was a competent litigator[96] but lacked the skill and
drive of many of the other litigators in the firm.
When George Tate Blackstock joined the firm, he brought with him his
junior, Alexander Munro Grier, the brother of Wyly Grier, the noted portrait
painter.[97]
Munro Grier had been born in England where his family had travelled from
Australia. He had spent some time in Toronto in 1876 when he had first met the
Blackstock brothers. He returned with his family to England and was called as
a barrister in 1882. He had then returned to Toronto, where he was called in
1884. He had assisted Blackstock in the 1880’s in the arbitration between the
Canadian Pacific and the federal government and other similar work. He too was
an Anglican.
Hugh Rose, another litigator in the firm, was the son of John Edward
Rose, a judge of the Ontario High Court of Justice. Born in 1869, he had
attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a B.A. in 1891 and an LL.
B. in 1892. He had articled with Maclaren Macdonald Merritt & Shepley and
been called to the bar in 1894.[98]
He seems to have joined the Beatty firm about 1900.
The Fasken Brothers
David Fasken was in many ways unlike the other members of the firm.
He was not a member of the Toronto establishment. He was one of nine children
of a Scottish farmer from Elora. He was a dynamic, entrepreneurial Methodist
and a Liberal. Fasken had been born on the family farm on December 31, 1860.
After graduating from Elora High School, he had entered the University of Toronto, graduating in 1882 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He had articled with
the Beatty firm, been called to the Bar in 1885 and began his practice with the
firm, then known as Beatty, Chadwick and Blackstock. Why this bright young
Methodist joined a staid, Conservative firm is not known. Perhaps it had
something to do with the fact that the father of Thomas Gibbs and George Tate
Blackstock was a Methodist minister. Perhaps it was related to the fact that
William Gooderham, George’s older brother, was a Methodist. More likely the
answer lies in Marion Chadwick’s links to Wellington County, where Chadwick was
from and where the Faskens had their family farm.
Whatever the reason that David Fasken came to the firm, the reality was
that he had administrative abilities, drive and ambition beyond those of his
colleagues at the firm – qualities that undoubtedly endeared him to Beatty. As
one biographer would later say, "His outstanding traits were a capacity
for sustained and concentrated effort, close attention to detail, and
absolutely unprejudiced weighing of facts."[99] Fasken's role in the
development of Excelsior Life Insurance Company is very revealing. Shortly
after the incorporation of the Excelsior Life Insurance Company (originally
called the Protestant Life Insurance Company) in the late 1880's by the Orange
Lodge of Toronto, David Fasken became a shareholder. The company got off to a
slow start and Fasken bought up many of the shares of the struggling, young
company. He also encouraged the Gooderhams to invest in it. Their shares
together with his own gave Fasken control of the company. On February 13,
1900, he was elected President, a position that he was to hold until his
death. Although he directed the company’s operations on a part time basis, he
built the insurance company into a very successful and profitable business.
By 1902 David Fasken was already well established. That year he
moved into his newly constructed, stately home designed by E.J. Lennox, the architect
for the new Toronto City Hall who had also designed an office building for W.H.
Beatty and the Gooderham-funded King Edward Hotel.[100] Within the firm, Fasken
played a key role. Correspondence from 1896 in the firm's archives casts some
light on the nature of Fasken's role in the firm (as well as the economics of
practise at the time). It seems that the Ocean Accident & Guarantee
Corporation of London, England had heard of the firm. In fact, their general
manager would say in a letter of July 31, 1896 that they had "been
mentioned to [them] in the highest possible terms". As a result, the
local agent of the company, George Bennett, wrote to the firm on June 29
stating:
I am instructed by our General Manager to ask if you will
act as our Solicitors for Toronto at an annual retainer of $150 from, say, July
1st next.
We would expect for this all consultations, opinions, the
drawing up of documents etc. when required, making collections when necessary
and generally all assistance in settling claims as between lawyers. We would
expect you to charge fees only when a case goes into court and then only the
taxed costs.
Beatty responded on July 8th, apologizing for the delay by saying that
both he and “our Mr. Fasken to whom all matters of this sort are usually
referred” had been away from the city. He was happy to “note a general
retainer” for Ocean Accident but went on to negotiate its precise terms.
It seems that Fasken had assumed the role of Beatty's administrative
assistant or office manager. In 1902, Beatty was the President of the
Confederation Life Association and, given George Gooderhams’ failing health, he
was assuming an increasing role in such Gooderham ventures as the Bank of
Toronto and Canada Permanent. All of this meant that Beatty simply did not
have the time necessary for the day to day management of the law firm.
Increasingly this fell to “our Mr. Fasken”.
David seems to have shared some of this responsibility, as well as many
client matters) with his younger brother, Alexander Fasken, who had joined the
firm in 1899. Alex (referred to by David as"Dutch")[101] was the youngest of the
Fasken children. He had been born on June 27, 1871, on the family farm. After
graduating from Elora High School, he had attended the University of Toronto
and Osgoode Hall Law School. He had articled with Cassels and Standish and
been called to the Bar in 1894. Initially, he opened a practice in Fergus,
Ontario, but after five years he acceded to David’s request and joined him at
the firm.
Other Non-Establishment Lawyers
One suspects that it was David Fasken who lured the talented out-of
-towner, William Renwick Riddell, to Toronto in 1895. Like Fasken, Riddell was
a supporter of the Liberal Party and was from out of town.[102] Riddell, who had been
the gold medalist on his call to the Bar in 1883, left his practice in Cobourg
to come to Toronto. He had already been a Bencher of the Law Society for four
years, an office he continued to hold in 1902.
Riddell's Liberal connections brought him some interesting briefs. In
1895 he represented the leaders of the University of Toronto student body
before a Royal Commission. One of the student leaders was William Lyon
Mackenzie King, who would later become leader of the Liberal Party and Prime
Minister of Canada. In 1903, Riddell would be counsel to the Ontario Liberal
government in the Gamie Inquiry and the next year he and Wallace Nesbitt would
act for the City of Toronto in an investigation into certain election
irregularities.
Another out-of-towner likely brought to the firm by the Faskens was
Harper Armstrong, who had joined the firm in 1898. Harper would work with Alex
Fasken on many projects. It may well be that Alex was his brother-in-law. In
1896, Alex Fasken had married an Isabelle Armstrong of Fergus.[103]
Thus in 1902, we find the firm loosely divided into two groups. Beatty
led the largest group of Toronto establishment lawyers but his office
administrator, David Fasken, had already started to introduce lawyers into the
firm who did not fit the Toronto establishment mold.
The Fasken Firm in 1915
If we skip ahead to 1915 we note that the firm had only seven lawyers
(one of whom was no longer very active) – a dramatic reduction from the fifteen
lawyers of just 13 years before. There were no members of the Beatty,
Blackstock or Gooderham families in the 1915 firm. In addition to the two
Fasken brothers, the firm had only four active members: Harper Armstrong, who
assisted Alex Fasken with the solicitors work, and Hugh Rose, George H.
Sedgewick and Mahlon K. Cowan who were litigators. By this time E. M.
Chadwick was 75 years old. Beyond serving as the principal link to the past,
he played little role. J. B. Robinson, who joined the firm in 1918, tells us
that Chadwick “did not do any active work but came in nearly every day. He was
not given his own steno and he used to employ a public steno in the building.
Unfortunately he was very deaf and any conversation was difficult."[104]
What had happened? It seems that the transformation of the firm can be
attributed to several factors. First, the generation of William Beatty, Thomas
Gibbs Blackstock and George Gooderham, their client, had drawn to its close.
Secondly, the management of the firm had been fully assumed by the Fasken brothers,
who had re-oriented the firm and taken it into new areas of practise. Let us
look at how the Fasken transformation occurred.
The Transformation of Beatty Blackstock
The first indication that the shift from Beatty's management to that of
David Fasken troubled at least some members of the firm was the departure in
1903 of Beatty’s son-in-law, Wallace Nesbitt. On May 16, 1903, at the very
young age of 45, Nesbitt was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. As
Snell and Vaughan say in their history of the Supreme Court, “Though lacking
judicial experience, Nesbitt had an outstanding reputation as counsel, and his
nomination to the Supreme Court was widely acclaimed.”[105] Snell and Vaughan note
that the Nesbitt appointment represented a break with the patronage
appointments of the day in part because Nesbitt was so young. It seems clear
in retrospect that Nesbitt wanted out of the Fasken managed firm. Nesbitt did
not want to offend his father-in-law by going to another Toronto firm so he
accepted an appointment to the Bench. Within two years, Nesbitt decided that
he had made a mistake in seeking his escape through the Supreme Court, which
was then riddled with dissension and was not highly regarded. For
"reasons purely private" he resigned from the court.[106] Significantly he did not
return to the Beatty Blackstock firm. Instead, he rejoined the McCarthy firm
and continued his distinguished career, later becoming Treasurer of the Law
Society.[107]
In a seemingly unrelated move, Munro Grier also left to take up a
position at the Canadian Niagara Power Company, a firm that Beatty would later
take over. It may well be that Beatty was behind this departure, moving one of
his lawyers to a business in which he and the Gooderhams had invested.
Cobalt and the Mining Industry
In 1903 David Fasken began making moves that would in part change the
nature of the law practised by the firm. Under Beatty, the firm's key clients
had been financial institutions like the Bank of Toronto, Toronto General
Trusts, Canada Permanent and Manufacturers Life. Although T. G. Blackstock had
done some mining work, Fasken was about to direct the firm into mining law in a
big way.
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century the Ontario
government saw the possibility of encouraging settlement in the “Clay Belt”
west of Lake Temiskaming. This desire to open the region to farming and the
timber industry spurred the development of the mineral resources of Northern
Ontario. The government began to build what is now the Ontario Northland
Railway.[108]
By 1903 it had reached the north end of Long Lake where cobalt, nickel and some
silver were discovered. David and Alex Fasken played a key role in the
successful development of these finds. As a later observer said, “David and
Alex Fasken, in the late 1890’s, were among the first to see the possibilities
of mining development in Northern Ontario.”[109]
When the Cobalt discovery was made, David acted quickly with Ellis P. Earle
and other New York-based investors to form a company, the Nipissing Mining
Company Limited, to finance its development. They secured claims covering over
846 acres. As the Cobalt Daily Nugget (the local newspaper) said in
1910, “About 5 times as large as the quarter section of a western farm, Nipissing
occupies the very centre of the Cobalt Camp. It is, in fact, the centre.”
The initial agreement drafted by David Fasken on behalf of the newly
created Nipissing Mining Company stated that the owners of the original claims
were to be paid 65 cents for each pound of cobalt mined to date.[110] There was also mention
in the agreement of nickel and arsenic. There was no mention of silver, which
seems to have been thought to be incidental to the other minerals. However, as
one writer has said, “By the summer of 1904 high-grade silver ore was being
shipped out by the carload, and when this news spread there was a rush of
prospectors and mining men from all over the world to the wonderful silver camp
at Cobalt.”[111]
By 1908 the Provincial Geologist reported that Cobalt was “not only the world’s
largest producer of silver, but it absolutely controls the market for cobalt.”
At the time, many bemoaned the fact that Americans and not Canadians had
come to control the Cobalt mines. The Monetary Times noted, however,
that although Canadians had originally held virtually all of the claims, they
had sold out prematurely.[112]
It pointed out:
The president of the Nipissing Mines Company is
understood to have paid $250,000 for the properties which were chiefly of prospective
value. The sellers thought that they had outwitted a Yankee. Now, probably,
they are assuring themselves that they were foolish to part with so great a
property at so small a price.
The truth is that Fasken’s American investors were willing to invest the
large amounts of money that the commercial development of the finds required.
David and Alex Fasken proved important in securing both the capital and the
sources of power and other utilities necessary to mine in what was then a
remote and rugged locale. As E.P. Earle would state on Fasken’s death:
..from the beginning Mr. Fasken's guidance and cooperation had
much to do with the success of the Company.
In the early days of Cobalt when at times engineers were doubtful of the
permanency of the camp, Mr. Fasken never lost faith and he showed his courage
by investing large sums of money in the development of Hydro Electric for the
Camp. Subsequently, Mr. Fasken continued his cooperation in the development of
power for Porcupine and Kirkland Lake. Probably no one man did as much toward
the development of the North country as did Mr. Fasken.
David served for a substantial time as Nipissing's President and was one
of its directors. He was further involved in Cobalt’s development as a
director and substantial shareholder of both La Rose Consolidated Mines Limited
(which owned Violet Mining Company, Limited) and Trethewey Silver Cobalt Mine
Limited, each of which had its mines at Cobalt. In addition, by 1909 Alex
Fasken was on the board of two other Cobalt mining companies: the
Chambers-Ferland Mining Company, Limited (Harper Armstrong was its
Vice-President and George Sedgewick, another firm member, was on the board) and
the Temiskaming Mining Company, Limited, for which he also acted as secretary-treasurer.[113]
David Fasken did not restrict his interests to mining in Cobalt. He
acquired the three power plants which supplied much-needed hydro electric power
to the Cobalt workings and area and later to discoveries at Porcupine and
Kirkland Lake. In 1911 he merged them to form the Northern Ontario Light and
Power Company Limited of which he was President.[114] He also organized the
Northern Canada Power Company Limited. As Morris Zaslow has said, “Cobalt was
the opening victory in the long campaign waged by Canadians to wrest mineral
wealth from the Precambrian Shield”[115]
and the Faskens were important in achieving that victory.
The success of the Cobalt discovery spurred exploration throughout the
region. In the summer of 1909 the Dome gold discovery was made near Night Hawk
Lake, near Timmins. Again, the Faskens were quick to act to develop the
claim. This time it was Alex Fasken who led the way. Alex represented the New
York syndicate that obtained the option to exploit the claims. He took an
active role in the management of the new company, Dome Mines Limited, which the
firm incorporated. He was one of the original directors of Dome Mines and
later became a Vice-President of that company. When the story of Dome Mines
was written, Alex Fasken and Jules Bache, who headed up the investors’
syndicate, were said to have been the “dominant personalities in the company
structure”.[116]
Following their successes at Cobalt and Porcupine, the brothers became
active supporters of numerous mining exploration initiatives. David was a part
of the group of Canadian and American millionaires that formed the Canadian
Mining Exploration Company, a venture that in 1912 was said to have 400
properties under consideration.[117]
David and Alex were also key members of the syndicate that grubstaked the
prospectors in 1914-15 who staked the Flin Flon mine in Northern Manitoba. In
1915 David and Alex actually visited the site in northern Manitoba, travelling
at times by oxen and by canoe[118].
They later formed part of the Toronto based investors syndicate that optioned
these claims. While the others sold their interest before the Flin Flon mine
was developed, David hung on. W. F. Currie, one of the original grubstakers,
noted in 1927: “We got out and were quite satisfied to do so. Only David
Fasken was left and I hear he’s made a very good thing out of sticking to the
end.”[119]
Through their hydro electric interests in Northern Ontario the Faskens
became interested in the pulp and paper industry. For many years Alex served
as a director of Provincial Paper Mills Limited.
The Faskens directed the legal work for the mining and other companies
that they were involved with to the firm helping it become expert in mining
law, which in turn attracted other mining clients. J.B. Robinson recalls in
his memoirs that in 1918 when he joined the firm many of the firm’s clients
were mining men from the north country. There were long benches in the office
for the use of the clients and at the end of each one was a large brass
cuspidor. The miners smoked big cigars and made frequent use of the cuspidors.
In addition to what one might think of as legal work (such as
incorporation, raising capital, negotiating and documenting joint ventures,
dealing with disputed claims, tort actions and the like), the firm dealt with
many matters that today would seldom be handled by lawyers. Robinson noted
that for many years the firm prepared and mailed the dividend cheques for Dome
Mines and also handled the printing and mailing of its Annual Report. “Often
we would keep a group of the staff down at nights to handle the mailing.”
Robinson also recalled that “Considerable correspondence went between our
office and the Dome Mines Office at South Porcupine and the Nipissing Mine
Office at Cobalt and we were often given urgent letters to be taken not to the
Post Office where there might be delay but directly to the Postal Clerk on the
Northland train which left the Union Station every night about 6:00 p.m. It was
not always easy to work your way through right to the train.”
Gooderham's Death and Beatty's Departure in 1905
If there was a watershed in the transition from the Beatty firm to the
Fasken firm, a point when the firm began to be shaped more by Fasken than by
Beatty, it was in 1905. In that year, George Gooderham, the man who directed
the Gooderham businesses, died and W.H. Beatty and his son left. The one event
led to the other. Gooderham’s death created an even greater need for Beatty to
direct the Gooderham family businesses. Beatty became the president of both
the Bank of Toronto and the Canada Permanent. Although W.H. Beatty’s name
continued to appear first on the firm’s letterhead until his death seven years
later, he ceased to practise after Gooderham’s death.
With his father no longer active in the firm and David Fasken in charge,
Beatty’s son, Charles William, also left. He would practise for many years on
his own before joining his son, named W.H. Beatty after his grandfather, in a
firm known as Beatty & Beatty.[120]
C.W. also became one of the founders of the York Club which was established in
1910 and which moved into his father-in-law’s mansion at the corner of Bloor
and St. George.
An incident in 1906 demonstrates the changed relationship between Beatty
and the firm. In June, Beatty engineered a take-over of the Canadian Niagara
Power Company and became its President. He arranged to have three former
members of the firm appointed to the board: Wallace Nesbitt, his son-in-law
and now a member of the rival McCarthy firm, A. Munro Grier who had left the
firm in 1903 and William Henry Brouse, a son-in-law of George Gooderham who had
left the firm in 1899. Grier acted as the secretary and in-house solicitor to
the power company.[121]
It is clear that the old family ties were still important to Beatty and that he
still commanded loyalty, but these ties and this loyalty were no longer drawing
people to the law firm.
One month later, in July 1906 the firm suffered another blow that further
accentuated the break with the past – Thomas Gibbs Blackstock died. He was
only 55. The firm now was without its two principle “name partners”. Beatty
Blackstock now had neither Beatty nor Blackstock.
In September in a written partnership agreement, the remaining partners
of the firm gave formal recognition to David Fasken’s new status as managing
partner. The very fact that the partnership agreement was in writing seems to
have been a break with the past.
The agreement dated September 1, 1906 was between William Henry Beatty,
Edward Marion Chadwick, David Fasken, William R. Riddell, Thomas P. Galt,
Harper Armstrong, Alexander Fasken, Hugh E. Rose and Melville Ross Gooderham.
The parties were to be co-partners for five years in the practice and
profession of barristers, solicitors, notaries public under the firm name of
Beatty Blackstock Fasken & Riddell. The practice was to be carried on “in
the City of Toronto and all parties were to reside there”.
Beatty was not to be required to perform any “actual
solicitor work” but was to use “his best endeavours to procure business for the
firm”. The agreement went so far as to state that Beatty would not interfere
with the operation of the firm. He was to be “entitled to retain for his own
use all emoluments coming to him from any directorship, trusteeship or any
other business outside of the firm with which he may be connected”. This is
not surprising when one notes that he did not receive any income from the
firm. His “emoluments” and “the use of a room at the north east end of the
building without charge” were all that he got. In return, he agreed to “give
all of the influence he [could] towards the promotion of the interests of the
firm”.
The agreement provided that David Fasken “shall be manager of the
business of the firm and shall determine what line of work shall be done by the
various partners”. It is quite likely that Fasken’s power to determine each
partner’s work did not sit well with at least some of his partners. David
Fasken was also to be entitled to maintain his connection with the Excelsior
Life Insurance Company and to receive “the emoluments therefrom”. If, however,
he looked after Excelsior Life business during the day he was to arrange “for a
proper retainer to cover the time expended by him”.
The agreement also made special provisions for Ross Gooderham, who, on
his father’s death, had been appointed executor of the estate. He was
permitted to retain any commissions to which he was entitled as executor of
George Gooderham’s estate as well as any director's fees payable to him for
serving an any company's Board in connection with the estate. He was, however,
not to participate in any fees received by the firm from his father’s estate.
Although many lawyers of this period combined law and politics, Fasken
did not want his partners doing so. No partner was to be a candidate for or
contest any municipal, parliamentary or any public election. George Tate
Blackstock, who had political aspirations, is not listed as a partner in the
agreement. It is unclear whether this provision, which must not have sat well
with Blackstock, had anything to do with his changed status. A similar
provision was inserted in partnership agreements for many years thereafter.
The net profits of the practice were to be divided amongst the partners
as follows:
1. Of the first $30,000.00 each year, David Fasken and William R. Riddell were
to obtain $8,500.00 each, Alexander Fasken $2,500.00 and all others either
$2,000.00 or $2,250.00.
2. Profits over $30,000.00 were to be divided in varying percentages depending
on the level of profit achieved. For example, if the profits fell between
$30,000.00 and $45,000.00, David Fasken and William R. Riddell would get
35-5/6%, but if the profits were over $60,000.00 they received only 22-1/2%.
In this way Fasken and Riddell would be compensated for the base business that
they brought to the firm, but there was some incentive to the younger partners
to work hard and bring in new business.
Each partner was entitled to one calendar month's holiday during the
year. If absent beyond that, he was to pay to the firm such amount for each
day as the majority in interest of the members of the firm should decide upon.
Riddell was permitted to take two months without deduction on condition that “if
he shall argue any case in England [before the Privy Council] during the said
months he shall not claim any extra vacation on that account”.
David Fasken, himself, commented on the changed relationship between the
firm and the Gooderham family interests when he appeared before the Royal
Commission on Insurance in 1906[122].
Fasken, as President of Excelsior Life, was questioned about his involvement
with the Gooderhams. The shares that George Gooderham’s estate had in the
company, when combined with Fasken’s shares, represented control. In light of
the close connection that had existed between George Gooderham and the firm and
the fact that his son and executor, Ross Gooderham, was one of Fasken’s
partners, the Commission was interested in knowing to what extent these parties
acted together. Fasken’s answers are very revealing.[123]
Q; I suppose it is fair to say that the Gooderham Estate shares would vote
along with your shares?
A: I don’t think it is fair. If it suited them they would vote just the
opposite. They would do just what was in their interest.
...
Q: You have many interests in common with them do you not?
A: No.
Q: You think not?
A: No.
Q: You think that it is not a fair statement to make?
A: No. I act as their solicitor in a good many matters.
Q: With emphasis upon the good many. But outside of your professional work
as a solicitor you say that there are not many financial matters that you are
interested in together?
A: No.
Q: You are referring now to the present time?
A: Yes.
Q: Since when?
A: Well, since Mr. Gooderham’s death.
While the Commission counsel may have doubted Fasken’s replies, his
comments seem to have accurately reflected his relationship with the Gooderhams
and especially Ross Gooderham.
At this time Ross Gooderham was in fact using some of the money he
inherited from his father to repurchase Manufacturers Life Insurance (which had
been founded by the Gooderhams). His brother-in-law Dr. James Frederick
William Ross[124],
who was also a Director of Excelsior Insurance, assisted in the repurchase.
Ross Gooderham assumed the role of Second Vice-President (a position previously
held by his father). Gradually, Gooderham would later say, he "drifted
into insurance"[125]
and away from the law.
To add to the woes of the firm on October 10, 1906 Riddell accepted an
appointment to the Bench.[126]
A Time of Calm and Rebuilding
In just four years, Beatty, his son, his son-in-law, William Riddell,
Munro Grier and a young lawyer, R. McKay (who had joined the firm in 1898,
likely fresh from his call to the Bar) had left the firm and T. G. Blackstock
had died. The firm obviously needed to be rebuilt. David Fasken seems to have
set out to do so and the next five years proved to be a period of relative
stability and rebuilding.
In 1906, the firm made one addition, George H. Sedgewick, then 28 years
old. He had articled with the firm, reading law with Riddell.[127] J. B. Robinson
remembers him as "one of our Counsel when I joined the firm". He
notes that Sedgewick "was a fine gentleman at all times" but that
"he found the strain and pressures at the office very hard and it seemed
to make him tense.”[128]
He would later, in Robinson’s words, have “some difference with [Alex] Fasken”
and would leave the firm in 1925. He would act as Chairman of the Tariff Board
of Canada and then as a Judge of the Ontario Supreme Court.
In 1908, William Gooderham Blackstock, one of the sons of Thomas Gibbs
Blackstock joined the firm. It may well be that he joined at the suggestion of
his two uncles, George Tate Blackstock and Ross Gooderham, to assist them. He,
however, would only remain with the firm until 1911.
In 1910, the firm added three new members – two juniors, Lionel Davis and
G. E. McCann, and one established litigation counsel, Mahlon K. Cowan. Cowan,
like Riddell before him, was an experienced lawyer enticed to the firm by the
Faskens. He was from a farming family in Essex County and had been called to
the Bar in 1890. He had been elected as a Liberal M.P. in 1896 but resigned in
1900 to pursue his legal career. He served as counsel to the Grand Trunk
Railway from 1904-10. After joining the firm he acted as counsel to the
governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta against the railway companies in rate
hearings. Cowan was described "as a brilliant convincing jury lawyer”
with “a powerful and vibrant voice which he used to good effect. At times he
was witty. His tact, courtesy and attractive manner combined to make his
presence an exemplar. To his great natural powers, he added from his earliest
days, remarkable powers of application."[129]
The next year the firm added another young lawyer, Austin G. Ross, who
had been a medallist at Osgoode Hall Law School in 1907. Like Fasken and
Cowan, he was a "staunch Liberal".[130]
November 1910 brought a sign of things to come. Because of poor health,
W. H. Beatty resigned his various positions.[131]
Significantly, Ross Gooderham ceased at this time to be a partner in the firm.
Although Gooderham continued to have some small role in the firm, he seems to
have dedicated much of his time to the administration of his father's estate
and to his business interests, especially Manufacturer’s Life Insurance.
Although it had been several years since Beatty was active in the firm, what
happened to him still had an effect on the firm.
The 1913 “House Cleaning”
The key role that Beatty had played in shaping the old Beatty Blackstock
firm was emphasized when he died at his home on November 20, 1912.[132] David Fasken seems to
have decided that the time was now right to clean house, ridding his firm of
those hold-overs from the Beatty dominated firm who Fasken thought were not
carrying their weight. Out of a sense of loyalty to Beatty, his former mentor,
and to Chadwick, Fasken waited until after Beatty's death and the Chadwick 50th
anniversary celebration to do his house cleaning. In May, 1913, George Tate
Blackstock, who had just returned from a stay in England, Percy Galt and Ross
Gooderham, as well as young G.E. McCann, left the firm to form Blackstock Galt
and Gooderham[133].
They packed their possessions and moved across Wellington Street from the Bank
of Toronto building to the Gooderham ("Flatiron") Building.
The move does not seem to have hurt Fasken’s firm. Certainly Blackstock
was not the lawyer he had once been. Galt had never been a "star"
and Ross Gooderham was only practising part-time. But one would have expected
that the Faskens would have wanted to maintain good relations with the
Gooderham family, which, although it lacked the drive and leadership of George
Gooderham, still had a good deal of money and influence. Perhaps the Faskens
were confident in their own ties to the Gooderhams as well as in their new
found mining wealth and their own power and influence in the Toronto and New
York business communities. It is important to note that the Bank of Toronto
and some of the other Gooderham family business stayed with the eight remaining
lawyers of the old firm.
New Premises & A New Name
The dwindling importance of the Gooderham connection
to the firm became apparent in 1915 when the firm left the old Bank of Toronto
building and moved into the newly completed Excelsior Life Building at 36
Toronto Street. For the first time the firm was not located in a
Gooderham-related office.[134]
The Excelsior Life building was a tall building with all of the modern
conveniences. Like David Fasken’s own home and the Toronto Western Hospital
(of which he was Chairman of the Board), it had been designed by the leading
architect E. J. Lennox, working closely with David Fasken[135].
In a letter written on September 20, 1915, Chadwick
described the new offices as:[136]
...quite high toned. Quite a handsome suite of
rooms with stylish new furniture in several of the partners' rooms and oriental
rugs and everything else to match. We are in a handsome new building just
completed from which we have grand views over most of our neighbours' heads.
From my room I can see most of the island and bay and have a very good view of
the aviators learning to manage their machines. There are two aviation schools
on the island. I can see the Niagara steamers coming and going for five miles
or more.
The move represented a new viewpoint in more ways than
one. It confirmed that the firm was moving further under the control of David
Fasken who was effectively putting his firm in his building. One of the
lessons that David seems to have learned from the Gooderhams and W. H. Beatty
is that you should always keep your business in the family.
An even more striking indication of Fasken’s ascendency is found in the
firm’s new name. The May 1, 1915 Partnership Agreement between Chadwick, David
Fasken, Mahlon Cowan, Alexander Fasken and Hugh Rose provided that the firm
name was to be Fasken, Cowan, Chadwick & Rose. There was to be no trace
of the Beatty Blackstock name under which the firm had become a force in the
Toronto legal community. The agreement went further, providing that on the
dissolution of the partnership, none of the partners would use the name “Beatty
and Blackstock, or either of them as a firm name or part of a firm name.”
without the consent of a majority of the partners, thus effectively ensuring
that the former name would never again be used.
David Fasken continued to be “Manager of the business
of the firm” and to “determine what line of work shall be done by the various
partners”, but increasingly David was delegating these duties to his brother
Alex. The agreement noted that every partner other than David Fasken was
“entitled to one calendar month's holiday during the year. David Fasken, by
contrast, was “entitled to such holidays from time to time as he shall desire
to take”.
David and through him Alex had tremendous power in the
partnership. The agreement, provided, for example:
In case of the death or retirement of any member of the firm
or of the dissolution of the said partnership the value of the assets of the
firm shall be left to the arbitrament of David Fasken, K.C., and the Accountant
of the firm and in the event of the death or inability of either of them to act
the same shall be fixed by the other and their or his decision shall be final
and binding upon all parties and from which there shall be no appeal...
Despite David’s dominant role, his compensation from
the firm was limited. Net profits up to $18,500.00 per annum were to be
divided so that Cowan and Alex Fasken received $4,700.00, Mr. Chadwick
$3,600.00, David Fasken $3,000.00 and H. E. Rose $2,500.00. The profits over
$18,500.00 were to be divided with 36% going to each of Cowan and Alex Fasken, 15%
to H. E. Rose and only 13% to David Fasken. This reflects the fact that law
firm was no longer David’s principal source of income.
Notwithstanding David’s smaller financial rewards, the
agreement gave David Fasken, and to a lesser extent his brother Alex, very
special treatment. All other partners were required to devote all of their
time to the partnership, accounting to the partnership for all commissions and
revenues which they received in any way connected with the law practice. David
Fasken, however, was entitled to have connections with corporations or other
businesses in which he was financially interested and to receive commissions
and other fees from them, so long as all moneys that he received by way of
retainer or other legal services rendered were the property of the firm.
Alexander Fasken was entitled to retain all commissions and other fees from his
directorship in the Excelsior Life Insurance Company so long as the meetings of
Directors were held in the evening.
David Fasken indeed had many irons in the fire. In addition to his work
at the law firm, his presidency of Excelsior Life and his mining ventures, he
found time to be a governor and president of Toronto Western Hospital (now
affiliated with Toronto General) and a member of the Senate of the University
of Toronto. He gave freely of his time and money to many charities, giving
more than $500,000 to Toronto Western Hospital alone.
David’s dealings with Toronto Western Hospital, however, were not
entirely altruistic. David created strong links between the hospital,
Excelsior Life and the law firm. The doctors at the hospital provided medical
reviews and opinions for the insurance company. The law firm advised both
institutions and even provided legal advice to the patients at the hospital.
J. B. Robinson recalls:
As solicitors for Toronto Western Hospital we
were often called by the Superintendent to go out there to draw a will for a
patient who would not otherwise be known to us. I didn't care much for this
because you usually had to do something in long-hand and on one occasion the
patient wasn't able to speak and could only make unintelligible sounds. I don't
remember any of these wills ever coming into the office to be probated. There
certainly was no opportunity for ‘Estate Planning’.
The Faskens
By 1915, however, David’s interests lay elsewhere. He moved to
Texas, likely for health reasons. J.B. Robinson recalled that by 1918 David
was spending most of his time at his ranch near Midland, Texas. He had a large
office in the firm's Toronto Street premises, but he only came to Toronto for a
few days each year. The Fasken ranch was enormous – 220,000 acres purchased
with the thought that he would subdivide the property for farming. In 1917
David founded Fasken, Texas in east central Andrew County. He incorporated the
Midland Farm Company and built a railroad, the Midland and Northwest, to the
site. Many lots were sold but few people moved in and Fasken, Texas died in
the 1920’s. Later oil was found on the Fasken property and the family became
one of the wealthy oil and ranching families in Texas.[137]
David Fasken died on December 3, 1929 after a lengthy illness. He left
an estate of nearly $2,000,000 (not including the value of the as yet untapped
oil reserves on the Texas property). The Supreme Court of Canada in a judgment
dealing with the interpretation of his will would later characterize it as
"very substantial". His funeral was reported on the front page of
the Toronto Daily Star, which, ignoring his other interests and
achievements, ran the headline “David Fasken, Wealthy Mining Magnate Dies”.[138] Among the honorary
pallbearers were E.P. Earle, the New Yorker who had invested in the Cobalt
mines, Mr. Justice Riddell, one of Fasken's former partners, E. J. Lennox,
Fasken’s architect, Edward Rogers Wood, the Canadian financier, and most
significantly, Colonel Albert Gooderham, one of the sons of George Gooderham.[139] The presence of Colonel
Gooderham was a clear indication that Fasken had not severed all ties with the
family that had been so instrumental in the growth of the firm.
On David Fasken's retirement from active practise in 1919, Alex became
the Managing Partner of the firm. As David's right hand man, Alex had assisted
in the management of the firm for years. The partnership agreement makes it
clear that Alex, like David before him, was to be free to carry on other
pursuits and did not have to dedicate his full time to the law. Alex became
the president of Nipissing Mining, and the Northern Ontario Power Company
(which later became part of the Power Corporation of Canada). On David's death
in 1929, Alex became the President of the Excelsior Life Insurance Company. He
continued David's support for the development of the Toronto Western Hospital.
Although David was gone, one sees many similarities with the David Fasken
years. Alex continued, for example, David’s practise of recruiting leading
lawyers from out of town. In 1917, Robert Spelman Robertson was lured from
Stratford to join the firm, likely to replace Hugh Rose, who had been appointed
to the Bench in December 1916 and Mahlon Cowan, K.C., who died in 1917. To get
him to come, Alex Fasken guaranteed him a minimum of $10,000 a year.
R.S. Robertson, born in Goderich, Ontario in 1870, was one of seven
children. He was called to the Bar in 1894 and practised in Stratford with
John Idington, who would later be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of
Canada. As the Globe and Mail would later state, he was "slight of
build and genial in manner" and "a family man". In politics, he
was a Liberal. He belonged to the United Church and was an advocate of
Temperance.[140]
Like his brother, Alex was more a businessman than a lawyer. Bryce
Mackenzie noted that Alex “was more interested in business than in the practise
of law. On any legal matter, Mr. Fasken relied upon Mr. Robertson”.[141] Fasken had chosen his
lawyer well. On his retirement, the Globe stated that he was
"recognized as one of the finest lawyers Canada has ever produced."
Robertson was dedicated to the law. He was elected a Bencher of the Law
Society, served as Chairman of the Benchers' Discipline Committee and in 1937
was elected Treasurer. In December 1938 Robertson was named Chief Justice of
Ontario, an office that he would hold for for thirteen years. He finally
retired in 1952 at the age of 81.
Alex even more than his brother dominated the firm. Later partnership
agreements would state that Alex had “full authority to engage and discharge
employees ... to fix their salary or remuneration and to define their duties”.[142] In fact, those
agreements would go so far as to say that “all office furniture, furnishings,
library, typewriters and equipment” were the sole property of Alex Fasken.
Alex oversaw all aspects of the day to day operations of the firm in a
way that one suspects even his brother had not done. J. B. Robinson recalled
that:[143]
... Fasken examined all the incoming mail each
morning and arranged for its distribution among the partners. All mail was held
until his arrival at the office even if he did not appear until noon. He had a
good memory for what was going on in the office and would often call in a
junior to find out the present status of a particular item...
Both J.B. Robinson and Bryce Mackenzie in their memoirs recall that Alex
had a board in his office with buttons that rang bells in every office. He
would ring when he wanted to speak to any member of the firm or with any
secretary. Robinson recalled "even R.S. Robertson, the senior counsel, would
have to leave his client to respond to a summons." At times, Mackenzie
stated, "He would put his arm across this panel and would ring every bell
at once. It created quite a rapid movement of bodies".[144]
Alex Fasken died in an automobile accident on the Etobicoke Creek bridge
on September 20, 1944, leaving an estate in excess of $1,000,000. There was no
fundamental change in the firm following Alex’s death as there had been thirty
years before. The firm continues to this day to be known as Faskens. For many
years it continued to recruit its lawyers principally from outside Toronto. It
continues to act for many of the clients like Excelsior Life (now Aetna Canada)
and Dome Mines (now Placer Dome) that David and his brother help found and
operate. It has never again become the sort of establishment firm that Beatty
Blackstock had been.
Conclusion
The way in which the Faskens transformed the Beatty Blackstock firm
provides an interesting case study of how firms at the turn of the century were
organized and developed and what could motivate fundamental change.
The Beatty firm prospered and grew as a direct result of its strong
connection with the Gooderham and Worts families. Those families provided both
the legal work for the firm and acted as a source of lawyers. To some extent,
the law firm permitted Beatty to consolidate and enhance his social position.
For the Faskens, the law firm provided an opportunity to meet and learn
from Toronto’s business elite, to make their fortune and achieve a social
status they would not otherwise have enjoyed. The Fasken brothers lacked the
social connections of Beatty and his partners but they made up for it with
their astute recruiting of skilled practitioners and their entrepreneurial
drive which literally helped create the firm’s client base.
Although the Beatty firm had an international clientele, it is clear that
it was deeply rooted in the Toronto business community. The Gooderham
companies, their principal clients, were based in Toronto. Their lawyers were
primarily drawn from prominent Toronto families. Not surprisingly, their
principal projects like the Cathedral Park real estate development and the
building of the King Edward Hotel were in Toronto.
The Fasken firm was to a much greater extent focussed outside Toronto.
David and Alex Fasken made their fortunes in Northern Ontario. They drew their
financing from the New York business community. They recruited their lawyers
from outside Toronto. David went so far as to leave the city entirely to live
in Texas even before he formally retired.
In the Beatty Blackstock firm W. H. Beatty was not alone in having
significant interests, business and otherwise, outside the firm. Chadwick had
his genealogical interests and his church involvement. Thomas Gibbs Blackstock
and Ross Gooderham were active in the management of Gooderham family
businesses. George Tate Blackstock was heavily involved in politics. One gets
the impression that to some extent the law firm was the place where the
divergent interests of the partners intersected.
The Faskens, by way of contrast, seem to have wanted the lawyers working
in their firm to focus their energies on the law. In the partnership
agreements all partners, other than the Fasken brother themselves, were to
dedicate all of their time to the practice of law. In this sense, they
reflected a changing attitude to legal practice. They seem to have stressed
talent and commitment rather than family connections. They needed and wanted
skilled professional lawyers to serve the legal needs of the companies that
they created or attracted as clients. They seem to have put less stock in
being the largest firm. They valued instead efficiency and profitability.
The dramatic transformation of the Beatty Blackstock firm raises
questions about the law firm as an institution. What does it mean when someone
says that one firm is the successor of another? How does one measure
continuity in a law practice? Is it enough to have a continuing name, a
continuity of clients, a continuity of lawyers? For ease of reference, I have
talked of the Beatty firm and the Fasken firm but this is obviously not
entirely correct. It is difficult, however, to characterize the firm as it
existed during the Beatty Blackstock years and the Fasken firm as the same
firm. In one sense, they clearly were. One literally could trace its origin
to the other and had the legal right to hold itself out as the successor to the
practice of the other. But as we have seen in many ways they were very different
and those differences arose from the differences in the two key lawyers in each
firm.
The period of transition, particularly the years 1905 - 1906, was a
difficult and troublesome one for the lawyers in the firm. It helps us
appreciate how important personalities are in keeping a firm together and
functioning profitably. Clearly the change in managing partners was not
welcomed by all of the partners. Until the Faskens peopled the firm with
lawyers who accepted their leadership and their view of the firm, many lawyers
left or were asked to leave. In the 1890’s 11 lawyers had joined Beatty
Blackstock and only one had left. This contrasts strikingly with the period
1903 to 1913, when 13 lawyers (virtually the entire complement of lawyers in 1902)
left and only 6 joined. This illustrates the dramatic change that the Faskens
brought about and reminds us that lawyers can and do move their individual
practices from one firm to another when the benefits of partnership no longer
compensate for the compromises that partnership brings.
Although the firm went through this difficult transition it did survive
and continued to be quite successful. Once established, it attracted and kept
good lawyers and served significant clients. Perhaps what it teaches us is
that successful firms are ones that can adapt to different times and different
personalities.
Appendix A
Names By Which the Firm was Known 1863-1995
Beatty & Chadwick 1863-1870
Beatty, Chadwick & Lash 1870-1876
Beatty, Chadwick & Lash; Beatty, Millar & Lash 1876-1878
Beatty, Chadwick & Biggar; Beatty, Millar & Biggar 1878-1879
Beatty, Chadwick Biggar & Thomson; Beatty, Millar Biggar
& Blackstock 1879-1882
Beatty, Chadwick, Thomson & Blackstock 1883-1885
Beatty, Chadwick, Blackstock & Galt; Beatty, Chadwick,
Blackstock & Neville 1885-1892
Beatty, Blackstock, Nesbitt & Chadwick 1892-1895
Beatty, Blackstock, Nesbitt, Chadwick & Riddell 1895-1898
Beatty, Blackstock, Nesbitt, Chadwick & Riddell;
Beatty, Blackstock, Galt & Fasken 1898-1903
Beatty, Blackstock, Nesbitt, Fasken & Riddell;
Beatty,Blackstock, Chadwick & Galt 1903-1904
Beatty, Blackstock, Riddell & Chadwick; Blackstock, Fasken
Galt & Gooderham 1904-1906
Beatty, Blackstock, Fasken & Riddell 1906-1907
Beatty, Blackstock, Fasken & Chadwick 1907-1910
Beatty, Blackstock, Fasken, Cowan & Chadwick 1910-1915
Fasken, Cowan, Chadwick & Rose 1915-1917
Fasken, Robertson, Chadwick & Sedgewick 1917-1920
Fasken, Robertson, Chadwick, Sedgewick & Aitchison 1920
Fasken, Robertson, Sedgewick & Aitchison 1920-1922
Fasken, Robertson, Sedgewick Aitchison & Pickup 1922-1925
Fasken, Robertson, Aitchison, Pickup & Calvin 1925-1961
Fasken, Calvin, MacKenzie, Williston & Swackhamer 1962-1967
Fasken & Calvin 1967-1989
Fasken Campbell Godfrey 1989 - present
Grand son of Jonathan Bell & Maria Vaux.
Mostly from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Hello again, I'm attaching a Gedcom file with the descendants of FD Bell down
to my father's (Nigel Johnston) generation, which should answer your questions.
I suppose it's all too remote to have much interest for you, but you can find
biographies of the two Francis Bells at: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1B16
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=2B16
Kind regards, Charles Johnston[145]
Fri, 22 Nov 2002
Public administrator, runholder, politician
Francis Dillon Bell, usually called Dillon, is said to have
been born in France on 8 October 1822. His father, Edward Bell, was a merchant
and the British consul at Bordeaux. His mother, Frances, was the daughter of an
Anglican clergyman, the Reverend J. Matthews. Dillon Bell was tutored at home
in Latin, Greek, German, painting and music, and grew up speaking French as
fluently as English. However, by the time he was 14 his family was in financial
difficulties and he had no chance of further education or professional
training. In 1839 his father's cousin, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, found him a clerical
position in the London office of the New Zealand Company.
By 1841 Bell was acting secretary to the company. He was
responsible for many of the arrangements for the settlement at Nelson, to which
his brother, Angelo, sailed, as secretary to Arthur Wakefield. Within a year
Angelo was dead from typhoid. When Bell unfortunately fell foul of the
influential company director, Joseph Somes, Wakefield suggested that he might
go to Nelson as an agent for absentee land purchasers and immigration agent for
the company. Wakefield's suggestion that Bell could work up an income of £2,000
a year was enough to persuade him to emigrate.
Bell arrived in New Zealand on 12 September 1843 aboard the Ursula.
William Wakefield sent him to Auckland to buy land for the company and then to
Nelson. Bell based himself in Nelson but his income fell far short of
expectations. He became involved in local organisations such as the Nelson
Institute, attended meetings of landowners and occasionally went on missions
for Wakefield, but he was frustrated by his lack of responsibility and
promotion. In February 1847 he accepted a commission from Governor George Grey
to negotiate with Wairarapa Maori for land purchases. He failed and returned to
Nelson until August, when he took up a post as the company's resident agent at
New Plymouth.
Bell's work at New Plymouth focused on land acquisition and
on distributing to a group of fractious claimants a block previously purchased by
Donald McLean. At the end of February 1848 Grey and Bell discussed Wiremu Kingi
Te Rangitake's proposal to return to Taranaki. They agreed that Kingi's
position on the northern bank of the Waitara River should be respected and that
Bell should negotiate with Puketapu Maori for land south of the Waitara. Bell
carried out these and other negotiations successfully in March and April 1848.
In the meantime William Fox, company agent at Nelson, had
resigned and Bell was appointed in his place. On the way to Nelson Bell stopped
at Wellington and found William Wakefield seriously affected by a stroke. He
stayed to help with company affairs and Wakefield wrote to the London board
recommending that Bell be his successor. However, on Wakefield's death Fox
arrived in Wellington and, acting on a power of attorney, took over as
principal agent. Bell, angry at being outwitted by Fox, attached himself to the
governor. In December he accepted a seat on Grey's nominee Legislative Council
for New Munster. Fox had rejected the same offer and was furious with his
subordinate. Bell's action established his reputation for time serving. He
regained some credibility when he resigned the seat in 1850.
Before Bell took up his Nelson post he revisited Wairarapa
to see if he could persuade the Maori to sell their land. This time his
negotiations seemed about to succeed when the news arrived that the Canterbury
settlement would be sited at Banks Peninsula. With no immediate prospect of a
body of settlers for Wairarapa the negotiations were broken off and Bell
returned to Wellington. In December Grey and Bell negotiated the Waitohi
(Picton) land purchase.
In Wellington Bell had met Margaret Joachim Hort, third
daughter of the Jewish merchant Abraham Hort. They were married on 2 April
1849, although the refusal of the local Anglican minister, supported by his bishop,
to conduct a marriage between partners of different religions, forced them to
resort to a civil ceremony. They were to have six sons and one daughter.
After their marriage the Bells moved to Nelson, where again
Bell's main business was sorting out company settlers' claims to land and
compensation. He played a part in the constitutional agitation of 1849--50, but
was not much concerned with constitutional principles, although he now
frequently spoke against nomineeism.
When the New Zealand Company folded in 1850, Bell lost his
position in Nelson and moved to the Hutt. Grey appointed him commissioner of
Crown lands and he became an official member of the Legislative Council,
reconstituted by Grey in 1851. In 1853 he was elected to the Wellington Provincial
Council and in 1854 was appointed to the Legislative Council established by the
Constitution Act 1852.
During the first session of the General Assembly the
Legislative Council demanded that it have a member on the Executive Council,
and Bell joined James FitzGerald, Frederick Weld and Henry Sewell in office.
Sewell regarded him as a good man of business, with a 'plastic mind', and,
although not weighty, unlikely to embarrass. Within a few days Bell resigned
and returned to Wellington, worried about the health of his wife, Margaret
Bell. In the 1855 general election he won a seat in the House of
Representatives for the Hutt. During the session of 1856 he briefly held office
as colonial treasurer under Sewell.
In November 1856 Bell, having resigned from the House in
October, was appointed land claims commissioner. A couple of years later, with
Edward Stafford and C. W. Richmond, he took up a large sheep station in Otago.
In 1860 he was elected MHR for Wallace, and fought strongly for the creation of
Southland as a separate province.
By the early 1860s Bell was one of the settlers most
experienced in Maori affairs and land ownership; he had long spoken Maori
fluently. He became one of Governor Thomas Gore Browne's chief advisers after
the Waitara purchase, which he staunchly defended. When W. B. D. Mantell became
native minister in July 1861, Bell took charge of the Native Office, seeming to
see no conflict between his positions as an elected member of Parliament and as
an administrator. In September he moved resolutions in Parliament which placed
the administration of Maori affairs under the native minister and matters which
affected imperial interests, chiefly defence, under the governor, a division of
responsibility which would allow the colonists to escape financial liability
for any war.
His administration of Maori affairs was not particularly
efficient or vigorous. He was half-hearted about the 'peace policy' adopted by
Grey and Fox after Grey's return to New Zealand in August, and gave little
support to the new runanga system which the governor proposed to introduce.
When Mantell resigned his portfolio in December, Bell refused to take over the
ministerial position, although he continued to administer native affairs until
May 1862, when Fox relieved him of the duty.
When Alfred Domett became premier in August 1862, Bell took
office as minister of native affairs. He continued to regard himself as an
administrator, holding a political post which no one else was willing to hold,
and agreed with Domett's policy that the governor should retain responsibility
for Maori affairs. In the ministry Bell was easily led by Thomas Russell, who
persuaded him to pass the Native Lands Act, later used as a mechanism for the
easier purchase of land by the Europeans. He was with Grey when the Tataraimaka
block was reoccupied, an action leading to the renewal of the war in Taranaki.
He also advised Grey to return the disputed Waitara block to Kingi. Bell
acquiesced in Grey's invasion of Waikato and in August 1863 visited Australia
to recruit military settlers. He lost office in October, when Domett resigned,
and Fox, with a policy of ministerial responsibility for Maori affairs,
regained the premiership.
For the next few years Bell played a less active role in
national politics. He moved to Dunedin, entered provincial politics, and spent
time on his sheep station. He suffered a great deal from eye trouble and tried
such remedies as having his eyes bled.
In July 1869 Fox invited Bell to join his ministry without a
portfolio. Later in the year Bell and Isaac Featherston were sent to London to
plead for the retention of British soldiers and to secure a Treasury guarantee
for a loan of £2 million to be spent on immigration and public works.
Negotiations concerning the troops were unsuccessful; as a concession the
British government gave its guarantee to a £1 million loan.
Bell returned to New Zealand in time for the 1871 general
election. He was returned for the seat of Mataura, which he had held since
1866. When Parliament met, the government put him forward as speaker, a
position he held until 1875. As a man who had never held strong opinions on
anything and was used to adjudicating claims, he made a competent speaker. Bell
was created KB in 1873. After deciding to re-contest his seat in the general
election at the end of 1875, he then changed his mind and, anticipating that he
would be appointed to the Legislative Council, withdrew. The government,
however, made a policy decision not to make any new appointments to the council
and Bell, to his annoyance, was left out in the cold. In 1877 Harry Atkinson
finally made the appointment. He served on the council until 1882.
In 1880 John Hall appointed Bell and Fox to investigate
disputed claims arising from the confiscation of Maori land on the west coast
of the North Island. They recommended that a considerable amount of land should
be returned, but also made it clear that no policy was 'worth a thought' that
did not provide for the continued settlement of the country as well as for
justice to the Maori.
In October 1880 Hall offered Bell the post of agent general
in London. The appointment removed Bell from colonial politics to an
environment he found more congenial. He was called on to represent New Zealand
at a number of international conferences and exhibitions as well as at the 1887
Colonial Conference. He helped raise loans, interviewed applicants for top New
Zealand positions, negotiated steam ship services and administered immigration
policies. He had important and delicate diplomatic discussions on French
intervention in the Pacific, dealing with the problem of French penal colonies
and the future division of the New Hebrides. In these matters Bell's knowledge
of French enabled him to play a more significant role in British diplomacy than
was usually permitted to colonial representatives. His services saw him created
KCMG in 1881 and CB in 1886.
Bell and his family returned to New Zealand in November
1891. The stay was brief. In June the next year, back in London, Margaret Bell
died. Bell remained in London until 1896 when he retired to New Zealand and
died at his Shag Valley station, near Palmerston, Otago, on 15 July 1898.
Although Bell belonged to a group of early settlers who were
undeniably distinguished, appraisals of his personality were always qualified.
He was regarded as quick, clever and hard-working, but also as shallow and
unstable. He was a good-looking man, tall, with a high forehead and an
interesting face marred by drooping eyelids that gave him a rather supercilious
appearance. He was, by all accounts, vain. As a young man he was regarded as a
great social asset and played hard with the bachelor set and officers of the
imperial forces stationed in New Zealand. By his own admission he had a number
of pre-marital sexual liaisons with both Maori and European women, which caused
gossip and scandal. After his marriage he seems to have settled down and become
devoted to his wife and family.
The unsettled circumstances of Bell's youth may have
prevented him from attaining a secure identity. Always anxious to please,
always charming and witty, he always said yes. People were never quite sure
what he meant; they found that he shifted his position, talked around a
subject, never came to a decision. He left a remarkable record of reports,
dispatches and letters, all in beautiful, clear handwriting, which his father
rewarded with payment when he was a child. These are testimony to his inability
to say anything concisely. His cast of mind was that of the nineteenth century
administrator rather than that of the politician. Although his friends
repeatedly turned to him for administrative assistance, they rarely trusted him
as a colleague in government and he rarely desired such trust.
RAEWYN DALZIEL
Allan, R. M. Nelson. Wellington, 1965
Dalziel, R. M. The origins of New Zealand diplomacy.
Wellington, 1975
Sewell, H. The journal of Henry Sewell, 1853--7. Ed.
W. D. McIntyre. 2 vols. Christchurch, 1980
HOW TO CITE THIS BIOGRAPHY:
Dalziel, Raewyn. 'Bell, Francis Dillon 1822 - 1898'. Dictionary of New
Zealand Biography, updated 11 December 2002
URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/
The original version of this biography was published in the Dictionary of
New Zealand Biography Volume One (1769-1869), 1990
© Crown Copyright 1990-2003. Published by the Ministry
for Culture and Heritage, Wellington, New Zealand. All rights reserved.
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Bell, Francis Henry Dillon 1851 - 1936
Lawyer, mayor, politician, prime minister
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Francis Henry Dillon Bell, known to his friends and family
as Harry, was born at Nelson, New Zealand, on 31 March 1851, the eldest son
of the former New Zealand Company agent Francis Dillon Bell and his wife,
Margaret Hort. Bell was educated at the Church of England Grammar School in
Auckland and the High School of Otago (later Otago Boys' High School),
Dunedin, where he was head boy and dux. He entered St John's College,
Cambridge, England, in 1869 graduating BA in mathematics in 1873, and was
called to the English Bar in 1874. He worked in the chambers of Sir John
Gorst, a family friend, and it was presumably as a result of this connection
that he came to campaign for the Conservative party in the 1874 election.
Bell rejected an offer to remain in England, and returned to Wellington in
1875 to take up a legal practice as junior partner to C. B. Izard.
Bell quickly
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Francis Henry Dillon Bell, known to his friends and family
as Harry, was born at Nelson, New Zealand, on 31 March 1851, the eldest son of
the former New Zealand Company agent Francis Dillon Bell and his wife, Margaret
Hort. Bell was educated at the Church of England Grammar School in Auckland and
the High School of Otago (later Otago Boys' High School), Dunedin, where he was
head boy and dux. He entered St John's College, Cambridge, England, in 1869
graduating BA in mathematics in 1873, and was called to the English Bar in
1874. He worked in the chambers of Sir John Gorst, a family friend, and it was
presumably as a result of this connection that he came to campaign for the
Conservative party in the 1874 election. Bell rejected an offer to remain in
England, and returned to Wellington in 1875 to take up a legal practice as
junior partner to C. B. Izard.
Bell quickly made his mark in his profession, particularly
as an advocate in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. He was Crown solicitor
in Wellington from 1878 to 1890, and twice refused to accept appointment as a
judge in the 1880s. In 1875 he and four other barristers began the Colonial
Law Journal , which saw the beginning of law reporting in New Zealand. Bell
was also partly responsible for collecting arguments and decisions of the
Supreme Court and Court of Appeal into The New Zealand law reports , the
chief reference work for reports of that period. Bell made a special study of
the law relating to Maori, and was often engaged in important cases dealing
with land and with access to fisheries and lake beds. He married Caroline
Robinson at Christchurch on 24 April 1878; they were to have four daughters and
four sons. In 1886 Bell became senior partner in the firm which went through
various combinations in his lifetime, the last being Bell, Gully, MacKenzie and
Evans.
Between 1889 and 1893 Bell was heavily involved as leading
trustee in the disposal of the great Cheviot Hills estate of his late
father-in-law, William Robinson. In order to resolve family disputes, Bell sold
the estate to the Ballance government under the Land and Income Assessment Act
1891, thus unexpectedly paving the way for a new era in state land settlement.
As a rising lawyer and son of a former minister, Bell was
soon under pressure to enter politics. He was elected mayor of Wellington in
1891, 1892 and 1896. In response to two typhoid epidemics in the early 1890s he
took a determined initiative in giving Wellington its first modern drainage
system. He also left the city a free public library and other amenities.
Bell had declined to stand for Parliament in 1881, but came
forward unsuccessfully as an independent with a liberal land policy in 1890. In
1892 he contested a crucial Wellington by-election, which was widely regarded
as the first major test of the new Liberal government's popularity. Bell as
local notable was pitted against an array of ministers. His connection with
large landholders was used against him and the government gained a narrow
victory.
In 1893 Bell stood successfully as an oppositionist. He had
disposed of Cheviot Hills, and had substantial support from prohibitionists and
from women voters organised by his wife. He was an improbable politician, being
dogmatic and prosaic in style and impatient with questioners; he is said to
have been inclined to lose his temper under the raillery of opponents. He
proclaimed himself a radical and socialist, agreeing with most Liberal
legislation while resenting Premier Richard Seddon's methods of administration.
Following the election, the journal Fair Play accused him of having been
'exhilarated by something other than his victory' during a celebration party.
Bell sued for £501 damages; he proved to be a poor witness in his own defence
and was awarded only £1.
Although Bell showed skill as a constructive critic of
bills, his inability to make the transition from courtroom to debating chamber
was soon painfully obvious. He could not refrain from addressing the House as
he would a not-very-intelligent jury - indeed, he had treated juries in the
same way. The House soon had enough of him, and he of the House. The main
benefit of this brief essay into politics was Bell's friendship with his
benchmate, William Massey.
Bell retired from politics in 1896 and returned to his busy
legal practice. Following Robert Stout's appointment as chief justice in 1899,
he was soon widely regarded as leader of the New Zealand Bar. He appeared in
appeal cases before the Privy Council between 1900 and 1909, when his cogent
and meticulous arguments impressed British jurists. Bell was appointed one of
New Zealand's first king's counsels in 1907. From 1902 to 1910 he again served
as Crown solicitor for Wellington, and from 1901 to 1918 was president of the
New Zealand Law Society.
Bell seems to have taken no active part in politics in these
years. Following Massey's becoming prime minister in 1912 he was appointed to
lead the Legislative Council, the only non-Liberal nominee in 21 years. He soon
gained a unique ascendancy by force of personality and incisive intellect. Bell
was the leading advocate of an elective Council, based on proportional
representation; he apparently regarded this as a bulwark against the possibility
of the power of appointment falling into the hands of a radical government.
With Massey's support he managed to pass the Legislative Council Act 1914 over
the objections of the existing Council. It was to take effect at the first
general election after 1 January 1916, but Liberal leader Joseph Ward made its
non-operation a condition of his joining the National government in 1915. The
act became a dead letter after the First World War.
Although by rank a junior minister Bell became Massey's
right-hand man in administration and legislation; in these respects it was a
Massey--Bell ministry. He offered to stand down to allow the formation of the
National government, but was retained as attorney general. The task of framing
bills and regulations to meet the demands of an unprecedented war was primarily
undertaken by Bell, in conjunction with John Salmond.
Bell had firm views on New Zealand's responsibilities as
partner in the British Empire, supporting conscription and steady overseas
reinforcements. Yet he initiated the ultimatum to Britain for an adequate naval
convoy in October 1914, threatening to resign if the request was not granted.
He was also responsible for inserting into the Military Service Act 1916 a
clause allowing exemption on religious grounds. When New Zealand was awarded a
mandate over Western Samoa in 1919, Bell drafted the legislation setting up the
new government.
In the post-war Reform cabinet, Massey looked more and more
to Bell's advice, and Bell held a wide variety of portfolios. Massey's shrewd
management of men was complemented by Bell's sage advice on legislation,
although the two strong-willed men sometimes clashed in spectacular argument.
Bell was acting prime minister in 1921, from 1923 to 1924 and in 1925. In 1922
Bell visited England and represented New Zealand at the League of Nations and
at conferences at The Hague and Geneva. Unlike Massey, Bell's devotion to the
British Empire co-existed with strong support for the League of Nations. He was
also responsible in 1923 for completing the long-overdue reform of New
Zealand's system of conveyancing and land transfer. In these years Bell was
actively involved in the affairs of Western Samoa, campaigning to preserve the
health of Samoans and to extend education with a view to eventual
self-government. He brought improvements to the marketing of copra in an effort
to strengthen the territory's financial base.
The climax of Bell's political career came on the death of
Massey on 10 May 1925. Parliament was not in session, and the Reform Party was
without a clearly designated successor to its late chief. In the circumstances,
Bell was ideally suited to undertake temporary leadership: he stood apart from
party organisation, he had been for some months de facto prime minister
and he was known to have no political ambitions. Massey had probably advised
the governor general, Lord Jellicoe, to send for Bell, who took office on 14
May, thus becoming the first New Zealand-born prime minister. However, he
scrupulously refrained from any activity not of a stop-gap nature, and left the
parliamentary Reform Party completely free to choose between the two main
contenders, W. Downie Stewart and J. G. Coates. Immediately on Coates's
election on 30 May, Bell resigned to make way for him.
The inexperienced Coates was glad to retain Bell as attorney
general and minister of external affairs, and at his request Bell accompanied
Coates to the Imperial Conference of 1926. Bell opposed the Balfour Report,
which was later embodied in the Statute of Westminster 1931. He did not favour
the dominions being placed on a level of equality with Great Britain, and hoped
that the statute would never become operational in New Zealand. Bell continued
to lead the Legislative Council until 1928. He was much consulted during the
negotiations which led to the United and Reform parties forming a coalition
government in 1931, although he himself opposed the move. He continued his
involvement in politics until his death at Lowry Bay, Wellington, on 13 March
1936. Caroline Bell had predeceased him on 8 September 1935.
Bell's aloofness from party strife, his Roman sense of
responsibility and his magnanimous approach to public issues - qualities which
may have owed something to the Jewish and Quaker elements in his background -
entitle him to the rank of statesman. He was appointed a KCMG in 1915, a GCMG
in 1923 and a privy counsellor in 1926. He may also be regarded as the supreme
example of a tory radical in New Zealand politics. He placed the state above
sectional interest and groups advocating its violent overthrow. Yet, on
questions involving individual liberty and welfare, he was often found on the
left; he was on good terms with Labour MPs and enjoyed arguing with them.
Bell has been described as the outstanding lawyer in New Zealand
history, yet he also held high office in an astonishing range of public and
sporting organisations. He was at various times president of the Wellington
Rugby Football Union and the Wellington Racing Club, and was president of the
Wellington Cricket Association from 1893 to 1936. A Freemason for over 60
years, he was grand master in 1894 and 1895. Bell was endowed with remarkable
powers of concentration, and could move quickly from one concern to another
with apparent ease. He impressed his contemporaries with his powerful, indeed
overmastering, personality; he usually ended up by holding the floor at any
informal gathering. He could not suffer fools (or sometimes even opposition)
gladly, and possessed fearsome powers of invective. Some victims and opponents
considered him an arrogant bully. On the other hand, he was renowned as a
generous mentor of young colleagues, a genial host and an open-hearted
philanthropist. It is difficult to find a parallel to so many-sided a man in
New Zealand public life.
W. J. GARDNER
Millen, J. The story of Bell Gully Buddle Weir,
1840--1990. Wellington, 1990
New Zealand Law Society. Portrait of a profession.
Ed. R. Cooke. Wellington, 1969
Stewart, W. D. The Right Honourable Sir Francis H. D.
Bell. Wellington, 1937
HOW TO CITE THIS BIOGRAPHY:
Gardner, W. J. 'Bell, Francis Henry Dillon 1851 - 1936'. Dictionary of New
Zealand Biography, updated 11 December 2002
URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/
The original version of this biography was published in the Dictionary of
New Zealand Biography Volume Two (1870-1900), 1993
© Crown Copyright 1993-2003. Published by the Ministry
for Culture and Heritage, Wellington, New Zealand. All rights reserved.
Extract from chapter 3.3 of Ringing True, for Antony
Maitland
Towards the end of the 18th century, yet others of the
family may have played a part in producing linen on a large scale: certainly
they were linked with it by marriage. We saw in the last chapter that in 1716
Alexander Bell’s daughter Elizabeth (b. c.1697) married the linen draper Thomas
Greer, known to researchers of the extensive Greer archive in PRONI as ‘Thomas
Greer ‘I’. Greeves tells us that Daniel Bell (b. c.1700), Elizabeth’s brother,
was ‘witness to his br./law’s Will’; Frederick Greer, writing c.1908, confirms
this. Here is where genealogy can be as frustrating as angling: one catches
minnows, but much larger fish may get away. In PRONI’s Greer archive of, inter
alia, more than a thousand letters, no. 525 has a note penned on the reverse,
initialled ‘TG’. The note says ‘Daniel Bell was my great-grandfather’s partner
in the linen business at Tullylagan’. And Frederick Greer refers to Daniel as
‘junior partner’. So that it at first appeared to me that Daniel, a grandson of
Archibald, had been partner to a Greer of the chronologically arranged archive
letters to have been specifically addressed to his son Thomas Greer ‘III’, no.
525 was clearly not written by the son. Rather, it seems certain that the note
was written later, whether by Thomas Greer ‘III’, or possibly by Thomas Greer
JP MP of Sea Park, Carrickfergus who in the 1880s took an interest in the
history of his family. By then Elizabeth Fry’s work was very widely known.
There had indeed been a Bell business partnership with Thomas
‘II’. All through the letters, the Greer family appear to have been connected
with the Wakefields of London. Thomas II had a bleach green at New Hamborough,
alias Tullylagan, near Dungannon, first mentioned in 1775. In 1776 it belonged to
the firm ofWakefield, Pratt & Meirs. After the dissolution of that
partnership, Thomas’s offer of £2,000 for ‘New Hambro’ was accepted. Later that
year Messrs Wakefield & Bell entered into a partnership with him and they
ran it as Greer,Wakefield and Bell until 1796 when Thomas proposed buying
Wakefield & Co’s share. Not only did there seem to be a link with our Bells,
but another correspondent with the firm was Joseph Wakefield – of Moyallon. Had
the Wakefields and our Bells established the firm in London?
‘Mrs Gurney of Earlham’ proved indeed to have been born K/Catherine
Bell, daughter of Daniel Bell, and he a son of a Daniel Bell. But when
eventually a pedigree of ‘Bell of London’ came to light, again done by the
resourceful Greeves, it showed that they were a separate family, originating
near Cockermouth in Cumbria. The above-mentioned Thomas Greer of Sea Park
hazarded that that family’s paterfamilias, a John Bell of Embleton and later of
Hundith Hill near Cockermouth, who had been ‘convinced of Friends principles by
Geo Fox in 1653’, was related to and possibly even a brother of our Archibald.
There being no firm evidence for this, we must suspend judgment. Yet the
involvement of Bells – Daniel Bells at that – and Wakefields on both sides of
the Irish Sea seems more than coincidence. Would that we could ask Greeves and
Thomas Greer of Sea Park just why they researched those ‘Bells of London’. It
would have been nice for our family to bask in the reflected glory of a link
with Elizabeth Fry! Perhaps DNA profiling of contemporary descendants of all
concerned may yet prove one incontrovertibly.
CHADWICKS (Return to Family
File):
Downloaded from Ontario GenWeb Site, 9/12/2001
Town of Arthur
From: Wellington County, Ontario GenWeb
Frederick Austin Pakenham's first ministry:
Arthur, named for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was
the southern terminus of the Garafraxa "colonization road" to Owen
Sound. Settlers arrived in 1840 but the townsite was not officially surveyed
until 1846. The establishment of saw and grist mills hastened growth in the
community which was also the natural market centre for the area's agricultural
production. In 1851 a post office was opened and the first church and school
were organized. A weekly newspaper the Enterprise, was established and a
Divisional Court met at Arthur. Economic development was further encouraged
when, in 1872, a station of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway was opened in the
community.
That year, Arthur was incorporated as a village.
Edward Michael Stewart's latter period in Canada, other
Chadwicks here & FAP Chadwick born & educated here.
An Introduction to Guelph's Past
Guelph is a good place to explore some of the basic trends
in the history of Ontario's towns and cities; its stages of development and its
architectural styles are typical of South Central and Southeastern Ontario. At
the same time, it is distinctive, because of its original plan and because of
the emphasis on building with locally quarried, warm-hued limestone until the
1880s.
Guelph was founded as the headquarters of a land company's vast commercial
scheme in 1827, but it did not begin to grow beyond a village status until the
Grand Trunk Railroad reached it from Toronto in 1856. From the beginning,
Guelph has been closely connected to the surrounding agricultural area, acting
as a kind of "window" on the larger world for the region. Its
earliest industries were mills on the Speed River, followed by foundries making
tools and equipment for local farmers. The town and country relationship was
fostered by provincial exhibitions and agricultural fairs and by the coming of
the Ontario Agricultural College in the 1870s. An international orientation in
manufacturing was apparent from the 1870s with the production of sewing
machines, and pianos and organs. By 1879 Guelph achieved city status, with a
population near 10,000.
"From Smith's Canadian Gazetteer 1846"
From: Wellington County, Ontario GenWeb
GUELPH The District Town of the Wellington District, in the county of
Waterloo, forty-two miles from Hamilton; was laid out by the late Mr. John
Galt, on a block of land belonging to the Canada Company, in the year 1828. The
situation was well chosen, being in the midst of a finely undulating country,
and is high, dry and healthy. The neighbourhood of the town is well settled by
respectable families from the old country, principally English, many of whom
came from Suffolk and Norfolk, and who have some very fine farms. The Speed
River, a branch of the Grand River, runs past the town. The Gaol and court are
built of stone, and are handsome structures; but are placed in a bad situation,
being almost out of sight. A newspaper is published here every Friday, the
"Guelph and Galt Advertiser." Stages run every day to Preston and
Galt. Guelph contains five churches and chapels, viz., Episcopal, Presbyterian,
Catholic, British Wesleyan and Congregational.
Number of inhabitants, 1,240; who are principally English and Scotch, with
some few Irish.
Research into Buildings in Guelph.
From the Wellington GENWEB Page
Source: G.A. Stelter
By coincidence the example used here is a house built by the Rev Arthur Palmer
and associated with his assistant, Edward Michael Stewart. The house is called
here Tyrcathlen before being changed to Ker Cavan in the early 20thC:
Tyrcathlen may be a distortion of Tyrcallen, the Stewart estate in Antrim where
EM Stewart would have spent time.
...one particular house now known as Ker Cavan, 20 Stuart Street, built in the
1850s. It is one of the finest stone buildings in Guelph, and probably has more
information available on it than most places. Yet there are major gaps in what
we know about it.
For example, for Ker Cavan, Couling lists the construction date as 1855 and the
first owner, Rev. Arthur Palmer, rector of St. George's Anglican Church....
The records of land transactions, located in the Land Registry Office which is
now at the Provincial Government Building on Stone Road....
...showing Rev. Palmer's land dealings in the 1840s and 1850s on lot 6, in Land
Registry Book No. 01-A ...
This indicates that Palmer was the fourth owner of that property, after the
Canada Company, John McDonald (a Canada Company surveyor), and George Tiffany
(another Canada Company surveyor). Palmer purchased some 23 acres from Tiffany
(the B & S, or Bill of Sale) and Tiffany gave Palmer a mortgage for at
least part of it. This does not tell us much about any house on this large property.
However, Palmer took out another mortgage for 1800 pounds in September of 1853
from Rev. E.M. Stewart, who happened to be his assistant minister at St.
George's. This mortgage was renewed in 1856, and repaid in 1859. Presumably,
this money was used to build what Palmer called Tyrcathlen, and which was
renamed Ker Cavan in 1928.
Another type of source at the Land Registry office is the subdivision plan....
Rev. Palmer's land development scheme is shown...
Figure 3: Plan of Part of Tyrcathlen, 1855. This does not show the portion of
the property where Palmer actually built the house he called Tyrcathlen.
So where does this leave us? We can only assume that the mortgages had
something to do with the building of the house. We know from other sources such
as T.W. Cooper's map of Guelph in 1862 (Guelph Civic Museum) which shows most
of the houses in the town, that Palmer's house was already there by then. So it
was built sometime between 1853 and 1862. The local newspapers did not describe
new houses during this period so we can not go there for verification.
Third, Assessment Rolls, on microfilm at the Guelph Public Library.
These records are notoriously confusing and incomplete, yet they occasionally
provide information that can not be found elsewhere.
The assessment rolls for Guelph begin in 1852. Heads of households are listed
alphabetically in any of four wards where they reside or own property. Streets
and lot numbers are given (addresses with street numbers were not yet in
vogue). In order to know where the lot was located, refer to any of the early
Canada Company plans of the town. A large version of Plan 8 hangs on the wall
at the Land Registry Office, for example.
In 1852 and 1853 Palmer resided on lot 1029, owned by George Sunley, in a building
which served as the Anglican rectory and school. This lot had been the location
of the original Canada Company offices, near the focal point where the five
streets converge. In 1853 Palmer is listed as the owner of parts of 3 lots on
Yarmouth Street.
There is no roll for 1854.
By 1855 he had purchased 27 acres of lot 6, mentioned in the land registry
records. His residence seems to have been next to the Anglican Church, now St.
George's Square, on lot 77, where the Bank of Montreal is now located. The
address technically was Quebec Street.
The records are surprisingly incomplete for the next four years. In 1856 Palmer
is still living on Quebec Street, but there is no mention of lot 6. And for the
next three years, 1857, 1858, and 1859, Palmer does not appear in the rolls at
all. He obviously still owned all of the land across the river. And his grand
house was being built in those years. Why he would have escaped the taxpayer
still remains to be determined.
By 1860 "Tyrcathlen" is listed as such, consisting of 18 acres and a
house. The annual value of the house was listed at 100 pounds - presumably the
cost of renting such a place. In comparative terms, it was a grander house than
Adam Robertson's "Ferndell", built in 1855 on Mitchell Street which
was estimated to have an annual value of 65 pounds.
This tells us that the house was definitely there by 1860, but how much sooner
is still not clear. The actual construction must have taken place in the years
1856-1859, slightly later than Gordon Couling's estimate of 1855. A more
precise date might appear in another kind of source - correspondence, for
example -
but this is as close as we can get with these records.
Fourth, City Directories.
In the case of Tyrcathlen (Ker Cavan), we know from other sources that Rev.
Palmer retired to Ireland in 1873. From about 1876 to about 1917 the house was
owned and occupied by Alex Petrie and his family.
Acknowledgments
6
Writing a history of Guelph would have been an onerous task without
the Guelph Historical Society. Since 1961, its members have researched and
documented hundreds of stories about people, places and events and I am grateful
this invaluable community asset was available for this project. Guelph’s
newspapers also provided important historical records and photographs,
including The Annals of the Town of Guelph compiled by 19th century Herald editor
C. Acton Burrows, the Guelph Mercury’s 1927 centennial history edition and
Mercury writer Verne McIlwraith’s historical writing in the second half of the
20th century. The most comprehensive photographic records of Guelph’s history
are Robert Alan Maclean Stewart’s two-volume A Picture History of Guelph,
published to mark Guelph’s 150th birthday, and the photo archives at the Guelph
Mercury. Personal interviews were also important to bringing heart to the story
of Guelph’s 175 years, in particular interviews with Lou Fontinato, Bill
Craven, Jim Hunt, Karen Farbridge and Anne Godfrey, the late Harry Worton and the
late Carl Hamilton, who did not want to let illness get in the way of a good
political discussion. Others who provided extensive background were Murdo
MacKinnon, Imelda Porcellato, Terry Crowley, Peter Cameron, Melba Jewell, Pat
Joannie, Bill Hamilton, Owen Roberts, Rob Massey, Peter Meisenheimer, Dan
Hoornweg and Ken Hammill.
The committee which met regularly and contributed valuable feedback was
comprised of Don Coulman, Hugh Guthrie, Eileen Hammill, Bill McKinnie, Gil
Stelter and chair Norm McLeod to whom I am indebted for his leadership.
In gathering the illustrations, my thanks go to Bill Hughey, the archivist at
the Guelph Public Library, Kathleen Wall at the Guelph Civic Museum, Linda
Amichand, Lorne Bruce and Darlene Wiltsie at the University of Guelph Library,
Judy Nasby and Dawn Owen at the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre and Karen Wagoner
at the Wellington County Museum and Archives. Thanks to Gloria Dent, Shirley
Reed, Liz Gray and Gil Stelter for providing photographs, to Ted Ernst for
trusting me with his rare photographs of the Guelph Fire Department and to Ken Danby
for donating his painting of the carousel at Riverside Park.
For the cover, designed by Julie Brown, thanks to Bill MacDonald for permission
to use his father Evan’s exquisite portrait of Herbie Lawson, to Don Coulman
for his excellent collection of historic Guelph photographs and to Geza Tormasi
for the photo of Fred Eaton and Norm Jary opening the Eaton Centre. Thanks also
to Doug
MacMillan of Barrow Communications and editor Lori Jamieson.
Others who helped include Don Porterfield and Dave Johnson at the Guelph Police
Service, Sara Gladman at the Canadian Police College Library, Guelph Minor
Sports, Suzanne Bone and Brenda Vegso at the Guelph General Hospital, Lenna
Bradburn, Diane Neimanis, Dick Stewart, Rosemary Anderson, Rodger Crane,
Michael Grand, Arthur Mercer, Randall French, Steve Thorning, Gus Stahlmann,
Kathleen Lannigan, Lois MacDonald, Ed Pickersgill, Gerry Manning, Nancy
Giovanelli, Joanne Grodzinski, Beth McCracken, Harry Lane, Barbara Brown, Frank
Valeriote and Noel Hudson. Most of all, I must thank my sister, Gill Stead, for
her constant professional advice and generous technical guidance.
ABOUT THE Author
Hilary Stead was born and raised in Montreal and arrived in Guelph in 1971 to
attend university. She ran several businesses in the 1970s, including The
Candyman on Quebec Street and the Carden Street Cafe which she purchased from
James Gordon. Hilary received her BA from U of G and a diploma in journalism
from Conestoga College and has worked at the Guelph Mercury for 13 years. She
considers her son, Simon Rogers, to be the finest thing she ever produced.
Introduction
Introduction "It is true
indeed of practically all of old Ontario that it is a garden country,
sustaining an educated, prosperous and contented population and representing
Canadian life and civilization at its best.”
Frank Yeigh, Through the Heart of Canada, 1913.
When Paul Mercer died last year his son recalled how the long-time Guelph
merchant and former mayor was convinced that Guelph is “absolutely the best
city in all of Canada.”
People in Guelph, just as in Kingston and Moose Jaw and Charlottetown, are
often guilty of laying claim to being the best or the first. Guelphites love to
brag about having the best water, the finest blooms and the greatest number of
musicians per square foot. Our museum credits us with the first coat hanger,
the first jockstrap and the first lunch counter - at Guelph Collegiate.
Guelph’s claims to be the birthplace of the Communist Party of Canada and of
Ontario’s first free public library appear to be founded in fact. But other
claims often slip around the truth. Guelph did hire Canada’s first female chief
of a municipal police service in 1993. But before Lenna Bradburn came to
Guelph, Canada’s first female police chief was Liz Scout, appointed in 1988 to
lead the Blood Tribe Police in Alberta. And while Fred Metcalf was definitely a
cable television pioneer, Guelph’s broadcast of the 1953 coronation of Queen
Elizabeth II to a crowd gathered at King George Public School followed similar
broadcasts in London, Ontario and Montreal in 1952. What these sometimes
exaggerated claims say is that Guelphites see Guelph as a place where good
things happen, where there are visionary people who want to be the first to try
something new, like motorcycles for police officers, physical education
instruction in schools or a wet/dry recycling system for garbage.
There are thousands of stories of people and events that make up Guelph’s first
175 years. It is an interesting story. Despite Guelph’s reputation as a
conservative town that plods along sensibly, the history of Guelph has not been
dull.
The town was born during exciting times. Mackenzie’s Rebellion was brewing and
Upper Canada was becoming populated with tenacious individualists who were
giving up a thousands-year-old culture to build a new one. They included people
like Dr. William Clarke, whose membership in Ireland’s illicit Orange Order is
believed to have precipitated his departure from Dublin. He became Guelph’s
largest mill owner, a powerful magistrate and the town’s second mayor. Clarke
later married a daughter of Laura Secord, a Canadian legend from the War of
1812.
In contemporary times Guelph made the news on a hot July day in 1991 when Gwen
Jacob, a student at the University of Guelph, decided she should have the same right
as a man to walk down the Gordon Street hill without a shirt. She apparently did
not cause any accidents as drivers slowed to take a look, but she did cause the
law books to change the definition of an indecent act.
These pages tell some of the stories from Guelph’s history so far. Since they only
scratch the surface, they may motivate some readers to visit Guelph’s museums and
historic buildings and explore its archives and libraries to learn more about the
city’s rich history. The story starts at the beginning, with perhaps the best
idea of all, John Galt’s dream of a planned community.
This photograph of the 1908 Guelph Old Home Week at St. George’s Square was taken
by Charles Burgess, Guelph’s most important photographer. COURTESY OF GUELPH
MUSEUMS
John Galt John Galt FOUNDS A NEW TOWN
he founding of Guelph grew out of one of the most lucrative land speculation
deals in Canadian history. In 1792, the British Crown purchased a huge tract of
land, stretching from Burlington Bay to Port Burwell and including present-day
Guelph, from a band of nomadic Algonkian-speaking Indians for 1,180 British
pounds. By 1826, the land that would become Guelph was part of the sale of 2.3
million acres by the British to the Canada Company for 2.5 million pounds. Few
land flips before or since could claim to net such a profit.
The Canada Company was the brainchild of John Galt, a Scottish novelist and a
man with big dreams. Galt had been hired by a group of settlers in the Niagara
area who wanted to be compensated for the losses they sustained when they were
caught in the middle of the War of 1812. Despite strong connections to the
British halls of power he was not able to pry loose any money, but his efforts
gave him the idea for the Canada Company.
Galt reasoned that a private venture with enough capital could buy large
amounts of the land that the Crown had acquired from Canada’s aboriginal
peoples and sell it profitably to the flood of European settlers. He managed to
raise one million pounds from British merchants and bankers and headed to Upper
Canada.
Initially, Galt negotiated with the powerful Family Compact headed by Rev. John
Strachan in York (Toronto). He soon shifted his attention to land further away
from the political hotbed and inked the deal for 2.3 million acres.
This comprised 1.3 million acres of Upper Canada’s remaining unleased Crown
reserves, including the 42,000 acre Halton Block that would become Guelph and
the surrounding township, plus the one million-acre Huron Tract that stretched
to Lake Huron where Galt founded the town of Goderich. The land that would
become Guelph, part of the hunting territory of the Neutral Indians, was beside
a large tributary of the Grand River, which Galt called the Speed River. He saw
it as a logical choice for the company’s first major development, within
trading distance of York and many of the surrounding townships - including
Waterloo, Erin and Eramosa - that were already active settlements.
Galt, a storyteller as well as a land speculator, understood that the first
swing of his axe would be an historic moment. In his autobiography he captured
the solemnity of the evening of April 23, 1827 when he, together with Dr.
William “Tiger” Dunlop, a fellow adventurer and author, and Charles Prior, the
manager he had hired to supervise the building of the new town, felled a large
maple tree and shattered the silence of the forest.
“The tree fell with a crash of accumulating thunder, as if ancient nature were
alarmed at the entrance of social man into her innocent solitudes,” Galt wrote.
It was no accident that the first tree came down on St. George’s Day. Galt
believed Guelph would become an important city, and chose the national holiday
honouring the patron saint of England as a day fit to launch the city with the
royal name. He chose a name steeped in history, dating back to the Hanoverian
Welfs and the Guelfs who controlled the dynasties of Northern Italy in medieval
times. King George I brought his ancestry as a Guelph and elector of Hanover to
the British royal family with his accession to the throne in 1714.
John Galt got himself into trouble when he decided his city should be the first
in the empire to use the royal name. Back in England his decision was
interpreted as a slight towards Lord Goderich who had assisted in the formation
of the Canada Company. Galt was ordered to change the name to Goderich. He
argued a change was impossible because deeds had already been issued in the Guelph
name, but he smoothed ruffled feathers by giving the name Goderich to the town
he built soon afterwards on the shores of Lake Huron. Focusing on a piece of
wilderness comfortably distant from York gave Galt the independence he savoured
and the room to indulge his imagination. Galt agreed with his scouts that the
tongue of land at the bend in the Speed River was an excellent focal point for
the fan-shaped city he envisioned. The stump from the first felled tree was, “The
Priory” was sketched by David Allan in his 1939 book, “Guelph: Its Early Days
and Later.” Guelph’s first building, erected in 1827 beside the Speed River,
provided temporary lodging for settlers and also served as a tavern, a post
office, a school and John Galt’s home. Later the Canadian Pacific Railway
station, it was torn down in 1923. COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY
ARCHIVES
John Galt Founds a New Town
for a time, fitted with a sun dial and served as the town clock. Today the spot
where Galt proposed five streets branching out in a radial design is marked
with a plaque on the wall below the railway bridge at the corner of Macdonell
and Wellington streets. Unlike some Canadian cities that grew around the demands
of rural settlers, Guelph was a planned city and grew from the inside out. Galt
had researched the creation of American cities, in particular Buffalo, and believed
the nucleus of a town needed a tavern, a mill, a store and a school house.
Although not a particularly religious man, Galt also believed churches were
necessary to successful cities and he set aside some of the most prominent
pieces of land for places of worship. He granted the highest drumlin, later the
site of the Church of Our Lady Immaculate, to the Roman Catholic Church as
thanks to Alexander Macdonell, the Bishop of Upper Canada, for his support in
creating the Canada Company.
After the initial clearing of roads and a commercial centre, Galt and Prior
moved on to creating public buildings. The most important was the Priory, which
could house as many as 100 newcomers at a time and also held the company
offices and a tavern. By October 1827, 70 houses, some quite primitive, had
been built. Farm land was selling for $1.50 to $2.50 an acre and city lots for $20
to $40.
One of the largest groups of settlers to descend on Guelph at one time was a
party of Scots whose first attempt at settling in the New World was a dismal
failure. Evicted from their homeland during the Highland Clearances, they had
gone to LaGuarya in Venezuela where the land proved to be unfit for cultivation.
The British government redirected them to Canada, via New York, where a
consular official who was a friend of Galt advised them to head for Guelph. After
a brutal journey by lumber wagon, the 135 bedraggled travellers put themselves
at Galt’s mercy. He sold 50- and 100-acre lots to each family and waived the
first payment because of their weakened state. This group of settlers
eventually made good on their debts and contributed greatly to Guelph’s
development. They included David Stirton who would become Guelph’s first MP and
the ancestors of Alf Hales, MP from 1957 to 1974. While Galt pursued his
passion for planning and community building, his employers in England grew
impatient. By all accounts, his bookkeeping left much to be desired and he had
a habit of making decisions without getting approval from the company. In 1829,
Galt was recalled to England where he spent a short period in debtors’ prison for
failing to pay his sons’ school fees. He later participated in one final land
scheme, this time in the Eastern Townships of Lower Canada, but he never
returned to Canada. Galt died in Scotland in 1839.
Galt’s sons also played important roles in the history of Upper Canada. Sir
Thomas Galt was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1887 and
Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt was one of the Fathers of Confederation and the
first minister of finance for the new Dominion of Canada. John Galt Jr. became
the registrar at Goderich. One of Guelph’s favourite local legends involves the
switch in the town plans for Guelph and Goderich; the switch is usually blamed
for some confusing street configurations but there is no evidence to support
the story. Both towns were planned by Galt, using his radial design with
streets reaching out in a fan shape. The explanation for some of Guelph’s
odd-shaped streets and blocks became clearer in the early 1980s when Guelph
historian Gil Stelter discovered an overlay on an early copy of the city plan.
It showed that Galt’s successors made changes to his ambitious design, reducing
the amount of public space. Although it was scaled back, Galt’s plan was too
well established to be entirely lost.
Despite the criticism of Galt’s methods, his vision of a planned community
became a selling point for the Canada Company. The company, which sold its last
lot in the 1950s, was able to sell land profitably in and around a town where
important amenities were already available. The Canada Company’s venture in
Guelph struggled after Galt’s departure. The company halted the capital
investment and toughened the terms of land purchases, often incurring the wrath
of Guelph’s citizens for its ruthlessness in foreclosing on those who fell
behind in paying for their lots and for charging high prices at the company
store. Some families could not hang on and sold their partially-cleared lots.
Others left to seek better prospects further west or south of the border. Most,
however, stayed and persevered.
John Galt’s 1827 radial plan had five streets branching out in a fan shape from
the spot where the first tree was felled.
JOSEPH BOUCHETTE, “The British Dominions in North America, Vol. 1” (LONDON,
1831).”
Industry an Industrious
Population
The town that John Galt put in place grew around the large
triangular market grounds that he believed would create a healthy local
economy. At first, the pioneer population was too poor to sustain much commerce
but gradually shops and hotels were built in a cluster around the market. Galt
knew the town would need a grist mill if it was to prosper so he convinced the Canada
Company to build the Guelph Mill. Farmers would no longer face a trek to Galt
or Dundas to have grain ground to flour. By 1832, the mill had been sold to
William Allan, one of the wealthy settlers the company had lured to Guelph. A
second mill, the Wellington, or People’s Mill, was built by Frederick George.
Allan augmented his income with a distillery across the river, where he fed
pigs and cattle on the slops, and by operating a woollen carding business. The
People’s Mill also maintained a piggery and a distillery and ran a sawmill, a
tannery and a foundry. As the road system improved, Guelph became a bustling
commercial centre, offering most services the new settlers and farmers would
need. There were blacksmiths, wheelwrights, saddlers, harness makers, a watch
maker, shoemakers, carpenters, painters, cabinet makers, dressmakers, tailors
and coopers who made the barrels for the beer and whiskey produced locally in
large quantities.
The length of time needed to travel even short distances meant that Guelph’s
many inns and hotels were always busy. Their guests included teamsters who, in
the days before the railroad, had ample work hauling goods by wagon. John Smith
was the first mayor when Guelph attained town status in 1855 and the arrival of
the Grand Trunk Railway the next year triggered a period of land speculation.
The prospect of prosperity was celebrated in 1856 with the construction of a
Market House/Town Hall following a bitter and protracted debate over the tax burden
it would create. The building was much more than the centre for civic administration
that it is today. It housed stalls for market gardeners and butchers, a court
room, an engine house, police lockups, the mayor’s and treasurer’s offices,
council chambers and the Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Institute, the town’s library
that had outgrown its first home in the rear of Thomas Sandilands’ general
store. (When the province passed the Free Libraries Act in 1882, Guelph, with
its collection of 2,625 books, became Ontario’s first free public library, a
few days ahead of Toronto.)
Although Guelph never abandoned its connection to agriculture, the arrival of
the railway which sliced through the market square and the heart of Galt’s
radial plan certainly set the city on a new path. One of the first men to take
advantage of Guelph’s new status as a railway town was James Goldie. He arrived
in Guelph in 1860 and built the Speedvale Mill on a site near what is now John
Galt Gardens across from Riverside Park. Four years later, after fire destroyed
the People’s Mill, Goldie sold his property to John Pipe and built Goldie Mill
on the larger fire-damaged site to the south. The Goldie family would dominate
the business and political scene in Guelph well into the 20th century. James’ son
Thomas became president of the Dominion Millers’ Association and played a
leading role in everything from the city’s baseball and cricket clubs to Knox
Presbyterian Church, the school board and the Guelph Junction Railway. Elected
mayor in 1891, he died in office a year later of pneumonia at the age of 41.
James’ son Lincoln became an Ontario cabinet minister. Scottish businessman
William Bell was visiting Guelph when he decided to become a partner in his
brother’s small organ and melodeon company. Opened in 1864, the factory
initially produced one organ a week but at its peak in 1885 employed 450 people
to manufacture 5,000 to 6,000 organs and pianos a year. The Bell Organ and Piano
Company eventually became the city’s largest employer and dominated the
landscape of the downtown with two large factories that filled a city block
along Carden Street.
Guelph marked its new town status in 1856 by building the limestone Market House/Town
Hall, a Victorian architectural gem designed by William Thomas. The tower was
removed in 1961. COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES
10
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American machinist Charles Raymond came to Guelph in 1861
and built the Raymond Sewing Machine Company into one of Guelph’s largest
employers. His daughter, Emma, married John Crowe who also set up his own
business, Crowe’s Iron Works, at the corner of Commercial and Norfolk streets
in 1868. It was one of about a dozen foundries in the downtown core. Another
major manufacturing company that got its start in the 1860s was Armstrong,
McCrae and Co. which by 1886 employed 250 people in its woollen factory. The
company was one of several operated by Thomas and David McCrae, the grandfather
and father of Col. John McCrae. During the same era, Robert Stewart, who built
his first steam planing mill on the site now occupied by St. James Church on
Glasgow St., expanded rapidly. His imposing Wyndham Street building,
constructed in 1869, stood until 1921 when it was destroyed in Guelph’s most
spectacular fire. The site was redeveloped for a new downtown post office and
Stewart’s son Edward relocated to his Cardigan Street lumberyard. The family
lumber business was finally closed in 1962 by Edward’s son, Robert, one of
Guelph’s most colourful 20th century businessmen.
Brewing glimpse into Guelph’s industrial history must include brewing, always a
thriving local enterprise except for a slump during the Prohibition years
(approximately 1915-1927 in Ontario). In 1843, nine breweries served a
population of just 700. By 1900, 42 public houses, hotels and taverns satisfied
the thirst of a population of 11,500. One of the few early watering holes still
standing is the Albion Hotel which began as Stell’s Tavern in 1856. A
three-storey stone building later replaced the frame structure. When Rodger
Crane became the sixth owner of the hotel in 1982, he is said to have inherited
a harmless ghost believed to be the lovelorn daughter of a former owner who
took her own life.
One of the earliest breweries in Guelph was James Hodgert’s, established in
1827. It was managed by a young John Sleeman until he bought a large Waterloo
Avenue property and opened the Silver Creek Brewery in 1851. The brewery was
passed on to John’s son George, who would become the first mayor when the town became
the City of Guelph in 1880, a position he would occupy on and off for the next
quarter century. George Sleeman was a busy man, but unlike most other community
leaders of his day he was not a high-profile member of a local church. He was
president of the Wellington Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the Brewers and
Malters Association of Ontario, the Wellington Hotel Company, the Guelph
Bicycle Club, the Guelph Rifle Association, the Guelph Turf Club and the Maple
Leaf Baseball Club. Sleeman built the town’s streetcar system, chaired the
Provincial Winter Fair and was treasurer of the Odd Fellows Progress Lodge. He supported
the Guelph Opera House, the Guelph Junction Railway and the preservation of the
Priory.
Sleeman and his sons also expanded the brewery by establishing the Spring Bank
Brewery on Edinburgh Road. In 1916, the Canada Temperance Act forced the
company to rely on sales of malt and ginger ale. Sleeman died in 1926. In 1933,
his son, George Alfred, was caught smuggling alcohol into the United States.
Faced with the prospect of jail, he sold the business to pay the taxes. In
1985, John Sleeman picked up where his ancestors had left off when he purchased
the dormant company from Standard Brands. Sleeman Breweries, now located in the
Hanlon Industrial Park, has become one of the most successful breweries in
Canada.
By 1857, Guelph had two railways serving local industry. The accumulation of
capital and skilled labour was producing a shift from a mercantile to an
industrial economy, although most of the businesses were still small enterprises,
often employing only one or two people. In 1866, a Board of Trade was formed by
Guelph’s business leaders who worked behind the scenes but had close relationships
with the partisan newspapers and the town council. The pressing issues of the
day were taxation, attracting new manufacturing to Guelph, beautification of
the city and the need for a proper train station.
George Brooks and Skin Robinson, ca. 1890-1911, with a bag of Goldie Mill
flour, produced by the family that operated flour mills in Guelph for almost 60
years.
ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS,
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH LIBRARY
A
B
An Industrious Population
Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827-2002
The 1870s ushered in a construction boom, when many of the city’s historic
limestone buildings were built, including the Customs House/Post Office and the
Wellington Hotel. But it was also a time of uncertainty. Guelph was losing
ground as an economic player to places like Brantford and Berlin (Kitchener).
An international depression from 1877 to 1879 forced some families to rely on
soup kitchens and many local businesses were hurt. David Allan sold the family
mill to a Brantford man for 10 cents on the dollar. Hardship fueled conflict.
The Orange Order was active in Guelph from the 1840s and held marches until the
1940s. Trade unions were formed as craftsmen were replaced by unskilled labour
and machines. Many workplaces were fire traps, accidents were often blamed on
the workers and some factories were still employing children.
Early trade unions, like the tailors’ union formed in 1858 and the shoemakers’
Knights of St. Crispin lodge established in 1869, were more support groups than
catalysts for change. One of the earliest examples of worker agitation was the
campaign by retail clerks for stores to close at 7 p.m. instead of an hour
later. While the vast majority of merchants were receptive, there were three
holdouts and the campaign failed. Volunteer firefighters were more successful
when they went on strike to have their stipend doubled to $50 a year. In 1872,
more than a thousand people attended a rally in market square in support of
reducing the workday to nine hours. That year, the Working Men’s Club was
formed by employees of some of Guelph’s large factories to lobby for improved
wages and working conditions.
With its population hovering around 10,000, Guelph pursued
city status in 1879, hopeful that strategies available to cities under the
Municipal Act, such as offering incentives to industry, would improve economic
conditions. New businesses were promised tax relief and free water for 10 years
provided they met performance guarantees, hired a stipulated minimum number of
workers and were not in competition with existing manufacturers. The policy was
supported by the voters although only men who owned property were eligible to
vote.
Business leaders, including Charles Raymond, William Bell and David McCrae, saw
industrial growth as the key to prosperity and supported the city when it obtained
a charter in 1884 to build the Guelph Junction Railway. The Grand Trunk was
known to have a rate-fixing deal with Great Western, the other railway with
service to Guelph. When the Grand Trunk and Great Western amalgamated in 1882,
Guelph businessmen saw a city-owned railway as a way to fight the monopoly’s
high freight rates.
The railway increased the city’s taste for public ownership of municipal
services, initiated in 1878 with the establishment of a public water works in
response to the need for improved fire protection. In 1880, the city laid 13
miles of mains to distribute water from springs near York Road. Guelph’s pure
spring water became a selling point, but it was not long before the city became
a victim of its own success. Large water users received discounted rates,
resulting in wasteful practices. The added burden of huge industrial growth and
the associated new residential suburbs led to contamination of the water supply
and outbreaks of typhoid. The city responded by installing a sewer system in
1903 but the problem of contaminated drinking water continued. During the
summers of 1908 and 1909, the city built a pipeline from the Arkell Springs to
a water tower on Prospect Street. This led to one of the city’s first major
environmental projects - the reforestation of the area surrounding the springs
to protect the quality of the water.
Guelph’s gas and electricity distribution system began in 1866 when the first
coal oil street lights were lit. It was a private initiative and would remain
in private hands when coal oil was replaced by gas and the Guelph Gas Company installed
pipes under city streets in exchange for providing free gas to light street
lamps and public buildings. In 1903, the Guelph Light and Heat Commission was
created and the city purchased what was now known as the Guelph Light and Power
Company for $155,000. Gas was generated by a steam engine at the gas works on
Surrey Street and by a water wheel at Allan’s dam until power became available
from the generating station at Niagara Falls in 1908. Emissions from
coal-powered factories dropped as they switched to electricity.
Guelph Horse Shoeing Forge, ca. 1890.
COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES
12
Newspapers
The first newspapers published in Guelph were the
short-lived Guelph Herald, published in 1842 for nine months by Charles
McDonnell, and The Wellingtonian which enjoyed a brief existence the next year.
The Advertiser appeared in 1845, published weekly and then tri-weekly by John
Smith. Smith wrote on civic matters for decades while holding the position of
reeve and then as the first mayor of the town of Guelph. Smith had no qualms
about using his paper to drive his political agenda, but he was not alone. The
second Guelph Herald was established as a weekly in 1847 by F.D. Austin and was
soon taken over by George Pirie, a staunch Conservative, who was publisher for
22 years and played a prominent civic role. The Herald became a daily under
Frederick Jasper Chadwick, an alderman who was elected mayor in 1877. It was
later published by Henry Gummer and located in the Douglas Street building that
today bears his name. The Wellington Mercury was founded as a weekly in 1853 by
George Keeling and became the Guelph Daily Mercury in 1867. Jonathan Wilkinson
bought the Advertiser in 1858 and turned the paper into a daily, amalgamating
with the Mercury in 1873. When The Advocate was established in the 1890s,
Guelph’s citizens were served by three daily newspapers.
One of the most influential Guelph newspapermen in the 19th century was James
Innes who bought the Mercury in 1862 and took on a partner, John Davidson, in
1894. Innes controlled the paper for 36 years, including 1882-96 when he served
as Guelph’s Liberal Member of Parliament. The Mercury recruited talented writers
and editors over the years, including novelist and historian Thomas B. Costain who
worked as an editor at the Mercury before going on to a career in the United
States as associate editor of the Saturday Evening Post and the author of “The
Black Rose” and “Son of a Hundred Kings”. Before the era of radio (CJOY was not
launched until 1948) and motion pictures, Guelph newspapers were the link to
world events and the arena for local political debate. Towards the end of the
20th century, Guelph was served by only one daily, the Guelph Mercury, and by
the twice-weekly Guelph Tribune. The 1990s was a time of great upheaval for
newspapers across Canada. In the space of about five years, the Mercury was owned
by Thomson Newspapers, Conrad Black’s Hollinger Company, Sun Media, Quebecor,
and finally Torstar. By 2002, regionalization was in full swing and the
Mercury, the Cambridge Reporter and the Kitchener-Waterloo Record merged some
parts of their operations into Torstar’s Grand River Valley Newspapers.
As Guelph’s dominant sewing machine and piano and organ manufacturers, both of
which had been heavily subsidized over the years by the city, fell victim to a
changing economy, new industries filled the void. Local incentives convinced
Gilson Manufacturing to choose Guelph over Berlin and the company built a large
plant on York Road in 1907. Initially Gilson’s produced its “goes-like-sixty”
engine and other farm machinery but later switched to furnaces and
refrigeration equipment that was installed in Canadian warships during the
Second World War. Company president Horace Mack also attracted attention for
his love of waterfowl and his practice of keeping birds in cages on the factory
lawn. Mack’s efforts led to the creation of the Kortright Waterfowl Park on Niska
Road.
Other companies established prior to the First World War included The Canada
Ingot Iron Company, later Armtec, in the old Inglis and Hunter foundry beside
the Norwich Street bridge and the Taylor-Forbes Company which built a lawn
mower and radiator factory on the old Allan Distillery site after it was
vacated by the bankrupt McCrae Woollen Mills. Taylor-Forbes peaked in size at 500
employees in 1924 but was bankrupt by 1955. The Guelph Casket Company prospered
on Wellington Street where Canadian Tire would later open its first Guelph
store. Spring maker James Steele enjoyed success on Woolwich Street with his
“cowcatcher” bumper invented to save passengers from being crushed by the
city’s streetcars. It was a municipal loan that convinced the Page-Hersey
Company in Welland to build a large plant on York Road where 100 employees produced
tubing and pipe and later, auto parts.
At the same time, the Standard White Lime Company, formed from two older
companies, began production on the western edge of the city. A hundred years
later, the Dolime Quarry, still technically located in the township, slowed
production because demand for its products, used in manufacturing steel, was
hit by a slump in the auto industry. The news was comforting to some Guelph
residents who had complained for years about dust, noise and damage to their
homes from the blasting.
One of the most influential business leaders in Guelph after 1900 was James
Walter Lyon, owner of the World Publishing Company. Lyon made a name for himself
by buying large tracts of land in St. Patrick’s Ward and giving portions to
industries as an incentive to set up shop in Guelph. He generated profits by selling
surrounding lots to workers to build homes, a plan so successful it
precipitated a public health crisis from uncontrolled sewage which contaminated
the water supply. After the city responded by tapping into the new water source
in Arkell, Lyon attracted three more major industries to his subdivision, the
International Malleable Iron Company (IMICO), the Guelph Stove Company and the
Dominion Linens Company. Other large companies established in this era were the
Guelph Paper Box Company, the Callander Foundry on Crimea Street and the Dalyte
Electric Company on the Allan’s Mill site which manufactured light bulbs.
Guelph now had paved streets, a new train station, an impressive new library, improved
public utilities and large banks at St. George’s Square. It was a time of
enormous industrial growth, but Guelph never lost its connection to agriculture
and rural life and still promoted itself as the livestock capital of Canada. At
the turn of the century, after lobbying by the Guelph Fat Stock Club, the city
was chosen as the site for the Provincial Winter Fair and each year would
showcase the best of Ontario’s farmers. Today, many believe the fair was
eventually replaced by the Royal Winter Fair, but the latter was a national
exhibition established in Toronto in 1922. The prestige of the Guelph fair fell
after 1922, but the provincial fair continued to be held annually until 1938.
Guelph was a city in transition in the late 19th century, holding fast to its
rural traditions while courting an urban identity. An economic downturn in 1896
led to wage reductions at some of Guelph’s large factories and provided the
impetus for the formation in 1898 of the Guelph Trades and Labour Council. By
the early 1900s many workers had organized, including brewers and piano and
organ workers. They pushed for more concessions for workers and participated in
politics at all levels. They protested tax breaks for industry and promoted
union-friendly companies. Guelph held its first Labour Day parade in 1902, the
same year the labour council staged a stormy protest over the city’s plan to
become one of the first of 111 Ontario communities to receive a library grant
from U.S. industrialist Andrew Carnegie. Despite the argument that it was
“blood money” earned by exploiting his workers, the city accepted the $20,000.
The activities of the Labour Council were not always honourable, and sometimes
displayed an anti-immigrant bias. Its 1912 platform contained many important social
justice goals including free compulsory education, abolition of child labour
and government inspection of workplaces but also listed “exclusion of
Orientals”. With the arrival of the First World War, 3,300 people enlisted at
Guelph and local union and business leaders spearheaded campaigns to raise
money for war bonds and charity efforts.
Biltmore Hats got its start in 1919 when Toronto’s Fried Lee Hat Company opened
on Suffolk Street. Hammond Manufacturing had its roots in Oliver Hammond’s
small workshop behind his home on Glasgow Street. His sons, Len, Roy, Ken and
Canadian amateur radio legend Fred Hammond built the company into a major
manufacturer of transformers. Northern Rubber, later Dominion Rubber and now
operated by Uniroyal, built a large factory after the First World War that
still stands on Huron Street. For the next three decades Guelph settled into
what some describe as a sleepy period during which there was minimal growth in
population, industry or culture. The city rested on its laurels as a community
with a stable population that shopped in a busy downtown core and enjoyed
relative prosperity.
But not everyone was comfortable. The Depression of the 1930s meant layoffs and
plant slowdowns and more than 3,000 people depended on relief. Wealthier
families would invite hungry people into their kitchens for a meal, but the
lack of a formal social safety net ensured that some people suffered greatly.
Although there were industrial casualties, most Guelph businesses managed to
survive and the diverse economy was credited with softening the impact
experienced in other towns. When Canada went back to war, military contracts
boosted employment at Guelph’s foundries and textile and electrical industries.
Several large Guelph companies were established during the Second World War,
including W.C. Wood which became Canada’s largest manufacturer of freezers, and
Hart Chemical. Business was booming by the mid 1950s with existing businesses
expanding and new companies providing thousands of new jobs. The foundries
continued to prosper and textiles remained strong in Guelph, especially
Biltmore Hats, Harding Carpets and Rennie Industries, which produced men’s
shirts.
But it was the arrival of General Electric in 1954, made possible by the
controversial annexation of 2,500 acres of land from Guelph Township, that
marked the most profound change, instantly adding 1,000 new jobs. Almost as
many new jobs were added when Imperial Tobacco opened a plant next door in
1959. Thousands of construction workers were kept busy throughout the ‘50s
building suburban factories, shopping malls and homes. A 1953 Mercury article
about the opening of a supermarket reads more like an advertisement than a news
story, but captures the tone of the times: “Standing majestically on the corner
of Woolwich Street and Speedvale Avenue, as material evidence of the vast
expansion in Guelph already completed and that to come in the future, Loblaws deluxe
groceteria today opened its doors to the wise shoppers of Guelph and district
who will now have all the space in the world to conveniently park while they enjoy
the ultimate of modern shopping convenience.” When the decade was over Guelph
was no longer a compact community. The city was fundamentally changed by the construction
of shopping centres, the first at the corner of Speedvale Avenue and Stevenson
Street in the late 1950s followed by the Willow West Mall in the 1960s and the Stone
Road Mall in 1975. By the early ‘80s the merchants who had stayed downtown were
suffering and few people challenged the wisdom of inviting Eaton’s to include
Guelph in its massive expansion into city cores. The Eaton Centre dramatically
altered the map of downtown Guelph by swallowing up Quebec Street East.
In the 1980s and ‘90s, Guelph settled comfortably into its place as a mid-sized
Ontario city with a stable economy. The University of Guelph was the largest
employer followed closely by auto parts giant Linamar. Established Guelph firms
like Hammond Manufacturing, W.C. Wood, Better Beef, the Co-operators Insurance
and Blount Canada, established as Oregon Saw Chain in 1952, all expanded and
compensated for companies like Gilson’s and Harding Carpets that did not
survive. The abandonment of IMICO by its U.S. owner provided Guelph with both
comic relief and financial grief. The Beverley Street foundry, which had once
provided a livelihood for Guelph’s immigrant factory workers, became a liability
that no one wanted to assume. The next owner, John Long, acquired it for a
dollar and then gave it to Walter Tucker and Michael Baldasaro who used it as
the headquarters for their marijuana- and nudity-advocating Church of the
Universe. Dubbed “Hempire Village”, the squatters lived there while the city
sought a buyer for non-payment of back taxes. The contaminated structure was
targeted by arsonists six times, raising alarm in the neighbourhood and finally
forcing the city to evict the occupants and take control when a buyer could not
be found. Today, IMICO is just one of 175 potentially contaminated properties
that will have to be looked at as part of a long-term cleanup of brownfield
sites.
In 2001, the city purchased a large section of land in the southwest industrial
park which it will use to attract new industries to Guelph. An economic
downturn, made worse by the events of September 11 in the United States, could
produce a slowdown in the city’s large automotive parts sector. With the
historic diversity of its economy, Guelph should weather the storm. The
International Malleable Iron Company in St. Patrick’s Ward was a major Guelph
employer in the first half of the 20th century, employing many immigrant
workers – men, women and children.
Transportation
Roads, Rails And Riders
John Galt knew that good roads were essential if Guelph was to become the jewel
of Upper Canada that he envisioned
The new town was located in a forest so dense that even the outline of the
nearby Niagara escarpment was not discernable. The chopping and burning evoked
Armageddon as crews of men cleared the ancient stands of sugar maple, oak, hemlock
and white pine
In the summer of 1827, an inviting avenue dubbed “the Glory of Guelph” was
cleared as the principal entrance to the town from Waterloo Township. Almost
two centuries before planners began to rethink cutting such wide swaths through
neighbourhoods, Galt pictured rows of trees along the seven-mile Waterloo Road
that would rival the stateliest streets of Britain. By 1828, Galt had also
supervised construction of the Eramosa Road to the east and of a muddy sleigh
track known as the Huron Road from Guelph to Goderich
The arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1856 ensured Guelph would be a player
in the industrialization of Upper Canada but the railway weakened its monopoly
as a market town. Farmers who had previously relied on Guelph as a livestock
and market centre now had access by rail to other towns
The climate was ideal for civic leaders like James Innes, owner of the Guelph
Mercury, and William Bell, one of the largest employers in the new city, to win
support for a city-owned railway. In 1884, the Guelph Junction Railway (GJR)
was incorporated and in 1888 the line was completed, connecting Guelph with the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) at Guelph Junction west of Campbellville
Guelph leased its 16 miles of track to the CPR for 99 years. The CPR station
was located initially in the Priory, the original offices of the Canada
Company. Later a new station was opened with much fanfare beside the Eramosa
bridge near a site now occupied by a high-rise apartment building
The GJR was promoted heavily by members of the Guelph Board of Trade, although
the Grand Trunk still captured most of the local business. Revenue did not
always cover debenture payments on the city’s $170,000 investment, but the GJR
at the turn of the century was an important example of Guelph’s preference for
municipal ownership of public services, utilities and natural resources
By 1930, the city’s investment had produced $1.3 million in dividends. The
windfall was not sustainable, however, as rail transportation lost ground to an
expanding highway system and a growing reliance on cars and trucks. When its
lease with the GJR expired in 1988, the CPR was no longer interested in
servicing spur lines. Fortunately, the city was able to negotiate a deal with
London’s Ontario Southland Railway to keep the GJR operational, a relief for
several large employers who depend on a rail link to ship their goods
One of the directors of the fledgling Guelph Junction Railway was businessman
George Sleeman. Not content with only inter-city passenger and freight service,
he drew Guelph into the North American public transit boom of the 1890s.
Sleeman paid for construction of The Guelph Railway Company which opened in
1895 with five miles of track, including routes out the Elora Road (Woolwich
Street) and along Waterloo Avenue to his Silver Creek Brewery and his adjacent
home, now the Manor Hotel. New lines were added in 1899 on Suffolk Street, York
Road and up the Dundas Hill (Gordon Street) to the Ontario Agricultural
College. Sleeman built car barns on Waterloo Avenue where the streetcars were
powered up by electricity generated by a steam engine. The site later housed
Sutton’s Steering and Collision and is now being redeveloped for residential
use.
By the turn of the century, Sleeman’s railway was struggling and he lost it to
the bank. In 1903, the city purchased what was now known as the Guelph Radial
Railway. Although popular with passengers, with its special rush hour fares for
workers and late night runs on Saturdays, freight provided 20 per cent of the
revenues. The streetcars Guelph’s street railway was started by George Sleeman,
who brought public transit down Waterloo Avenue to his Silver Creek Brewery in
the late 1800s. Cars also took passengers to Riverside Park, to the OAC and
along Suffolk Street and York Road.
Roads, Rails and Riders could be used to ship goods to the Grand Trunk and
Guelph Junction lines for industries not located on the main lines. There was
also a special car for hauling coal to the OAC. The convergence of streetcars
every 20 minutes into St. George’s Square began a controversy that continues
today. The only difference is that instead of streetcars the dispute now
focuses on buses. “There’s going to be somebody badly hurt or killed if they
don’t do something soon to get those buses out of the square,” said Staff Sgt.
Carl Meyers of the Guelph Police in a 1983 news report. For more than a century
the two sides have clashed over the competing interests of passenger
convenience and immediate access to downtown businesses versus congestion and
toxic fumes spewing from idling buses. In 2001, Guelph city council approved a
downtown public realm plan calling for the buses to be removed from the square
but no date was set for implementing the plan.
The railways had transformed life in towns like Guelph in the 19th century, and
dominated travel prior to the Depression years. In the mid 1920s, 34 trains
left Guelph’s two main stations each day, a dozen of them headed for Toronto.
The Toronto Suburban Railway also operated frequent electric streetcar service
between Toronto and Guelph on its own track that ran south of the Eramosa
River, hooking up to the Guelph streetcar tracks at the Gordon Street bridge.
After 1921, Guelph’s electric streetcars were operated by Ontario Hydro. There were
improvements, such as the addition of Sunday service, but over time, as
transportation shifted irreversibly to cars and trucks, the provincial thrust
to link southwestern Ontario through one large electric rail system petered
out. Ontario Hydro closed its railway department in 1933 and the last Guelph
streetcar sputtered into the car barn in 1937
During the Depression passenger rail service was cut drastically because of
huge losses. When the hard times eased up, the car was poised to take off, full
speed ahead. The first motor vehicle had been registered in Guelph in 1903 to
George Williams of Wyndham Street for his four-passenger Cadillac Runabout. In
1904, there were only 1,000 vehicles registered in Canada, 535 of them in
Ontario. After the Second World War, Guelph’s road network grew rapidly and the
province established a system of provincial highways, including numbers 6, 7
and 24 through Guelph. The city made lots of changes to accommodate all the
cars, including construction of the Norfolk Street underpass which
significantly changed the downtown
In the 1950s the province was building the 401 highway and decided it would cut
through Puslinch Township, close to Guelph. The Hanlon Parkway was built in
1972 to connect the western edge of the city to the 401, diverting some of the
growing volume of truck traffic. There was little public participation and
initially the plan was for the four-lane highway to cut through sensitive
wetlands surrounding the Hanlon Creek. Opponents raised the alarm and triggered
the Hanlon Creek Watershed Study that would become a model for including
environmental protection in future Guelph planning
The struggle to protect the environment from the effects of progress has not
become easier, however, especially during the climate at the end of the 20th
century of government cutbacks to spending on environmental protection and
support for building bigger and better roads. In the late 1990s, despite
intense opposition from local environmentalists and trail users, the province
spent about $30 million to build an enormous concrete cloverleaf at the Hanlon
and Wellington Street interchange
Today, getting people to consider alternatives to their cars such as public
transit or bicycles remains a huge challenge. Guelph is well ahead of many
other municipalities in attracting ridership to its public transit system but
is still struggling to capture 10 per cent of the flow of people moving about
in the city. A transportation strategy was approved by Guelph city council in
2001 that attempts to balance the demands of industry and motorists for a good
network of roads, and the desire for a clean and attractive city that is safe
for pedestrians and cyclists
Bus driver Elmer Lovegrove started with Guelph Transit as a track boy for the
streetcars and was a transit inspector when he retired after 49 years. COURTESY
OF GUELPH TRANSIT 19 Education Sharpening T H E M I N D atterned on the
British, class-based education system, Guelph’s early schools provided a
classical grammar school education for the sons of its wealthier citizens and a
poorly-funded system of common schools for everyone else
Still, Guelph was well ahead of other pioneer settlements because John Galt
attached as much importance to feeding the mind as others did to the needs of
the body and soul
The cornerstone for Galt’s permanent “academy” was laid Aug. 12, 1827. The
one-room “Stone School” was Guelph’s first stone building, built by the Canada
Company which had set aside half of the revenue from the sale of lots to endow
a school
After the first teacher was dismissed for too often trying to beat his students
into learning their letters and numbers, the town hired David Matthews, who
stayed for 15 years. He collected 25 cents per month from parents, sometimes
taking flour or pork in payment instead of cash
In 1841, Guelph became the central town for the new Wellington District and
eligible for a yearly grant of 100 pounds to hire a teacher for a grammar
school
The first schoolmaster of the Wellington District Grammar School was a classical
scholar from Armagh, Ireland, Arthur Cole Verner. The solid frame schoolhouse
on Waterloo Avenue was in use until 1855 when a two-room school was built on
Arnold Street
Only boys could attend, which created the demand for several girls’ private
schools that opened in the 1840s, including Miss Maclean’s school on Kent
Street where Edward Johnson later took piano lessons
The 1841 Education Act created boards of education and provided provincial
funding for common schools matched by local taxation, although the amounts were
still lower than the grants for grammar schools. Fees continued to be charged
until they were abolished in 1871 by education minister Egerton Ryerson who
also made attendance mandatory for children aged seven to 12. It would be more
than half a century, however, before the elimination of high school entrance
examinations would fully open the doors to everyone
A large growth spurt in Guelph between 1850 and 1880 had schools bursting at
the seams. The pressure was relieved somewhat when the Separate Schools Act
made it possible for St. Stanislaus to open in 1854. A Catholic girls
elementary school, St. Agnes, was later built on the opposite side of the
Church of Our Lady
As well, the Loretto Academy, a day and boarding school, taught senior grades
for girls of all denominations
For most of this period Galt’s Stone School was the only public school owned by
the town. In 1856, The Board of Education decided a primary school would
operate for boys and girls in each ward. The grammar school, the precursor to
the high school, offered Latin, Greek, and other subjects required by students
going on to professions. The Alexandra School for girls, which housed Guelph’s
first kindergarten, was built on Dublin Street in 1865 and in 1870 the first
Central School, with five classrooms, opened at the corner of Essex and Gordon
streets
Central School, built in 1876, dominated the downtown landscape
It was an important community centre, seen here in a portrait of the Highland
Cadet Corps, ca. 1890
COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES 20 P The 1902 Carnegie Library,
designed by W. Frye Colwill, was demolished in 1964 despite strong objections
from the public
COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES Sharpening the Mind 21 Although
industrialists agreed that taxation was necessary to create better schools, it
was 1876 before the large stone Central School opened on the Dublin Street hill
with 16 classrooms, an assembly hall and a library, and classes extended to
Grade 8. Three years later, Guelph achieved city status and the grammar school
on Arnold Street was rebuilt as the Guelph High School. Concerts arranged by
Capt. Walter Clarke raised $2,800 in 1887 to build a gymnasium. Clarke’s drill
and calisthenics instruction would become a model for physical education for
the province
The Guelph Collegiate and Vocational Institute (GCVI) was the only high school
in Guelph until John F. Ross opened in 1956 and Bishop Macdonell in 1962. It
was the hub of learning and of artistic and athletic accomplishment
It produced the town’s doctors, politicians, lawyers and teachers, and even its
priests as the Catholics still did not offer a full high school program
Graduates who went on to distinguished careers included Henry Peterson, later
the County Crown Attorney, David Ouchterlony, organist at the Royal
Conservatory of Music and Canadian landscape painter Frederick Verner, the son
of the headmaster of Guelph’s grammar school. John “Jack” McCrae was a student
at GCVI from 1883 to 1888 and studied English under William Tytler. Before
penning the poem “In Flanders Fields” that would make him Guelph’s most famous
son, he studied and taught medicine in Montreal and England
Some teachers at GCVI also achieved great success beyond Guelph, including
Olive Freeman (later Palmer), who held a senior position with the Ontario
Department of Education before marrying John Diefenbaker in 1953
Fortunately, many of the school’s most notable educators, including James
Davison, David Young and E. Lorne Fox, remained in Guelph for their long
careers
The names of some of Guelph’s public schools - Torrance, Tytler, John F. Ross,
Taylor Evans and Fred A
Hamilton - tell the story of the people who most influenced the education of
the city’s youth. Rev. Robert Torrance, a teacher and first minister of the
United Presbyterian congregation, was superintendent of Guelph Public Schools
from 1856 to 1892. His name was on the historic Waterloo Avenue school until
1998 when it was closed and sold to a developer at a controversial, fire-sale
price
Torrance’s successor as superintendent, William Tytler, was an English teacher
and the first principal of GCVI and was instrumental in Guelph being the first
municipality to take advantage of the Free Libraries Act in 1883. He also
supported the inclusion of nature study, music and art in the curriculum
John F. “Scotty” Ross succeeded James Davison as principal of GCVI in 1925 and
earned the respect of a generation of students. He retired 20 years later and
had just been named as Guelph’s first juvenile court judge when he died
unexpectedly. The job was then given to Roy Austen, founder of the Protestant
Argos club, the second largest Bible class in Canada
Taylor Evans was chairman of the Board of Education in the late 1960s and
served as a trustee for 35 years. Fred A. Hamilton, a former principal of GCVI,
was appointed as Guelph’s first director of education in 1964. He retired in
1971 and then served three terms as a trustee, including serving as chair of
the school board in 1976
Guelph architect Allan Sage built his career on the massive school expansion of
the 1950s and ‘60s, designing the lion’s share of more than a dozen schools
needed to accommodate the post-war baby boom. The largest school building
project in the city was the educational-recreational complex on College Avenue
marking the country’s centennial year. The 60-acre site included two new high
schools, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute and College Heights
Secondary School, the first vocational school in Wellington County. The project
included a new ice arena, a swimming pool and a large complex of sports fields.
During the same era, Guelph was a beneficiary of the decision by the Ontario
government to establish colleges of applied arts and technology when the Guelph
campus of Conestoga College opened in 1970
The Catholic system expanded again after 1984 when the provincial government
extended funding to Roman Catholic high schools, leading to the upgrading of
St. James and Our Lady of Lourdes. Bishop Macdonell was closed in 1995 after a bitter
and emotional debate within the Catholic community. A new “B.M.” will open in
2003 in the city’s south end
Principal John F. (Scotty) Ross, in front, second from left, in 1925 with the
GCVI rugby team. COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES Guelph: A
People’s Heritage 1827-2002 22 School closures and the vulnerability of public
education were volatile issues at the turn of another century in Guelph. The
provincial funding formula for education under the Conservative government
pressured boards to close small schools if they wanted to build new schools in
expanding suburbs. The municipality, embarking on initiatives to revitalize
inner-city neighbourhoods and reduce urban sprawl, reacted with alarm at the
possibility that more downtown schools might close
Controversy over new standardized curriculum and student and teacher testing,
loss of control over budgets by local boards and friction between the province
and its teachers all contributed to rising dissatisfaction with public
education. At the same time, the province passed new legislation to provide tax
credits for parents who send their children to private schools. In this
climate, long-established alternative schools, both religious and secular,
including John Calvin Christian School, Crestwicke Christian Academy, several
Montessori and Waldorf-method schools and St
John’s Kilmarnock School in Maryhill, enjoyed increased enrolment
he University of Guelph, with an international reputation for agricultural
research, began as the Ontario School of Agriculture and Experimental Farm in
1874. The province’s agriculture department paid Frederick William Stone
$74,500 for his family farm of 550 acres as a site for “the college on the
hill.” In many ways, it was an idea before its time. Farmers could not see the
value of sending their sons away to school, where they might acquire grand
ideas about other careers, when they were needed at home
It did not help that the appointment and almost immediate departure of the
first principal was surrounded by allegations of nepotism and payments of hush
money
His successor did not fare much better, breaking his leg while leaping off a
bridge into the Speed River during an episode of temporary insanity
Fortunately the college was lucky the third time around when William Johnston,
the college rector, was named president. He served from 1874 to 1879 and was
the first to lobby for the college to be independent from the ministry. When he
resigned, his students praised him for leading an institution “devoted to the
cultivation of a much needed scientific system of farming.” But it would be
decades before a truly scientific system would wrest control from the practical
side
Johnston’s successor at what was now the Ontario Agricultural College was James
Mills, a devout Wesleyan Methodist. The eldest of 10 children, he had only a
bare bones primary education before he lost an arm in a threshing accident at
the age of 20, putting an end to his prospects as a farmer. He went back to
school and into teaching
Mills fought rural indifference and hostility by establishing farmers’
institutes and promoting extension education
Early accomplishments at the college included the birth of the first Aberdeen
Angus calf registered in Canada
At the OAC, Mills inherited the conflict between science and practicality that
eventually escalated into a provincial scandal. A young residence master,
Lawrence Hunt, who had aligned himself with farm manager Thomas Shaw, was
sacked in 1892 for having an affair with the college matron. From the sidelines
he directed a campaign to discredit Mills and John McCrae, his successor as
residence master. In the end Hunt and Shaw were defeated by hubris. A petition
they caused to be sent to the Minister of Agriculture sparked a commission of
inquiry that vilified the pair and demanded an end to the turf war between the
farm and the school
The civil service environment was always a problem. The college offered degrees
through the University of Toronto but remained under the firm control of the
province’s department of agriculture. Poor remuneration meant it was almost
impossible to recruit faculty from outside the college. Mills was always
begging for money from the province - for dormitories, laboratories, a
gymnasium, proper heating and lighting - the need was endless
Sometimes he found help outside of the government, such as the $45,000 from
Walter Massey for the Massey Hall and Library. One of the largest gifts ever
made to the University of Guelph and its colleges came during Mills’ term The
field husbandry building at the OAC was later named Zavitz Hall after Charles
Zavitz who brought renown to the college for his work on hybrid grain varieties
that greatly improved yields for Canadian farmers
ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH LIBRARY T Sharpening the
Mind 23 when eccentric millionaire philanthropist Sir William Macdonald agreed
to fund construction in 1903 and 1904 of three major buildings - Macdonald
Hall, Macdonald Institute and the Macdonald Consolidated School. More than a
century later all three are still prominent on campus, the latter as the home
of the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Much of the credit for bringing the Macdonald Institute to Guelph goes to
Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, a Hamilton woman who became an advocate for education
in homemaking after her infant son died from contaminated milk. The institute
would provide young women, especially farmers’ daughters, with practical
education and also train public school teachers using the Macdonald
Consolidated School as a learning ground
The Macdonald Institute was always closely associated with the OAC. By the time
George Creelman succeeded Mills, his father-in-law, the OAC and its sister
college had a solid presence, both in Guelph and in the province. Creelman was
in charge during a period of rapid growth, overseeing the construction of the
field husbandry building, later to be named Zavitz Hall, a new poultry building
(now Graham Hall), the Maids’ Dormitory, Creelman Hall, new physics, machinery
and chemistry buildings and the first building in North America devoted to
apiculture
During the First World War the college was charged with doing what it could to
offset food shortages. As acting president, Zavitz, a Quaker, was opposed to
the formation of an engineering corps for home defence, for which he was
criticized. The war attracted many faculty, staff and students as recruits and
War Memorial Hall was opened in 1924 in honour of the 109 who died
When the United Farmers of Ontario came to power in 1919 under E.C. Drury, the
Liberal-leaning Creelman was removed and replaced by Joseph Reynolds. Reynolds
was a great scholar and a champion of scientific agriculture
As the first head of a tiny physics department he conducted research on
lightning rods and refrigeration, and was also responsible for teaching
English. In 1906, when the college decided to fund a full-time professor of
English, Reynolds took the job and passed the reins of the physics department
to William Day. Day’s research into drainage led to the tiling of hundreds of
thousands of acres of agricultural land in Ontario, including the Holland Marsh
As OAC president, Reynolds began a series of reforms that would strengthen the
academic standards and reputation of the college. The creation of separate
two-year diploma and four-year degree programs made high school matriculation a
prerequisite for admission to the latter. Degree students now spent their
afternoons in the lab instead of the college barns and fields
In 1922, Guelph’s growing reputation as a centre for rural and agricultural
studies was enhanced when the Ontario Veterinary College, founded in 1862,
moved from Toronto to Guelph. The move, directed by OVC principal Charles
“Shotgun Charlie” McGilvray, marked a radical shift in veterinary medicine. It
had been an equine empire, devoted to the care and study of the beast that
throughout history was the unchallenged transporter of people and their
belongings
McGilvray recognized what many of his colleagues were unwilling to admit - that
the horse was on the way out. More The George III cannon was acquired by the
OAC about 1878 and was used for gunnery instruction, and as a good place for
“Mac girls” to pose for pictures. It was located near the Johnston Arch until
students moved it one night in 1973 and now rests in Branion Plaza where it has
become a favourite campus bulletin board
ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH LIBRARY The Macdonald
Consolidated School was one of three campus buildings constructed through
donations from tobacco magnate Sir William Macdonald. In 1979 it was renovated
to create the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH LIBRARY Guelph: A
People’s Heritage 1827-2002 importantly, he saw that veterinarians in the
future would forge a much stronger alliance with agriculture in protecting the
health of livestock and the food supply
McGilvray, with support from Reynolds, convinced the province that a modern
veterinary college did not belong in an urban setting. The federal government
paid to build what was then the only English-speaking veterinary college in
Canada. Construction of the OVC on the west side of Gordon Street also marked
the start of a large expansion of the campus.
Through the 1930s and ‘40s, under the presidencies of George Christie and
William Reek, the OAC was accused of “in-breeding,” with the overwhelming
majority of faculty being OAC grads. Christie exemplified the OAC’s lack of
sophistication in 1939 when he was quoted saying he still saw the horse as more
valuable to the small farmer than the tractor.
War dramatically changed the Guelph campus, but not the mentality of the OAC.
The Number 4 Wireless School of the Royal Canadian Air Force took over most of
the OAC buildings, including the new residence (Johnston Hall) that had opened
in 1932 and all of the buildings occupied by the Macdonald Institute, which was
shut down for the duration of the war. Although OAC students were encouraged to
complete their studies, more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff and alumni
enlisted. Eighty were killed. While universities took part in a scientific
revolution fueled by the demands of a six-year war, the college stuck with the
familiar in supporting Ontario’s war-time agricultural production. After the
war the old debates resurfaced in a very public way courtesy of John Kenneth
“Spike” Galbraith, an OAC student from the late 1920s. In 1948, Galbraith, by
now an internationally-renowned economist and ambassador, roasted his alma
mater in two damning articles in Saturday Night magazine. He accused the
college of engaging in “horse-and-buggy” teaching instead of scientific
research, criticized the qualifications of its professors and challenged the
close ties to the department of agriculture. “Real scholarship has never
flourished in a civil service atmosphere,” he wrote.
Change did not occur overnight, but Galbraith’s stinging characterization of a
college of country bumpkins, where the value of teaching English to “aggies”
was still up for debate, certainly ensured there would be no sliding backwards.
Research assumed a more prominent place. A 1945 proposal for the college to
become a university was shelved when George Drew was elected premier but OAC
alumni kept steady pressure on the government and supported efforts by college
president J. D. (Doug) MacLachlan to achieve university status.
Politics dominated two decades of negotiations to create a university at
Guelph. The ruling Conservatives did not want to upset their strong rural
support by threatening the primacy of agriculture and rural life at the Guelph
colleges, especially at a time when farming was undergoing dramatic change. In
1960, there were 32,000 university students in Ontario. By 1970 the number
would be 120,000. MacLachlan and OVC president Trevor Lloyd Jones argued it
would be cheaper to create a university in Guelph because the site and
buildings were already in place. Margaret McCready, principal of the Macdonald
Institute, had to fight to be heard at Queen’s Park where home economics did
not have the influence enjoyed by the male-dominated areas of agriculture and
veterinary medicine.
In 1962, the three institutions were reorganized as the Federated Colleges in a
move most felt had killed any chance of university status for the foreseeable
future. Students denounced federation as a step backwards and, like the
administration and the faculty, were caught off guard when Premier John Robarts
announced Feb. 27, 1963 in the Ontario Legislature that a university would be
created at Guelph.
During the Second World War the Macdonald Institute was shut down and many of
the major buildings at the Ontario Agricultural College were used to house The
Number 4 Wireless School of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Sharpening the Mind 25 A 13-member, all-male board of governors was appointed
in 1964, including Fred Presant who had spearheaded the OAC alumni lobby for
university status. Drew, born and raised in Guelph and a former mayor of the
city, was named chancellor.
When he officiated at the first convocation in 1965 it was fitting that the first
honourary degree was awarded to Galbraith. Guelph was essentially a “hick town”
before the creation of the university - it was a great place to grow up, but
not very sophisticated. The arrival of hundreds of new faculty and thousands of
students, many of whom now had to live offcampus, transformed Guelph. It also
transformed the institution. The heads of new arts and science departments
faced huge challenges recruiting faculty. In some departments, half of the
professors were Americans.
Earl McNaughton, the dean of the College of Physical Science and the man who
brought the university into the computer age, fought for chemistry, physics and
mathematics to enjoy a mainstream academic role instead of supporting the life
sciences at the agricultural college. Bill Winegard, a metallurgical engineer,
was hired as president in 1967 as the university worked to catch up on 20 years
of post-war innovation.
Fears that its status as a university would spell the end of the institution’s
rural and agricultural focus proved to be unfounded. While the university
certainly exerts much influence in the development of arts and culture in the
city and course offerings have expanded with the opening of schools of
engineering and landscape architecture and departments of human kinetics and
fine art, the connection to agriculture, food and rural life has not been
diminished.
More than a century after the institution was founded as a place to train boys
for work on the farm, the three founding colleges of the University of Guelph
have proven to be a good fit. People like Jim Shute of the Centre for
International Programmes, child care expert Donna Lero and Neil Stoskopf, who
wrote the definitive text on plant breeding, have helped Guelph win a strong
international reputation. The Arboretum, the Turfgrass Institute and new
programmes in hotel and food administration within the College of Family and
Consumer Studies add to the mix.
As a college within the university, the OAC maintains strong links with the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, a relationship that was
cemented when OMAFRA moved its headquarters to university-owned land in Guelph.
The ministry funds $45 million of the university’s $100 million annual research
budget. With links between the university, OMAFRA, Agriculture Canada and
private industry, Guelph is now an international leader in agri-food and
biotechnology research
The two presidents in the 1990s, Brian Segal and Mordechai Rozanski, have taken
a more business-like approach to the job than their predecessors, a reflection
of the demands of the global economy. Partnerships with industry and a
government that has been criticized for putting training for employment ahead
of scholarship mean the historic and healthy philosophical balancing act continues.
An institution that started with an enrolment of 30 and had fewer than 1,000
students in 1964 now projects a student population of 18,000 in 2008,
guaranteeing that no other factor will have a greater impact on the future
direction of the city
John Kenneth “Spike” Galbraith, an OAC grad, received the first honourary
degree at the first convocation of the new University of Guelph in 1965. The
internationallyrenowned economist had long argued for the OAC to achieve
independence from the Ontario Department of Agriculture
ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH LIBRARY Architecture
Bricks, Mortar A N D Limestone he Church of Our Lady Immaculate, visible from
every entrance to the city, is unquestionably the most impressive and defining
structure in Guelph. It looks out over buildings, bridges and other structures
- from the 19th century limestone City Hall to the River Run Centre opened in
1997 - that represent each period of the city’s history
The first substantial building in Guelph was the Priory, a stylish log dwelling
named after Canada Company official Charles Prior. The Priory was home to John
Galt and his family as well as offices of the Canada Company, a tavern, a post
office, a school and accommodation for newly-arrived settlers while they were
building their homes
Demolished in 1928, The Priory was one of the first victims of the city’s
cyclical periods of rapid “progress” and demolition. Although Guelph lost
several spectacular buildings, including the Classical Beaux Arts Carnegie Library
designed by W. Frye Colwill, Central School and the Customs House/Post Office
at St
George’s Square, it can take comfort from having saved more of its
architectural heritage than some other cities in southwestern Ontario
Ten beautiful limestone churches help to give Guelph the feel of an old-world
city of spires. All were built in the 19th century, at a time when religion
dominated everyday life and when the land around Guelph contained an abundance
of distinctive, amber-hued limestone. Most of the primarily-Gothic stone
churches were built during an economic boom from the 1860s to the early 1870s.
One of the earliest was St. Andrew’s Church, designed by Toronto architect
William Hay for the Church of Scotland in 1857. Knox was built for the Free Kirk
Presbyterians in 1868 and, in 1871, a disgruntled segment of Knox’s
congregation, led by Donald Guthrie, hired Toronto architect Henry Langley to
build Chalmers just a few doors away.
Langley also designed the First Baptist Church on Woolwich Street in 1871 and
the red brick Second Baptist Church in 1892 (later St. Paul’s Lutheran). The
Wesleyan Methodist Church (becoming Norfolk Street United in 1925) was built in
1855 and when the congregation grew too large to be accommodated the Dublin
Street Methodist Church (later United) was built in 1873.
Langley had a relatively easy time with the Anglicans compared to the delicate
maneuvering around the sensibilities of the fractured Presbyterians. The St.
George’s congregation initially worshipped in the town’s first schoolhouse with
Rev. Arthur Palmer who arrived in Guelph in 1832 and later became archdeacon of
Toronto. A frame church built in St. George’s Square in 1833 was replaced by a
medieval-style building in 1851. As a commercial hub formed around the square
businessmen complained about congestion and by 1870 Langley was hired to design
the stunning Gothic Revival church built on Woolwich Street at a cost of
$26,000. The building opened in 1873 and has become a local landmark.
In 1926, St. George’s received a gift of the 3,000-pipe, 23-bell carillon
chimes from Arthur Cutten, the Guelph born Chicago commodities trader who also
financed the Cutten Club. The church hired Robert Donnell as carillonneur who
became one of the world’s most famous bell ringers and served as Dominion
carillonneur at the Peace Tower in Ottawa from 1939 to 1975.
In the 1920s and '30s, streetcars ran along Wyndham Street and through St.
George's Square, which was framed by majestic Victorian buildings.
The Church of Our Lady was the longest building project in Guelph’s history.
Inspired by the 13th century French Gothic cathedral at Cologne, Germany, and
designed by renowned Catholic architect Joseph Connolly, it was started in 1877
at the rear of the existing St. Bartholomew’s church which was demolished as
the new church took shape. While the main structure was finished in 1888, the
towers and parts of the interior were not completed until 1926.
The only locally-designed stone church was the British Methodist Episcopal
Church on Essex Street designed by John Hall in 1880 for the black community
who continue to worship there as part of an integrated congregation. The BME
Church now shares the premises with Bethany Baptist Church
The last of the downtown Gothic churches to be built with locally-quarried
limestone was St. James the Apostle Anglican Church following a split of 73
members from St. George’s in 1890 led by Thomas Saunders
Designed by Toronto architect Richard Windeyer and built by Guelph architect
and contractor John Day, the medieval-style church with its outstanding wood
ceiling and elaborate vaulting opened in 1892. It was one of Day’s last
projects as he committed suicide in 1896
Not all of the early limestone structures built in Guelph were grand churches
or public buildings. Many homes still found in the older neighbourhoods of the
city illustrate the popular styles of the past. They include the work of some
of Guelph’s fine early stone carvers and masons, including Matthew Bell and
William Kennedy. The stately Sunnyside at 16 Arthur St. N. was built in 1854 by
Kennedy as a wedding gift for his daughter; the modest stone dwelling at 157
Ontario St. was built about 1883 for teamster James Chambers. The latter was
one of the first houses in the subdivision registered in 1856 by Canada’s first
prime minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, who made a handsome profit in Guelph as
a land speculator. Bell’s own homes, the 1858 “House of Heads” at 96-98 Water
St., decorated with eight carved stone heads, and the two-headed version at 49 Albert
St., are the best examples of his outstanding work
One of the grandest 19th century Guelph homes is Ker Cavan, built between 1854
and 1856 for Rev. Arthur Palmer. The home, still standing on Stuart Street, was
in the Palmer Survey, a large tract of land Palmer purchased in 1846 from Henry
Tiffany. Originally called Tyrcathlen, the limestone Tudor-style home was later
the home of druggist and industrialist Alex Petrie, insurance executive Henry
Higinbotham and Second World War veteran Brigadier Kenneth Torrance
After the turn of the 20th century, homeowners were often more interested in
the comforts of central heating, electric light and indoor plumbing than style.
Two-storey red brick homes began to line the streets. Whole neighbourhoods grew
up quickly to provide housing for the workers at large new factories,
especially in St. Patrick’s Ward
In the late 1920s and early 1930s local builders and architects became
interested in more modern designs, sometimes experimenting with their own
homes. William Mahoney was the leading architect in Guelph during the first
half of the 20th century. He made his reputation designing plain, functional
structures, but for his own home at 380 Woolwich St. he chose an Art Deco
style. Dario Pagani, whose construction firm built Memorial Gardens and the
police station on Fountain Street, chose an Art Moderne style for his home at
49 Metcalfe St
After the Second World War, Guelph, like most other small Canadian cities,
experienced a suburban building boom. Local builders and developers such as
Jack Skov, Cosmo Carere, Peter Brazolot, Len Ariss and the Reid brothers -
Melville, George and Albert - kept the scale small
Since then residential growth has stretched as far south as the new city limits
at Maltby Road. The overwhelming majority of new homes, in the south end as
well as in large subdivisions in the east and west ends of the city, have been
single-family homes, many designed with a garage prominently located at the
front of the house. The last subsidized building project was the Matrix
apartment building on the old Muller’s Carriage Works site on Woolwich Street,
designed by Guelph architect Lloyd Grinham. In the late 1990s construction of
low-cost rental housing came to a grinding halt after the provincial government
stopped providing funding for social housing
27 St. Bartholomew’s was the second church built on Catholic Hill
Beginning in 1877, when this photograph was taken, it was slowly replaced by
the Church of Our Lady Immaculate
COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES Guelph: A People’s Heritage
1827-2002 Modern architecture has had just as dramatic an impact on Guelph's
public buildings as it has had on the city's growing residential suburbs. No
one laments the loss early in the 20th century of the small, one-storey
building on Wyndham Street, then known as Huskisson Street, at the corner near
where the Guelph Police Station now sits. The multi-purpose building served as
the morgue as well as a carpenter shop, a garage and the city’s first isolation
hospital for patients with diphtheria and scarlet fever. It’s enough that the
story of its existence remains to be told
But other buildings were lost after much divisive public debate and continue to
be missed. After the Second World War, Guelph experienced a building boom that
had a devastating impact on its architectural heritage. An early casualty was
the Royal Opera House built by the Ancient Order of United Workmen in 1894.
With seating for more than 1,200, it opened to great fanfare with a performance
of the comic opera Athenia by a travelling Detroit company accompanied by a
Guelph orchestra
On Sept. 20, 1953, after a final Saturday night performance, what had become
the Capitol Theatre closed its doors. Soon afterwards the imposing building was
torn down by the new owner, Joe Wolfond, who built the Odeon Theatre (now the
Club Denim) and Simpson-Sears in its place
Portions of the stone walls from the opera house were used in 1956 in
construction of the Christian education wing of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church
In 1954, people in Guelph welcomed the arrival of Simpson-Sears, at that time
one of the most modern stores in Wellington County. The department store stayed
downtown for only two decades. In 1975 it was one of the leaders of the exodus
to the suburbs when it relocated to the new Stone Road Mall. During a Third Age
Learning class in 1996 at the University of Guelph there was a collective gasp
in the room as local historian Don Coulman flipped from a slide of the opera
house to a slide of what replaced it
“It didn’t matter what it looked like, it just had to be new. You could tear
anything down,” Coulman said. Over the three post-war decades the domed
Carnegie Library, the old Central School, which was almost as prominent on the
Dublin Street hill as the Church of Our Lady, and all of the majestic buildings
in St. George’s Square were torn down
In a 1961 headline, a local newspaper editor with a flair for alliteration
captured what was happening - “Guelph’s Slab-Sided Building Boom is Bulldozing
the Baroque.” Many of the buildings did not go without a noisy and public
tug-of-war. The newspapers were filled with letters to the editor prior to the
demolition in 1960 of the Customs House and former post office to build the
Bank of Nova Scotia. The transformation of St. George’s Square continued as the
wrecker’s ball brought down the Scottish Baronial-style Bank of Commerce
building with its corner turret, the 1887 Second Empire Mahoney building and
the Victorian Tovell Building designed by John Hall in 1881
A young Jane Caspers, today a local judge, was a university student in 1974
when she expressed her outrage in a letter to the editor. “I am disturbed and
incensed at how cheaply the people of Guelph will sell out their national
heritage for the sake of what some term progress,” she wrote. “Those of us who
have lived through the last 15 years have noted the destruction with sadness,
realizing that with proper, far-sighted planning the earlier Guelph, left
untouched, could have continued as a city of character.” It was the fight for
the Canada Trust building on Wyndham Street in 1977 that cemented a change in
attitude in Guelph. Alderman Ken Hammill was on the losing side of an attempt
to have the example of early Scottish stone masonry designated as a heritage facade
“It makes us different from the masses of cement and glass prevalent in such
places as Cleveland,” he argued
The attempt at heritage designation failed when then-Mayor Norm Jary cast the
deciding vote, giving the bank the green light to demolish part of one of the
few complete pre-Confederation city blocks still standing in Canada
One of the champions of heritage conservation in Guelph was Gordon Couling,
whose ancestors settled in the Guelph area between 1827 and 1832. After Couling
retired as chair of the fine art department at the University of Guelph he
immersed himself in a new career, compiling an inventory of pre-1927 structures
and creating interest in the city’s heritage with his popular walking tours
published by the Guelph Arts Council
28 The Royal Opera House, designed in 1893-94 by Stratford architect Henry
Powell, seated 1,200. It became the Capitol Theatre in 1923 and was torn down
by Joe Wolfond in 1953 to build Simpson-Sears and the Odeon Theatre
COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES Bricks, Mortar and Limestone A
Local Architectural Conservancy Advisory Committee (LACAC) was appointed in
1977 with support from city planner Norm Harrison who had encouraged the city
to adopt a bylaw protecting the sight lines of the Church of Our Lady by
restricting building height in the city core to between three and five storeys.
The bylaw was in anticipation of more applications for buildings like the Park
Mall, a 13-storey apartment block at the corner of Yarmouth and Quebec Streets
criticized for its visual impact on the historic character of the city. In
2001, the bylaw was invoked to defeat an application by a developer to build a
nine-storey apartment building on Yarmouth Street
Since 1977, 75 buildings have received heritage designations, including several
city-owned structures - City Hall designed by William Thomas and opened in 1857
on the site of the first St. Andrew’s Church, the Guelph Civic Museum, John
McCrae House, the Goldie Mill ruins and the Blacksmith fountain, presented to
the city by carriage manufacturer James Armstrong in 1885 and moved from St
George’s Square to Priory Square in 1922
The city has also designated three of its bridges: the 1897 Gow’s Bridge, the
only surviving limestone bowstring bridge in Guelph, named after miller Peter
Gow who was Guelph’s first MPP; the Heffernan Street footbridge built in 1914
behind St. George’s Anglican Church to replace an earlier low-level bridge; and
the 1882 steel and iron Norwich Street Bridge
There had been a bridge across the Speed River at Norwich Street as far back as
1860. First called the Wellington Foundry Bridge, it was an important link for
moving goods across the river because of nearby mills and foundries. The
structure was later known as the Inglis-Hunter Bridge because of its proximity
to the former Marblelike Products factory at 195 Arthur St. N, the site of the
birthplace of the John Inglis Appliance Company. The factory was a derelict
limestone structure before it was converted in 1980 into a row of townhouses
The Bullfrog Inn at 414 Eramosa Rd., named for the nearby swamps and ponds, has
a colourful history. It was the setting for the first meeting of Guelph
Township Council in 1850 and was later operated by eccentric Guelph carpenter
and watch repairman James Gay, a self-described “poet laureate of Canada.”
Local lore also has it that, in 1878, Dr. Abraham Groves of Fergus used a
sterilized pen knife to remove a massive gallstone from a man weighing 300
pounds. The inn was restored and converted in the 1970s by owner Freddy Veri
from a rooming house into a hair salon
In 1981, Simcoe-based architect Carlos Ventin was hired to restore the city's
oldest public buildings - the county jail and courthouse on Woolwich Street -
as the Wellington County administrative offices and council chambers. When the
county was considering demolition, city planner Norm Harrison was able to
convince Puslinch farmer Archie McRobbie and the rest of county council to save
the heritage jewel from the wrecker's ball
In recent years, many historic buildings have been converted for other uses.
The White Dress Factory built in 1911 at 40 Northumberland St. lost its last
industrial tenant in 1988. Guelph developer Ike VanSoelen transformed the
building into condominiums with high ceilings and huge factory windows. Old
factories were also converted into the Oxford Lodge retirement home and the
Barber Gallery
The Boathouse, built in the early 20th century beside the Speed River, was
about to be levelled in the mid 1990s to create more parking spots for the
Guelph Lawn Bowling Club when a pair of restaurateurs made a deal with the city
to restore the heritage structure in exchange for a long-term lease at nominal
rent. The site was a hub of social and sporting activity in the 19th century
when it was occupied by Johnson’s boathouse. It was used by the Speed Canoe
Club in the 1890s but was later torn down. The rental boathouse that replaced
it was taken over by the Navy League during the Second World War. The Sea
Cadets then used it for their headquarters until 1993 when they joined with the
Guelph Youth Music Centre to share the former Heritage Seed Company building on
Cardigan Street. That has been yet another major heritage restoration project
and opened its doors in the fall of 2001
This sketch of the Post Office/Customs House is by Gordon Couling who fought
for Guelph to retain its architectural heritage. The building designed by
federal architect David Ewart was torn down in 1960 and replaced by the modern
Bank of Nova Scotia
PRIVATE COLLECTION 29 Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827-2002 John and Tom Lammer
have made a name for themselves in Guelph by saving several vulnerable
buildings. They took the grimy Cooke and Denison machine and welding shop on
Yarmouth Street and restored it as a 20-unit complex of bachelor apartments and
a restaurant. The 1875 building was originally part of the Raymond Sewing
Machine Factory. The Lammers developed new residential units in the burned-out
Guelph Carpet Factory on Neeve Street, in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on Woolwich
Street and in the Tolton Textile Factory on Commercial Street
The father-and-son team also had a hand in the restoration of the Cutten-Kelly
building at the corner of Wyndham and Macdonell Streets, the former home of
Kelly’s Music Store designed in 1882 by local architect John Hall. Next door,
the building designed the same year by Guelph architect John Day for druggist
Alex Petrie with the distinctive mortar and pestle and stamped galvanized
facade, also cries out for restoration
Guelph’s main street kept a major anchor when Guelph architect Karl
Briestensky, whose work includes St
John the Evangelist Catholic Church on Victoria Road, and local developers Doug
Bridge and Chester Carere transformed the triangular, copper-roofed 1877
Wellington Hotel that had been gutted by fire in 1975
Today, the city struggles with a new crop of complicated heritage issues. The
single-lane bowstring bridge on Stone Road is perceived as an obstacle to some
and as a gem to others as the city expands its arterial road system in the
south end. Via Rail and Canadian National Railways may be interested in
unloading the historic CN station on Carden Street and the city is negotiating
with the federal government over the future of the Art Deco post office on
Wyndham Street. The spectacular Guelph Correctional Centre, designed by John
Lyle who designed Union Station and the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, is
slated to be closed by the province in 2002 and has enormous potential as a
restoration project
A project that will have a huge impact on the character of the city in the 21st
century is the redevelopment of Memorial Gardens. The facade of the Provincial
Winter Fair building, constructed in 1900, was discovered under the siding of
the Gardens when the arena was closed in 2000. The provincial fair was held at
the site until 1938 and covered over when the arena was built after the Second
World War
The heritage structure presents an opportunity to dramatically link the future
to the past, to the thriving market square that John Galt envisioned as the
heart of an important city
The Provincial Winter Fair Building was built in 1900 after lobbying by the
Guelph Fat Stock Club. The fair ended when the building was taken over by the
military during the Second World War. The facade of the old fair building was
discovered in 2000 under the siding of Memorial Gardens. PRIVATE COLLECTION 30
The history of the Albion Hotel stretches back to the 19th century when it was
one of dozens of downtown watering holes
ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH LIBRARY Security Safe A
N D Secure or early settlers dependent on wood fires and coal oil to heat and
light their homes, fire was a fact of life, but the residents of the village of
Guelph could rely only on a bucket brigade when fire broke out. The first
organized volunteer fire brigade used a fire engine that was pumped by hand. In
1868, the town bought a steam engine and sank tanks at several locations for
quick access to water. After 1860, fire equipment was housed in the new Market House/Town
Hall and in 1865 the fire and police departments moved to an annex behind the
Town Hall. In 1878, the fire brigade became the Guelph Hook and Ladder Company,
still a volunteer crew with Col. James Armstrong as chief
In the early 1900s, fire services moved to a permanent fire hall, now the Loft,
in the west wing of the Provincial Winter Fair Building. A full-time chief was
hired in 1909 and in 1917 the department acquired a Model T truck nicknamed
“The Little Red Devil.” The fire department moved into its present location in
1972, with community fire halls on Speedvale Avenue and Stone Road and a new
hall that opened in 2000 adjacent to the West End Community Centre
Maintaining law and order had something of a “wild west” flavour in Guelph’s
early years. Just as they are in 2002, most crimes in 1827 stemmed from
overindulgence in beer and whiskey. The first police constable and “grog boss”
assigned to keep the peace was Thomas Brown, who also enjoyed the distinction
of being the father of Letitia Brown, the first child whose birth was recorded
in Guelph
John Jones was named as the first chief of police in 1840 and by 1860, with a
population of 7,000, it was still a one-man force. Under chief Jonathon Kelly,
appointed in 1868, the ranks swelled to four and cells were installed in the
Town Hall. In 1881, Frederick Randall, who had a reputation as a crack shot,
began a 38-year career as Guelph’s chief of police
After the First World War, Randall was succeeded by Alex Rae and the force
added a Model T car to augment its fleet of bicycles. On May 30, 1925, Const.
Teddy Lamb provided the force with its first motorcycle which was often used to
deal with a new problem - speeding cars. Harold Nash, the founder of the Police
Association of Ontario, was appointed chief in 1936. He was in charge
throughout the Second World War when women constables were hired to replace the
men who had enlisted. They were not kept on after the war and Guelph did not
hire another female officer until 1973 when Judy Godbehere was hired because of
the increase in the number of female prisoners
Lamb was promoted to chief on Nash’s retirement in 1949 and supervised the
rapid growth in the force and its move from City Hall to a separate
headquarters on Fountain Street in 1959
He was succeeded in 1964 by Deputy Chief Robert Gill who joined the force in
1929 and was responsible for the creation of the juvenile bureau. Gill died in
office, having served only nine months as chief. He was replaced by Bob
McCarron who brought in many innovations including court officers, radios for
foot patrols, and crime prevention programs. McCarron retired in 1980 and was
succeeded by Lorne Halls, a Fergus native who had joined the force in 1945
Bill McCart filled the top job between 1985 and 1988 when the 911 system was
initiated. He was succeeded by Richard Stewart who was on the Canadian
Association of Chiefs of Fire chief John Smith shows off Guelph’s first
motorized fire truck, nicknamed “The Little Red Devil,” to an audience in 1918
that included MPP Lincoln Goldie. COURTESY OF TED ERNST Police chief Ted Lamb
makes revolver ammunition in the 1950s. COURTESY OF THE GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY
ARCHIVES 31 F Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827-2002 32 Police forensic
committee when the country's DNA data bank was being developed. The police
department entered a period of upheaval in 1994 when Stewart retired and was
replaced by 32-year-old Lenna Bradburn, the manager of the investigations unit
of the Ministry of Solicitor General and Correctional Services. Bradburn was
brought on to implement sweeping new provincial legislation on policing. Her
tenure was marked by discontent, culminating in a vote of non-confidence by the
rank and file. Relative harmony returned when Bradburn resigned in 2000 to take
a position with the Ontario Ombudsman and veteran Guelph police officer Rob
Davis was named chief
Police, fire and hospital services may have been slow to develop in the 19th
century, but towns in the colony of Upper Canada, including Guelph, wasted no
time establishing courts of law to settle a litany of disputes from payment of
tolls on the bridge over the Speed River to charges of treason against Reform
sympathizers. Tensions were often fueled by the imported conflict between Irish
Catholics and Orangemen. In 1844, the divisions sparked a fire that levelled
St. Patrick’s Church on Catholic Hill
The first court in Guelph sat in 1833 to hear debt disputes. When the District
of Wellington was formed in 1837, Guelph, as the district seat, needed a
courthouse and a jail. The jail, a portion of which still survives as part of
the redeveloped Crown attorney’s offices, was built in 1839 by Guelph
contractor William Day. Its first prisoner was James Lindsay, sentenced to five
years for stealing cattle. The courthouse was built by Guelph miller William
Allan in 1843 and is the city’s oldest public building
One of Guelph’s most notorious court cases resulted in the town’s first public
execution. Charles Coghlin, a young Irish Catholic, was sentenced to death for
stabbing Richard Oliver, a Protestant, in a fight on the Eramosa Road in March
1847. The killing followed months of tension and court battles between the two
families. In each case, the Protestant magistrate Dr. William Clarke had ruled
in the Olivers’ favour
Before the hanging, Coghlin spoke for almost 30 minutes to a crowd of 1,500
people. He declared his innocence, apologized to Oliver’s widow and denounced
the quality of justice in Guelph, singling out Clarke. Although Coghlin had
urged his friends not to seek revenge for his death, the Wellington Mill, owned
by Clarke and coroner Henry Orton, was burned to the ground the month after the
hanging
Many people in Guelph felt Coghlin’s sentence should have been commuted to
life. Uneasiness about capital punishment increased forty years later after the
hanging of William Harvey. The bookkeeper for J.W. Lyon had been charged with
embezzlement. In what doctors for the defence later described as a fit of
temporary insanity, Harvey reacted by killing his wife and two daughters. He
was arrested in Toronto where he had gone to track down his son, presumably to
kill him before killing himself
Despite the medical evidence, Harvey was found guilty and sentenced to hang. A
petition circulated across Canada could not save him. The hanging, covered by
the Toronto newspapers, was terribly botched and Harvey took more than 10
minutes to succumb because the inexperienced hangman had not properly adjusted
the noose
At a subsequent inquiry, a jury recommended that in future the government
employ a professional executioner
The need for prison reform was identified in 1908 and Guelph was seen as an
ideal place for a prison farm where rehabilitation would replace punishment. In
1910, prisoners began clearing 800 acres for construction of the Ontario Reformatory
and by 1915 the Central Prison in Toronto was closed and its occupants
transferred to Guelph. By 1917 it had wood, broom, tailoring, shoe, machine and
paint shops, a woollen mill, a quarry and a farm. The site was commandeered by
the federal government during the First World War as the Speedwell Hospital for
convalescing veterans. Reinstituted as a prison, it had 1,400 prisoners by 1921
Guelph’s oldest public building is the courthouse on Wyndham Street. It was
restored in 1981 by Simcoe-based architect Carlos Ventin and houses the
Wellington County administrative offices and council chambers
PUBLIC ARCHIVES OF CANADA Safe and Secure An abattoir had been part of the
institution from its inception but in 1974 operations were contracted out to a
private company, later known as Better Beef. Inmates were on the payroll for
Better Beef until the early 1990s. The prison’s busy farm operations, including
a herd of 100 prize dairy cattle and vegetable gardens that supplied the
institution’s cannery, also ceased operation in the 1970s when a large portion
of the prison grounds was sold to the Royal Canadian Legion
In 2002, the Guelph Correctional Centre is slated to close its doors as part of
the Conservative government’s restructuring of the provincial prison system.
The local closures began in 2001 with the Wellington Detention Centre
Prisoners awaiting trial in Guelph courts are now detained in facilities in
Hamilton and Milton. Guelph courts could become a casualty in the future if
transporting prisoners long distances is deemed to be too costly
Defence of king and country has always found strong support in Guelph. As early
as the 1830s Capt. John Poore trained a volunteer rifle company to defend the
town against William Lyon Mackenzie’s Reformers. Mackenzie is believed to have
hidden near Guelph before fleeing to the United States after the abortive 1837
rebellion against the Family Compact who controlled the government of Upper
Canada
Local militia came together in 1857 as the First Wellington Battalion. The Guelph
Garrison Battery was formed in 1866 to guard against threatened Fenian raids.
That spawned the Wellington Field Battery of Artillery in 1871 and the Ontario
Field Battery in 1878 comprised of OAC students. The two combined to form the
First Provisional Brigade of Field Artillery in 1880 which produced soldiers
who fought in the Northwest Rebellion and the Boer War
Guelph was a true blue British Commonwealth town in those days, with
imperialist sentiments infused into all aspects of life. Politics helped win a
proper home for Guelph’s military activities when Liberal MP Hugh Guthrie
lobbied successfully for both an armoury and an enlarged post office and
customs house. The Guelph Armoury was built in 1908 and its large assembly hall
became a venue for local festivities
Thousands of troops were accommodated and trained at the Armoury during the
First World War when the local militia unit was renamed the First Howitzer
Brigade Canadian Forces Artillery and was sent to Halifax for coastal defence.
Guelph men joined five regular artillery batteries that were sent overseas and
some women joined nursing units. Guelph lost 281 men and one nursing sister
One of those who died was Lt. Col. John McCrae, while serving with the
ambulance corps of the Canadian Army
Weary of the slaughter he was witnessing at the Second Battle of Ypres in
Belgium in 1915, he wrote In Flanders Fields shortly after the death of his
best friend, Alexis Helmer. McCrae died of pneumonia at Boulogne, France, in
1918
Guelph found itself at the centre of a national incident during the First World
War as the imposition of conscription fueled anti-Catholic sentiments. The
Citizens’ Union Committee, backed by the Guelph Ministerial Association, took
out an advertisement in the Toronto Globe newspaper proclaiming its support for
the “maintenance of British ideals and traditions” and its alarm over the
“menace of French Canadian domination.” Local Protestants complained that young
Catholic men in Guelph’s Jesuit seminary, one of them the son of the federal
justice minister, were evading military service. Military police raided the
seminary in June, 1918, and arrested three novices. A subsequent inquiry found
that the student priests were legally exempted from service and the raid had
been a sad demonstration of religious intolerance
After the war, the militia was reconstituted as the 11th Brigade under the
command of Lieut.-Col. George Drew
Guelph casualties during the Second World War numbered 173. In the post-war
period, interest in the militia receded and the cadet corps faced tough
competition for recruits from sports, arts and other youth activities
Today, Guelph's 11th Field Artillery Regiment is Canada’s oldest artillery
regiment. Its focus has been on disaster relief and peacekeeping, with members
assisting in the 1998 ice storm in Ontario and Quebec, the flooding of
Manitoba’s Red River in the mid 1990s and on missions to Cyprus, Cambodia, and
Yugoslavia
John McCrae, bottom left, pictured with his sister Geills, brother Thomas and
mother Janet Eckford McCrae, was born and raised in Guelph and shortly before
his death wrote “In Flanders Fields.” COURTESY OF GUELPH MUSEUMS 33 Healing
Healing A N D Helping he Sisters of St. Joseph from Hamilton opened St.
Joseph’s Hospital and House of Providence in 1861 with 16 beds, serving as a
hospital and a poor house. A year later they moved into a larger stone building
on Hospital Street north of London Road
The hospital doubled in size in 1877 and a home for the aged was built next
door in 1895. A modern five-storey hospital was completed in 1951 and in 1960
the early hospital buildings were demolished during construction of a larger
home for the aged
The Guelph General Hospital opened in 1875 on a four-acre site on Delhi Street
with 12 beds and did not have an operating room until an addition was built in
1888. A short time later nursing superintendent Louisa Eastwood established a
school of nursing where, besides nursing, students were responsible for
housekeeping, operating the switchboard and doing the laundry
For 35 years, the hospital was run by a Swiss man with an unusual name, Blessed
Sinner. His duties included managing the farm which supplied food for the
patients, administering anaesthetics, assisting in operations and keeping the
books. Several new buildings were added to the hospital over the years,
including a nurses’ residence and an isolation hospital for patients with
diphtheria, smallpox, cholera or typhoid. Today, those buildings house Family
and Children’s Services and the Delhi Recreation Centre. In 1904, the Elliott
Home for “elderly ladies and gentlemen” was built, assisted by a bequest from
George Elliott, a former chairman of the board, who saw the need for a “home of
the friendless.” In 1930, the city assumed responsibility for Guelph General
and established a board of commissioners. A new $1.4 million hospital was
opened in 1951, staffed by 200, with 171 beds and space for 38 bassinets. In
1956, the old hospital was demolished and replaced by a new nurses’ complex.
Seventy-five beds were added in 1968
Eventually it was determined that it made no sense for the city to have two
acute-care hospitals, sparking a bitter conflict that lasted three decades. A
local group of women, advocating for the General so that abortion services
would continue to be available in Guelph, launched a “One Hospital for All”
campaign. In the end, the General underwent major redevelopment as the
acute-care institution. In 2002, construction of a new St. Joseph’s Health
Centre for long-term care was nearing completion
Guelph’s third hospital, the Homewood Health Centre, was founded as a private
psychiatric institution in 1883 in the former home of Liberal MP and later MPP
Donald Guthrie. The Homewood Sanatorium began as a 50-bed facility and, for
those who could pay, was the only alternative in the province to the public
asylums
From the beginning, Guelph’s hospitals relied heavily on ladies’ auxiliaries.
The volunteer work on behalf of hospital and church projects did not, however,
bring Guelph women the recognition their husbands enjoy in the history books.
Members of church groups would visit sick and elderly people who could not
leave their homes. The St. George’s, St. Andrew’s, St. Patrick’s and St.
Vincent de Paul societies all raised money for the needy, usually assisting
those from their own religious group. Widows and orphans were looked after by
the Masons, the Odd Fellows and dozens of other fraternal St. Joseph’s Hospital
and House of Providence was Guelph’s first hospital, established in 1861.
PRIVATE COLLECTION The Guelph General Hospital was run for 35 years by Blessed
Sinner, pictured in the mid 1890s with nurses Jessie Turnbull, Maria Tripp,
Augusta Ariss, Grace Murphy and Etta Stirton
COURTESY OF GUELPH GENERAL HOSPITAL 34 T Healing and Helping orders. Union
members were helped by the Guelph Trades and Labour Council. During the
Depression, missions in the Ward and elsewhere in the city provided food and
organized youth activities
Through volunteer efforts, money was raised by the Red Cross to support men
fighting in South Africa and later during two world wars. When the need for a
youth centre was identified in 1912, solicitor Walter Buckingham led a
fundraising drive to build a YMCA with a swimming pool at the corner of Quebec
and Yarmouth streets. Within a year 564 men and boys had joined. The Y became
the gathering place for Guelph youth, especially at the Friday night dances. A
sister club on Macdonell Street opened a hostel for women in 1929
In the first half of the 20th century dozens of service clubs were established
in Guelph, including the IODE, the Rotary, Kiwanis, the Optimist Club, the
Guelph Lions Club and the Kinsmen. In the late 1930s, a young insurance
salesman named Bill Hamilton (later MPP and Mayor of Guelph) started the
Community Chest, later United Way Community Services of Guelph and Wellington.
Ontario Agricultural College librarian Florence Partridge provided a forum for
women through the Business and Professional Women’s Club in 1925 and founded
the Guelph chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women in 1945
The Canadian Club in Guelph, established in 1888, is the disputed first
Canadian Club in Canada. The City of Hamilton claims the same distinction
The club is the forerunner of the Club of Guelph founded by Ken Hammond in 1975
and Friends of Guelph founded in the late 1990s, organizations of business and
community leaders, until recently exclusively men, who took on major community
projects. In 2000, Friends of Guelph helped the Guelph Community Health Centre
move into a permanent downtown home, established the Guelph Community
Foundation to build endowments for charitable organizations, assisted Mary Anne
Bracewell with the Millennium Bandshell in Royal City Park and supported
efforts to save the Via Rail station
The realization that much of Guelph’s history was not recorded led to the
formation of the Guelph Historical Society in 1961 whose publications have
since been setting the record straight. The local historians opened a small
museum which provided the foundation for a permanent home to open on Gordon
Street where the Guelph Farmers’ Market is now located
Today the museum is located on Dublin Street in one of the oldest stone
commercial buildings in the city, the former home of the Knights of Columbus.
Together with the McCrae branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Guelph
Historical Society also acquired John McCrae’s birthplace on Water Street and
restored it as a museum. In 1997, Toronto garment manufacturer Arthur Lee
purchased McCrae's war medals at auction for $400,000 and donated them to the
museum
Today, a climate of dwindling resources has created a massive network of
volunteer organizations all vying for the disposable income of Guelph’s
citizens. The number of large fundraising campaigns for the hospitals alone -
capital campaigns for equipment, Black Tie Bingo, Hotfoot Happening and a Taste
of Guelph - raises questions about the future of the public health system. At
the same time, every local organization has adopted a worthy cause, and there
are plenty - Wyndham House, Change Now, Women in Crisis, schizophrenia, AIDS,
cancer, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, autism
Although Guelph is considered to have a higher than average standard of living,
it is not immune to poverty, homelessness and a lack of resources for people
with mental illness. In 1983, Sister Christine Leyser opened the Welcome In
Drop In Centre on Wyndham Street, providing meals and a welcoming environment
for Guelph’s marginalized population. She also opened Stepping Stone, an
emergency shelter, and in 2002 opened a new shelter for women and children.
With housing advocate Ed Pickersgill she lobbies continuously for construction
of affordable housing. Local churches provide hot meals to downtown residents
at Chalmers United Church. Also in 2002 Change Now, the city's youth drop-in
resource centre, will open an emergency youth centre in Norfolk St. United
Church
In 2001, Onward Willow celebrated its 10th anniversary as a community
development project focusing on early intervention for babies and toddlers with
the goal of breaking the cycle of poverty. It was the first of a new wave of
neighbourhood groups working to address social problems in Guelph
The YM-YWCA has a long history in Guelph and for many decades had a prominent
presence in the downtown core. This distinctive YWCA building, ca. 1920, is one
of the few historic buildings at St. George’s Square that survived the post-war
modernization movement
COURTESY OF GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES 35 Multiculturalism F R O M M A N Y
Lands or most of Guelph's first century diversity was more about religion than
country of origin. Guelph was a predominately English town, with smaller but
sizeable Irish and Scottish populations. Moral and theological disagreements
spawned splinter congregations from the Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican
churches. Minorities consisted of Quakers, Baptists, German Mennonites and a
few blacks
By 1907, Guelph had the 10 Jewish men required to form a minyan - a formal
prayer quorum. The Acker, Brown, Smith and Enushevsky families came mostly as
peddlers from Russia and Poland. The Jewish community eventually produced
prominent downtown merchants and builders, including the Wolfonds and the
Enchins, as well as community leaders such as Joe Young, elected to city
council in 1983 and mayor from 1995 to 2000, and Mordechai Rozanski, appointed
president of the University of Guelph in 1993. In 1949, the small synagogue on
Dublin Street was replaced by the Beth Isaiah Synagogue dedicated to the memory
of Isaiah (Sidney) Acker and all Jews who died in the Second World War.
Throughout the 20th century the Jewish population grew slowly. Today there are
90 families, many in professional occupations rather than following in the
business footsteps of their parents.
A small black community of about 100 people lived in Guelph towards the end of
the 19th century, working as labourers, painters, barbers, dressmakers,
blacksmiths and domestic servants. They were descendants of escaped and refugee
slaves who originally settled in Queen’s Bush near Elmira. By the 1860s, 38 had
moved to Guelph.
While Guelph’s English roots are still its defining influence, the 20th century
opened doors to people from beyond Britain’s shores - from Italy, Germany and
France at first, and later from anywhere on the globe. Class and cultural
divisions were clearly marked in the early days. Families from France, Italy
and Poland settled in St
Patrick’s Ward. They found work in the foundries and planted large gardens to
feed their families. A few Asian families opened laundries and small numbers of
refugees from places like Armenia began to arrive
Two world wars tested the limits of tolerance in Guelph. During the First World
War, Austrians, Hungarians and Austrian-Poles who were not married were
interned in Toronto. A generation later, Italians in Guelph were viewed as the
enemy and subjected to discrimination
After the Second World War, the city’s multicultural character blossomed.
Hundreds of Italian, Polish and Dutch families arrived in Guelph as people fled
post-war poverty in Europe and put their skills to work in North America’s
building boom. The 1940s, '50s and 60s also produced smaller Hellenic,
Hungarian, Ukrainian, Philippino, Maltese and Caribbean communities in Guelph
before immigration slowed significantly in the 1970s. By the 1980s people were
again on the move, but there were new global hot spots and immigration to
Canada and to Guelph had a new face as churches sponsored Vietnamese, Laotian
and Cambodian refugee families
Throughout its history, Guelph has had a fluctuating population of First
Nations people, today numbering about 1,000. Newcomers to Guelph are from
mainland China, Afghanistan, India and Latin America. The Chinese tend to be
young, independent professionals
The Afghanis are part of a large exodus of refugees. Immigration from India has
been steady for years as people settle and sponsor relatives to reunite their
families. War and political unrest in Columbia and El Salvador has driven many
families to Guelph but the hundreds of Spanish-speaking families represent all
parts of Latin America
Each year, 750 refugees and people from the general pool of new immigrants who
are not joining relatives or taking jobs in a specific location are settled in
Guelph by federal agencies. As a result, at the beginning of the 21st century,
Guelph has new Tamil, Bengali, Egyptian and Iranian communities. Pat Joannie,
the executive director of the Guelph and District Multicultural Centre, says
Guelph is more multicultural than perception suggests because some immigrant
communities still feel safer keeping to themselves and are simply not visible
Sam Lee Hing was a launderer in Guelph, part of a tiny visible minority
population in the Victorian era
COURTESY OF GUELPH MUSEUMS 36 F The Italians rriving in two waves of 20th
century immigration, the Italian influence is today integral to Guelph’s
character
In 1901, only two residents of Guelph listed Italy as their country of origin.
One of the earliest was the father of grocer Lou Embro (the “Mayor of Carden
Street”) who came to Guelph in 1904 and worked as a gravedigger for the city.
The 1911 census lists 358 Italians and by 1921 their numbers had risen to
almost 600
Many of the early immigrants, including the Valeriotes and Careres, came from
the town of San Giorgio in Calabria in Southern Italy and today still celebrate
the feast of San Giorgio on April 23, the same saint’s day that John Galt chose
for the founding of Guelph. Most moved into St. Patrick’s Ward, close to the
factories where the men found work as labourers. Large groups of young men
would bunk together until they earned enough money to bring a bride from Italy.
Over time a strong Italian neighbourhood evolved in what became known as “The
Ward.” Lou Fontinato, who eventually found fame as a hockey player with the New
York Rangers, had a typical childhood growing up in an Italian family in Guelph
in the 1930s. He was the sixth child, and only son of Maria and Liberale who
came to Guelph from Treviso in Northern Italy. The one suitcase they had
brought with them was not even full. They boarded with other Italian families
before eventually buying a house of their own on Ferguson Street
Liberale Fontinato worked for 40 years at the International Malleable Iron
Company. He also kept a five-acre market garden on St. George’s hill, land he
later sold to the city for construction of war-time houses on Lane Street. Lou
Fontinato remembers the arguments with his sisters over whose turn it was to
bring the cow back from the nearby pasture for milking. He and his friends played
in the quarry behind the rubber plant and had great fun burning oil-soaked
cotton batting pulled from around the bearings of the wheels of the trains at
the roundhouse near Alice Street. In the winter the boys skated on a rink his
father built beside their house; in summer, the rink became a bocce court
The women worked tirelessly raising large families and feeding large groups of
boarders to make ends meet
Lou’s mother made the confirmation dresses for his five sisters and prided
herself on getting through the Depression years without taking handouts
“Weren’t we lucky to be born in the Ward. Everyone down there had a work
ethic,” Lou says now
Immigration was halted during the Depression and the Italian pioneers faced
another harsh period during the Second World War when they had to register as
enemy aliens. Some were interned. Many who were Canadians were shunned and
denied jobs because of their heritage, particularly if they were members of the
patriotic Sons of Italy
The thousands who came to Guelph in the 1950s and ‘60s to escape the poverty of
post-war Italy found a friendly and established “Little Italy.” Many intended
to work in Canada for a while and eventually go back to Italy, but few
returned. They were the stone masons, bricklayers and carpenters who built the
homes during Guelph’s post-war housing boom. Some were risk takers who built
their own companies like Durose Welding, Barzotti Woodworking, and Gorgi’s
Construction or went into the real estate, travel or grocery business
Immigration again slowed in the ‘70s when economic prosperity returned to
Italy. Imelda Porcellato, the Italian Vice-Consul in Guelph, says it was the
sacrifice of the immigrants to Canada who regularly sent money home that helped
those who stayed behind to prosper
Although not borne out by census statistics, some claim one third of Guelph’s
population is of Italian ancestry, representing one of the largest Italian
communities per capita in North America. The community now lives in
neighbourhoods throughout the city. Porcellato says the legacy of those
hard-working pioneers is their determination to ensure an education for their
children. Few have not gone on to university. That success has not been without
a price, however, as most of the fully-integrated younger generation do not
speak the Italian language
37 Peter Marucci’s family was part of the first wave of Italian immigration to
Guelph
COURTESY OF WELLINGTON COUNTY MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES A Politics P E O P L E I N
Politics uelph is generally viewed as a small “c” conservative town. Its
history supports that view, although since Confederation Guelph has sent
Liberal politicians to Ottawa and Queen’s Park by a margin of two to one over
Conservatives
Liberal David Stirton was elected in 1867 during the first election of the new
federal government. He had been Wellington South’s member of the Legislative
Assembly since 1857 and resigned as MP in 1876 to become Guelph’s postmaster, a
position he held for 28 years
Stirton was replaced by Donald Guthrie in the first of two elections in which
Guthrie defeated Tory James Goldie
Guthrie came to Guelph to set up a law practice with his cousin Adam
Fergusson-Blair and went on to serve as city and county solicitor for more than
50 years. He was orphaned at age 13 when his parents died of cholera on the
journey from Scotland. Although deaf for most of his life, Guthrie became a
prominent public speaker and community leader. He chose not to seek re-election
in 1882 but a few years later began an eight-year term as Guelph’s MPP
From 1882 to 1896 Guelph’s representative in Ottawa was James Innes, owner,
publisher and editor of the Guelph Mercury. He was defeated in 1896 by Guelph’s
first Tory MP, industrialist Christian Kloepfer, who held the seat for four
years until he lost to the man who would attain the highest position of any of
Guelph’s federal representatives. Hugh Guthrie’s 35 years in Ottawa began in
his father’s footsteps as a Liberal, serving as Wilfrid Laurier’s right-hand
man. He parted ways with Laurier and joined the Union Coalition in support of
conscription in 1917, becoming Canada’s solicitor general
After the war, the Coalition disbanded and Guthrie switched to the Tories,
becoming solicitor general and minister of military defence in Prime Minister
Arthur Meighen’s cabinet. When the Tories lost the 1926 election and Meighen
resigned Guthrie served as interim Leader of the Opposition and leader of the
party. He was named Minister of Justice when R.B. Bennett came to power in
1930. Guthrie did not run for re-election in 1935, instead accepting an
appointment as Chief Commissioner on the Board of Railway Commissioners
His departure opened the door for Liberal Robert Gladstone, a teacher and
community leader, who held the seat until 1949 when he accepted a seat in the
Senate. Liberal Henry Hosking won the 1949 election, was re-elected in 1953 and
died in office in 1957. Guelph voters then switched parties and sent Tory Alf
Hales to Ottawa for the next 17 years. Allegiances flipped back and forth after
that, with Liberal Frank Maine serving from 1974 to 1979, Tory Albert Fish
holding the seat during Joe Clark’s short-lived minority government and Liberal
Jim Schroder serving during the Trudeau years of 1980 to 1984
Schroder, an OVC pathologist, was parliamentary secretary to ministers of
health, science and technology and the environment and was a big supporter of
many Guelph environmental projects. He lost to Tory Bill Winegard in 1984
Winegard became the first minister of science in 1990 and retired in 1993. The
Liberals reclaimed the seat when Brenda Chamberlain, the chair of the
Wellington County Board of Education, was elected during the first of three
landslide victories for the government of Jean Chretien
At the provincial level, all of the 19th century MPPs after Confederation were
Liberals. Peter Gow, a miller and tanner, had enjoyed a lengthy political
career and was mayor of Guelph when he surprised the town with his election in
1867. Gow was Provincial-Secretary when Oliver Mowat’s government agreed to
establish the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) in Gow’s home town. He was
re-elected by acclamation twice but resigned because of poor health in 1876,
later serving as sheriff of Wellington County
Guelph businessman James Massie also won the seat unopposed but left politics
in 1879 to become warden of Central Prison in Toronto. The Tories finally ran a
candidate in 1879 who narrowly lost to James Laidlaw, the OAC farm manager and
a former warden of Wellington County. Laidlaw lost his party’s nomination to
Donald Guthrie in 1886. Guthrie retired from politics in 1894 and held the job
of inspector of legal offices for the next 20 years
From 1957 to 1974 Tory Alf Hales represented Guelph in Ottawa. He was
unbeatable at the polls
COURTESY OF GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES 38 G People in Politics John Mutrie,
an Eramosa farmer and military officer, became Guelph’s first Canadian-born MPP
when he was elected in 1894
He was defeated in 1902 by Joseph Downey, the first Conservative to take the
riding. While in office, Downey continued to work as editor at Guelph’s Tory
newspaper, the Herald. He left politics in 1910 to become superintendent of the
Ontario Hospital at Orillia. While MPP, he was part of the prison reform
movement that brought the Ontario Reformatory to Guelph
Two more Conservatives, John Howitt and Henry Scholfield, were elected before
the First World War. In 1914, the seat was taken for the Liberals by Samuel
Carter, a hosiery manufacturer and the prohibitionist mayor of Guelph. Vote
splitting with Labour-United Farmers of Ontario candidate John Cockburn in 1919
handed the seat to Conservative Rev. Caleb Buckland who resigned four years
later to become superintendent of the Children’s Aid Societies of Ontario
Lincoln Goldie, president of Goldie Mill, a former chairman of the Canada Wheat
Board and a member of one of Guelph’s most prominent families, represented the
riding for the next eight years. Early in the Depression era, Goldie tried to
enact legislation that would have downloaded provincial spending for hospitals
onto municipalities. Public protests killed the idea and after a royal
commission on welfare criticized his administration he was removed from cabinet
and died soon afterwards while still in office
The Liberals won back the riding in 1931 with a young lawyer, Paul Munro. He
had just been re-elected in 1934 when he was killed in a car accident. James
King took the seat in a by-election and defeated George Drew in 1937. The only
member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) ever elected in Guelph
was Leslie Hancock, who won in 1943 when the CCF came within four seats of
forming the government. The OAC horticulture professor was one of only two
members of his caucus to support an alliance with the communist Labour
Progressive Party. He resigned and sat as an independent for the balance of his
term and did not seek re-election
The election of Hancock was not the only time Marxists made a statement in
Guelph. Tim Buck was a young member of the Worker’s Party of Canada when he and
a small group of radical trade unionists founded the Communist Party of Canada
during a secret meeting in June 1921 in a barn belonging to Fred Farley of
Guelph. Buck led the party from 1930 to 1973
Hancock’s replacement at Queen’s Park in 1945 was Tory W.E. (Bill) Hamilton, an
insurance executive who held the seat for 10 years. Hamilton, later president
of Homewood Health Centre, went on to serve 13 years on Guelph City Council,
the last two years as mayor
Former mayor Harry Worton, whose family ran a bakery in St. George’s Square,
represented Guelph for 30 years after defeating Hamilton in 1955. The highlight
of his political career came while he was mayor when he and his wife, Olive,
represented Guelph at the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminister
Abbey. Worton, much like Alf Hales at the federal level and Norm Jary in the
mayor’s chair, was undefeatable as long as he decided to run. Worton was MPP
during the delicate negotiations with the Tory government to create a
university at Guelph. Proponents of the idea suggested he stay in the
background in case his politics jeopardized the deal but he said Premier John
Robarts kept him informed. “I never get excited about what people’s politics
are because there’s decent people out there no matter what their politics are,”
said Worton, who earned a reputation as “a man for the people.” Pierre Elliott
Trudeau drew a huge crowd in November 1977 when he helped Guelph celebrate its
150th birthday with a visit to the Italian Canadian Club
COURTESY OF THE GUELPH MERCURY MP Bill Winegard, the mayor’s wife Jean Jary and
MPP Rick Ferraro join in the festivities at a community event in St. George’s
Square. COURTESY OF THE GUELPH MERCURY 39 Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827-2002
The riding stayed in Liberal hands with the election of its first
Italian-Canadian provincial politician, Rick Ferraro. He carried the banner for
the failed bid by St
Joseph’s to become the city’s acute-care hospital and lost his seat to school
board trustee and trade unionist Derek Fletcher in the stunning election of Bob
Rae’s New Democratic Party government in 1990
Brenda Elliott, who operated a store that sold environmentally-friendly
products, was elected in 1995 as part of the sweep by Mike Harris’ Conservative
Common Sense Revolution. She was named minister of the environment but lost the
job in the first cabinet shuffle. She won a healthy majority again in 1999 but
her role as minister came under scrutiny in 2001 during the inquiry into the
safety of the public water supply in Walkerton. In 2001, Elliott was reappointed
to cabinet as minister of inter-governmental affairs
In municipal politics, the issues that faced Victorian-era politicians were not
entirely different than the issues that dominate council agendas today. Growth,
water, subsidies for industry, ownership of public utilities, the ward system,
spending on capital projects and the role of the city administrator were all
fodder for lively debate
Some of the names of early municipal leaders are still familiar today because
of the landmarks that are reminders of the influence they exerted - mayors like
George Elliott, Peter Gow, George Sleeman and Thomas Goldie. George Drew,
elected to Guelph city council in 1922 and to the mayor’s job in 1925, went on
to become Ontario’s only Guelph-born premier
A lawyer, Drew became a master of the Ontario Supreme Court in 1929 and first
chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission in 1931. He won the leadership of
the Ontario Conservative Party in 1938 and served as premier from 1943 to 1948,
becoming the architect of Ontario’s post-war Conservative agenda. He was less
successful as leader of the federal Tories between 1948 and 1956. Following his
resignation as party leader he was appointed Canadian High Commissioner to
London
Most of Guelph’s municipal politicians have fallen into obscurity, some
undeservedly so like Col. Nathaniel Higinbotham, mayor in 1868, and Samuel
Carter, who was elected mayor in 1913. Higinbotham operated a drug store in the
building known as Medical Hall and later occupied by the Toronto Dominion Bank
at the corner of Wyndham and Macdonell streets. He was an active member of the
Board of Trade and the Board of Education and was the Liberal MP for Wellington
North from 1872 to 1878. In 1893 he founded the Guelph Humane and Children’s
Aid Society, one of the oldest such organizations in Canada. In those days the
mandate was the welfare of children as well as animals and the group would
advertise children for adoption in the local newspapers. The Children’s Aid
Society separated from the Humane Society in 1927
Carter was a founder of the Royal Knitting Co. on Norwich Street. The devout
Methodist was first elected to council in 1900 and was one of the driving
forces behind the city’s acquisition of the Guelph Light and Power Company in
1902. He helped organize the Guelph Co-operative Association in 1904 to lower
the cost of groceries for the working classes and ran for mayor in 1913 on a
platform of cleaning up municipal politics
From 1856 to 1879 a mayor and 12 aldermen were elected each year in ward
elections. The number of aldermen increased to 18 after 1880 until the electors
voted to switch to an at-large system in 1903. After that, George Drew, at
right, was Ontario’s only Guelph-born premier, and frequently visited his
hometown with his wife Fiorenza, the daughter of famed tenor Edward Johnson,
pictured at left
ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH LIBRARY Col. Nathaniel
Higinbotham, at left, was mayor in 1868 and one of Guelph’s most influential
citizens. He and his family lived at the stately Riverview that still stands on
Queen Street
COURTESY OF GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY ARCHIVES 40 People in Politics the system
changed every four or five years as the council experimented with political
reform but never tried anything new for long enough to find out if it had been
effective. There would be 11, 12 or 18 aldermen. The mayor would be elected by
general vote or from within the council ranks. Terms would vary from one to
three years
By 1930, things settled down and 11 aldermen and a mayor were elected at-large
yearly, then for two-year terms after 1966 and three-year terms from 1983
Consistently through the first half of the 20th century, the members of Guelph
city council were primarily businessmen. Like their counterparts in other cities,
they made their decisions in the back rooms and public council meetings were
short affairs. City contracts went to those who had contacts at City Hall
By the late 1950s television had arrived in most homes and politics was
changing at all levels. One of the biggest changes was the participation of
women on council and in senior positions at City Hall. Harry Worton recalled “a
little rumble” when Mildred Tovell was named city clerk in the 1940s, despite
her credentials as a long-time employee in the clerk’s office
The first woman councillor was Elizabeth Mowat, who had been runner-up to Jim
Clare and was appointed to his seat when he resigned to go after the job of
city solicitor. Clare lost his bid, the job going to Richard Hungerford, and
Mowat also failed to retain the seat on council at the next election. Elvie
Lowell was the next woman to sit on council, managing a less complicated
victory in 1956. No other women were elected until Margaret MacKinnon in 1973
Carl Hamilton shook things up in 1970 when Ralph Smith resigned from council to
become industrial commissioner
Hamilton was runner-up in 12th position on the ballot but some members of
council were not anxious to admit a committed socialist to the horseshoe and
positioned Jack Quarrie in competition with Hamilton to fill the vacancy
Hamilton squeaked in on a 5-4 vote after councillor Hayes Murphy concluded that
belief in democracy should apply as much in Guelph as elsewhere
Hamilton, a former national secretary of the CCF, recalled many 6-5 votes but
said he was part of a group that generally worked things out. One of the issues
that dominated council in Hamilton’s day was growth. Although politics was not
supposed to matter at the municipal level, Hamilton found that the Liberal
councillors generally embraced growth while he and the Tories were more
cautious. Anne Godfrey recalls being labelled antigrowth but says she just
wanted to be sure that growth was carefully planned
In 1992, the electorate voted in a plebiscite for a return to the ward system.
John Counsell lost the mayor’s job to Joe Young in 1995. In November 2000, “the
Brendas,” as Chamberlain and Elliott had come to be known, were joined by
another woman when Karen Farbridge was elected mayor, defeating two of her
fellow councillors and two former councillors. Guelph became the only city in
Canada in which women led all three levels of government
Farbridge sees that as a good thing. As mayor she attends countless meetings
and is often still the only woman at the table except perhaps for a recording
secretary. “I would guess we’re a long way from being representative of the
population,” she says, adding that the backlash against women in politics is
still insidious
“Not on a public level, but it’s there in the background.” Wellington South MPP
Harry Worton, Wellington MP Frank Maine, Mayor Norm Jary and club president
Bruno Sanvido helped celebrate expansion of the Italian Canadian Club at the
sod turning in 1976. COURTESY OF THE GUELPH MERCURY In 2000, Guelph became the
only city in Canada where women headed all three levels of government when
Mayor Karen Farbridge, centre, was elected, joining MP Brenda Chamberlain,
left, and MPP Brenda Elliott. COURTESY OF THE GUELPH MERCURY 41 Arts Music, Art
A N D Letters usic was of the amateur variety in the 19th century. Guelph’s
first “festival” was organized by John Galt for the king’s birthday, Aug. 12,
1827. Like many of the celebrations that would follow, the festive mood was
fueled by vast quantities of locally-distilled whiskey which in this case
helped ameliorate the taste of an undercooked ox
Musical performances were often used to raise money for church benevolent
societies or to build the hospitals and over time Guelph developed a reputation
for high standards of musical performance, aided by the choir and organ masters
hired by local churches. By the time the city was 50 years old, the Guelph
Musical Union had been organized, conducted by William Philp, the choir leader
and organist at Dublin Street Methodist Church. Philp led the Wellington Field
Battery Band to top prize in the band competition at the first Toronto
Industrial Exhibition (later the Canadian National Exhibition) in 1879
Together with his counterpart at St. George’s Church, Roberta Geddes-Harvey,
Philp helped foster a strong musical consciousness. He brought in outside
talent for the City Band which became a fixture at local celebrations. The
Ontario Agricultural College’s Glee Club and Lawrence’s Silver Cornet Band were
just two of the dozens of popular local groups.
The growth of the cultural community bred the early version of the push for a
performing arts centre. Philp and others provided the impetus, but just as
politics prevented the River Run Centre from being built before the 1990s, so
Guelph’s 19th century arts community waited until the 1890s before the Royal
Opera House opened its doors. Despite the importance of music to OAC life there
was also not a proper campus venue until 1924 when War Memorial Hall was
constructed Guelph’s musical tradition took off after the opera house opened.
Music teachers Jessie Hill, Hattie Kelly, Eva Taylor and Annie Kilgour formed
the Presto Music Club in 1898 and held concerts in the opera house and in the
town hall auditorium. The Philharmonic Society was formed in 1905, followed by
the Guelph Choral Union and the Orchestral Society. The success of native son
and operatic tenor Edward Johnson put Guelph on the map
Eddie Johnson never apologized for being a “propagandist for beauty in life.”
Press coverage of his funeral in Guelph in 1959, attended by Prime Minister
John Deifenbaker and hundreds of other dignitaries, credited him with imbuing
“a whole continent with an unbridled appreciation of good music.” It was a long
journey from his humble beginnings, born in 1878 in a small cottage on Verney
Street “There was little music in our town, except what we made among ourselves
- in church and with the local band. How in the world I ever took up the
profession, I’ll never know,” he said in a 1953 speech at the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he was chairman of the board
By the time Johnson graduated from Guelph Collegiate his vocal talent was
undeniable, but he was in his 40s before he made his debut at New York’s
Metropolitan Opera. As a young man in New York City he dallied with Broadway
operetta and sang in churches and synagogues to make ends meet
In 1909, Johnson moved to Italy where he changed his name to Edoardo di
Giovanni to win acceptance with European audiences. When his wife died in 1919,
Johnson returned to North America with his young daughter, Fiorenza 42 M Edward
Johnson performs as Aethelwold in the 1927 world premier of Deems Taylor’s
opera “The King’s Henchman” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City
EDWARD JOHNSON COLLECTION, ARCHIVAL AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF
GUELPH LIBRARY Guelph's Laura Lemon won recognition in England as a composer
and poet, most notably for "My Ain Folk." COURTESY GUELPH PUBLIC
LIBRARY ARCHIVES Music, Art and Letters (who married George Drew, later premier
of Ontario), and joined the Chicago Opera Company. Three years later he
returned to New York where he enjoyed more than a dozen years as one of the
Met’s most acclaimed tenors
Named general manager in 1935, he raised the profile of the company and of
North American opera singers before retiring home to Guelph in 1950
It had not been an easy road from Guelph to the Met and Johnson was determined
to smooth the road for others
He envisioned a national music education program to train promising young
musicians and develop informed listeners. He decided Guelph should be the
prototype and donated $25,000 in seed money to the Board of Education in 1928
so that every child could have a musical education. The Depression put an end
to the program after only three years
In 1929, Johnson made local musical history with the highly successful Guelph
Music Festival at the Guelph Collegiate auditorium, something many view as the
trial run for the Guelph Spring Festival. Later, he started a “crusade for
strings” to address a shortage of string musicians, leading to the
establishment of the Guelph Youth Orchestra
Johnson was almost 80 when Guelph Rotarians Jim Schroder and Trevor Lloyd Jones
approached him about founding the Edward Johnson Music Foundation to support
young musical talent. Johnson agreed to lend his name to the idea and planned
to establish an endowment. He died before that could happen, suffering a heart
attack in the lobby of Memorial Gardens in April 1959, just before the first
performance of the National Ballet in Guelph. An editorial in the Guelph
Mercury mourned the loss of Guelph’s “goodwill ambassador” with the contagious
smile
The Edward Johnson Music Foundation became a reality through the determination
of a group of people in Guelph who believed the community’s cultural growth
should keep pace with residential and industrial expansion
Undeterred by the loss of their patron, foundation supporters Mannie Birnbaum
and Ed Crispin kept the idea alive until the arrival in Guelph of Murdo
MacKinnon. As founding dean of arts and director of cultural affairs for the
new University of Guelph, MacKinnon earned a reputation as “the festival
evangelist.” As the foundation grew, MacKinnon and director of music Nicholas
Goldschmidt revived Johnson’s dream of a Guelph arts festival. Goldschmidt, as
head of the Centennial Commission’s performing arts division, helped Guelph
land the 1967 National Vocal Competition. The success of the competition
convinced MacKinnon and Goldschmidt that an annual arts festival would work in
Guelph. Since its first official season in 1968, the Guelph Spring Festival has
commissioned dozens of works, including the centennial oratorio Angels of Earth
by Guelph composer Charles Wilson, and more operas than Toronto’s Canadian
Opera Company. It has attracted world-renowned artists, including Yehudi
Menuhin, Jon Vickers and Oscar Peterson
At first, the festival tried to be all things to all people by including
popular music and literary events in the programming, but eventually found its
niche in chamber music. MacKinnon believes the “boldness, uniqueness and
innovation” of the Guelph Spring Festival was a catalyst for the broad musical
tradition that exists in Guelph today. “It grew by force of example,” he said,
pointing to Hillside, a music festival at Guelph Lake started in 1984, and the
eightyear- old Guelph Jazz Festival which both enjoyed huge crowds and
accolades in 2001
There had been a push for a new performing arts facility since the demolition
of the opera house in 1953. Backed by the Guelph Arts Council and a strong core
of women, including Edith Kidd, Anne Godfrey, Edwina Carson, Margaret
MacKinnon, Eleanor Ewing and Nancy Coates, it took 40 years for the River Run
Centre to become a reality. There was early public resistance to a project some
considered elitist and extravagant. But by the 1990s, 43 The River Run Centre
opened in 1997 after a decades-long effort by local arts advocates to replace
the Royal Opera House that was demolished in 1953
PHOTO BY DON COULMAN Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827-2002 with the support of
Mayor John Counsell, public opinion was swayed and Guelph citizens and
corporations contributed an astounding $5 million towards the $12 million
project
The initial plan was to restore the 1882 Speed Skating Rink as the new arts
centre but when it was destroyed by fire, a new building was designed by
Toronto architects Moriyama and Teshima and finally opened in 1997. The
limestone facade of the skating rink was salvaged and reconstructed beside the
River Run Centre. The Guelph Arts Council also supervised the nearby
installation of the Time Line/Water Line canoe sculpture by John McEwen, the
city’s official millennium project
Guelph’s support for music education has helped develop popular as well as
classical performers. James Gordon, who studied music at the University of
Guelph, has gone on to a successful career as a Canadian songwriter and music
educator and founder of the Canadian Songwriters’ Festival. Singer Jane Siberry
started her career while she was a microbiology student at the University of
Guelph and a waitress at a downtown cafe. Guelph is home to Jeff Bird of the
Cowboy Junkies and songwriter Stephen Fearing as well as musicians Scott
Merritt, Lewis Melville and Tannis Slimmon. Bands like the kramdens, Black
Cabbage, the Bird Sisters and King Cobb Steelie are all products of Guelph.
Many recorded in the 1990s with Dave Teichroeb at his record company, Dave’s
Records of Guelph (DROG), and helped build Guelph’s reputation as a magnet for
musical talent
In 1997, Joanne Grodzinski and Robert Pennee won a Juno nomination for their
children’s CD, Maestro Orpheus and the World Clock, and the Guelph Jazz
Festival won the Lieutenant-Governor’s Award for the Arts. In 2001, the success
of the Linamar-sponsored eyeGO to the Arts program that provides low-cost
concert tickets for youth, the birth of the Guelph Chamber Orchestra and the
opening of the Guelph Youth Music Centre all suggest that a vibrant musical
tradition will endure in Guelph
he sketches and watercolours by David Johnson Kennedy of pastoral scenes in the
pioneer village are typical of early-19th century art in Guelph. Later,
Victorian-era artists who wanted to make a living from their talent usually
left Guelph
Those who stayed in Guelph could only hope for employment where art was part of
a more functional endeavor - stained glass for churches and paintings for
public buildings
The presence of a post-secondary institution proved to be almost as beneficial
to the visual arts as it was to the development of Guelph’s reputation as the
City of Music. The Ontario Agricultural College established a “picture fund”
for buying and displaying works of art. The fine art department at the
University of Guelph was founded by Gordon Couling, best known for his tireless
efforts to protect Guelph’s architectural heritage. Couling was also an artist
and a founding member of the Guelph Creative Arts Association. His most
outstanding work is perhaps the stained glass he designed for Paisley Memorial
United Church on Margaret Street. Guelph painters who earned reputations at
home and abroad include portrait and landscape artist Evan Macdonald and
watercolourist Effie Smith. Lois Etherington Betteridge is Canada’s most
prominent silversmith and Ken Danby has brought international recognition to
Guelph for his high-realist painting and silk-screened prints. In 2002, Danby,
Guelph lawyer and writer T. Sher Singh and scientist and arts advocate Bob
Gillham were awarded the Order of Canada
In 1978, the University of Guelph, the city, Wellington County and the public
school board entered an historic agreement to create a 25,000 square-foot
public gallery in the former Macdonald Consolidated School. The building was
renovated by architect Raymond Moriyama and the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
opened in 1979
Under the leadership of director Judy Nasby, the centre has acquired a renowned
collection of Inuit art, part of a collection of more than 4,000 works of
Canadian art. The gallery’s profile is also enhanced through the steady growth
of the Donald Forster Sculpture Park, named after the university’s third
president
44 Guelph’s Hillside Festival attracts thousands of people to a weekend of
music each summer at Guelph Lake. PHOTO BY TRINA KOSTER, COURTESY OF HILLSIDE
FESTIVAL T Today, Guelph supports a strong creative arts community. Throughout
the year their work is exhibited and sold at studio tours and arts festivals.
But making a living as an artist remains a struggle. Loss of inexpensive studio
space to developers, especially downtown, has brought many Guelph artists
together in an effort to create a visual arts centre
linor Glyn, an early 20th century novelist, and poet Alice Parker Iles were
from Guelph, but it is in the late 20th century that Guelph writers have been
most successful
Among the most prolific are two of Canada’s best-loved children’s authors, Bob
Munsch and Jean Little. Munsch came to Guelph to teach in the family studies
department at the University of Guelph and discovered through his work that
children loved his stories. He found instant fame with his controversial story,
the “Paper Bag Princess” and won the Order of Canada in 2000 shortly after the
release of his 35th book
Little’s roots go much farther back in Guelph. Born to missionary Canadian
physician parents in Formosa (Taiwan), her mother was Guelph’s first woman
doctor. Her failing eyesight steered her towards a career as a writer and her
first novel, “Mine for Keeps”, won the Little, Brown Canadian Book Award in
1962. She has become a bestselling author of books for young readers with titles
that include “From Anna” and “Different Dragons”
The university’s English and drama departments have cultivated much of Guelph’s
cultural life. OAC English professor O.J. Stevenson was known for bringing his
victrola into the classroom and his successor George Elmore Reaman was
responsible for instituting Canada’s first course in radio broadcasting in 1939
and for fostering a love of music in students through the Sunday Nine O’clock
concert series
Music, Art and Letters “Grand Trunk Railway, Across the Speed, at Guelph,
Canada West 1861” by David Johnson Kennedy. Purchased through the Alma Mater
Fund, 1972/73. UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH COLLECTION Guelph-born Rolfe Scarlett, an
abstract painter, set and industrial designer and jewelry artist, worked for years
at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City which still owns a large collection
of his work
MACDONALD STEWART ART CENTRE Greg Denton’s “anyone lived . . .” 2000 depicts
400 artists, musicians, merchants, writers and people from Guelph. The work was
commissioned by the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre to celebrate Guelph’s 175th
birthday with funds raised by volunteers and with assistance from the Canada
Council for the Arts
PHOTO BY DEAN PALMER, MACDONALD STEWART ART CENTRE COLLECTION 45 E Guelph: A
People’s Heritage 1827-2002 46 “The Ontario Agricultural College” by A.Y.
Jackson showing Johnston Hall, the Chemistry Building, the Administration
Building, Massey Hall and Library, 1959. Presented by the OAC Class of 1909
during the celebration of their 50th anniversary
UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH COLLECTION Decades later, English professors Constance
Rooke and Janice Kulyk Keefer were guiding forces behind the establishment of
the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival. The Guelph Jazz Festival was the progeny of
English professor Ajay Heble. English professor and author Tom King has
achieved cult status with the CBC Radio’s Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour. Guelph is
also home to writers Dennis Bock, Sandra Sabatini and Mary Swan, who won the
prestigious O Henry short story prize in 2001
On campus, Canadian playwright Judith Thompson and scholars Ric Knowles and
Alan Filewood have raised the stature of the university’s drama department.
Some of Guelph’s finest dramatic productions are mounted at the George Luscombe
(formerly the Inner Stage) Theatre, launching the careers of designer Sue
Lepage, actor Peter Donaldson and arts administrator John Cripton
Through the efforts of Len Conolly, the MacLaughlin Library acquired Canada’s
largest collection of theatre archives including the Shaw Festival collection.
The library is also recognized for its Scottish collection and for the Lucy
Maud Montgomery archives collected by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston
In the community, Guelph Little Theatre has provided a stage for amateur
thespians since the 1960s. When their Dublin Street home in the former
Salvation Army citadel was destroyed by fire in 1993 the troupe relocated to a
renovated factory on Morris Street. Royal City Musical Productions, under the
direction of Kay McKie, began staging Broadway musicals in 1979, first on the
stage of John F. Ross high school and now at the River Run Centre
The company provided a learning ground for Jeff Norman, Cathy Akin and others
who went on to highly successful careers in professional theatre
“Carousel Hill” by Ken Danby, 1977 watercolour of the carousel at Riverside
Park in Guelph. In 2002, Danby received the Order of Canada
COPYRIGHT 1977 KEN DANBY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED When we came to Guelph in 1978,
we were enthusiastic that we had carefully selected a city rich with heritage
and pride, vibrant family neighbourhoods and a thriving culture, economy and
centre of academic excellence
Today we are a proud corporate partner and Guelph, you continue to be a
gracious host. Thank you for our extraordinary employees, for our generous
friends and the opportunity to grow with you
Our congratulations to the City of Guelph on so many achievements in the last
175 years
Sports Slapshots A N D Shortstops lthough recreational hockey was popular in
the 19th century, it was not until 1897 that Guelph had a team, the Victorias,
in the Ontario Hockey Association. The sport really took off after the First
World War when the local team, based out of the Cambridge Ice Palace at the
corner of Paisley and Norfolk streets, made the 1923 OHA finals
During the 1930s, hockey was championed by Roy Mason who purchased the
deteriorating rink and kept it going as Mason’s Arena. Hockey’s fortunes turned
around when Memorial Gardens opened Nov. 11, 1948
With a top new facility, the city was able to put together a winning team, the
Biltmore Madhatters, that won the Memorial Cup in 1952. The powerful Guelph
club was a training ground for many players who went on to careers in the
National Hockey League. Guelph players like captain Andy Bathgate, Harry
Howell, Dean Prentice and Ron Murphy helped rebuild the New York Rangers
Another member of the 1952 winning team, “Leapin” Lou Fontinato, who grew up in
St. Patrick’s Ward in Guelph, was signed by the Rangers in 1954. He played with
them for eight years before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. A year
later, in March 1964, his career ended during a game at the Forum against the
Rangers when he broke his neck while being checked against the boards. He
retired to Guelph and today farms near Eden Mills
Guelph took the Memorial Cup again in 1986 when the Platers beat the Hull
Olympiques. Once again, the Guelph team sent players to the NHL, including Gary
Roberts, Steve Chiasson and Kerry Huffman. Their coach, Jacques Martin, went on
to coach in St. Louis and Ottawa
Guelph made it to the finals again in 1996. The Guelph Storm had finished the
season on top of the OHL with outstanding defence, goaltending and teamwork,
but it lacked a big scorer and was quickly eliminated by the Granby Predateurs
By the 1990s, Memorial Gardens had fallen into disrepair. Keeping a team in
Guelph meant a new arena would have to be built and deciding where to put it
became a divisive community issue. After years of political wrangling, the
downtown proponents won out over those who thought it should be built in the
west end and the city negotiated a deal with Nustadia Developments to build a
$21.5 million facility. The Guelph Sports and Entertainment Centre opened in
September 2000 on the spot that had been vacated by Eaton’s
The arena was meant to boost the fortunes of the city core, helped by the
redevelopment of the remainder of the former Eaton Centre Mall. When the sale
of the near-empty mall dragged on, another controversy erupted as Guelph city
council learned that Nustadia had failed to make its loan payments. Not wanting
to take ownership of the arena, council voted to make the loan payments for
four years and give Nustadia more time to make the facility profitable. The
city got the boost it was looking for when it was chosen to host the 2002
Memorial Cup
If hockey was only informally organized in the 19th century, baseball was
another matter. The Maple Leafs were formed in 1861 and quickly helped the town
earn a reputation as one of the most enthusiastic baseball towns in North
America. The Leafs were Canadian champions three years running beginning in
1869, a feat that earned them permanent possession of the coveted “silver
ball.” After joining with George Sleeman’s Silver Creeks Baseball Club, the
Leafs became world semi-professional champions in 1874, winning three straight
games in Watertown, New York, including a 13-4 victory against the Ku-Klux team
from Oneida
Baseball fever was at such a pitch that a game in Guelph leading up to the
Watertown tournament was reported to have drawn a crowd of 10,000. It was an
auspicious start for the Guelph club, and local sports fans are still singing
the team’s praises
A decade-long rivalry between the Leafs and the Galt Terriers had one or the
other managing to win the inter-county championship most years between 1910 and
1920. The Guelph Outfitters Baseball Club won the Ontario 49 Hockey fever hit
Guelph in 1952 when the Biltmore Madhatters won the Memorial Cup. Here trainer
Joe Veroni, wearing hat, and owner Roy Mason, holding cup, celebrate with the
team, including Lou Fontinato (standing at right)
COURTESY OF LOU FONTINATO A Junior Championship in 1922. Joe Kaine dominated
the game in those days and in 2001 the city promised to retain the name when
the Joe Kaine field at Centennial Park is moved to another location
Growing up near Exhibition Park, Bill “Mr. BIG” Craven had a typical childhood
for a Guelph boy - hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer every day
until the sun went down. When lights were installed at the Exhibition Park
stadium in the late 1940s people would line up an hour before a game to get a
seat in the grandstand
Baseball attendance fell in the ‘50s. “It’s like in any other sport,” said
Craven. “If you win, they come.” Guelph’s baseball players were not winning
After Guelph won the inter-county major baseball championship in 1932 there was
a dry spell until the 1956 senior inter-county championship win and a repeat
performance by the Guelph CJOYs in 1970. Over the years the grandstand in
Exhibition Park fell apart. There was plenty of arguing between fans and Guelph
city council over how much money and effort should be invested in repairs until
finally, in 1988, a group of fans formed Baseball in Guelph (BIG) and pressured
council to make major improvements. They won larger dressing rooms, a better
ball diamond and a roof over the stands at The David E. Hastings Stadium
“Our park was the laughing stock of baseball, and now it’s one of the best in
the league,” says Craven
Guelph’s teams started winning again. In the 13 years after BIG was formed, the
junior team won five championships and was runner-up four times. It provided an
excellent crop of players for the senior team, the Royals, who also performed
well, winning championships in 1993 and 1997
In 2000, the team came full circle, returning to its roots by reclaiming its
old name, the Silvercreeks. Their job done, BIG handed the reins over to a new
crop of volunteers in 2001
The Queen's Plate orse racing was always popular in Guelph, despite the disapproval
of the local clergy. During the 19th century, Rev. Arthur Palmer of St.
George’s Anglican Church would regularly speak out against the “demoralizing
effects” of the activity and would lobby against events organized by the local
turf clubs
Although religious leaders carried much influence in those pioneer days, on
this point, they were unsuccessful
On July 5, 1864, Guelph became a derby town for a day when it hosted the
Queen’s Plate, the only time the event was ever held in the Royal City. It was
also the first time since the race started in 1860 that it was not run at the
Carleton Race Course in Toronto
It was a hot day and thousands of people stirred up a lot of dust as they
descended on the town by carriage, by foot and by train, headed for the one-mile
course on the Newstead Farm near Bullfrog Pond on Eramosa Road. A special
grandstand was built for the ladies and there was another for the dignitaries
including MPP Arthur Hogg, Sheriff George Grange, Judge J.J. Kingsmill, Mayor
William Clarke and Hon. A.J. Fergusson-Blair
The Union Brass Band entertained and every hotel in the town was full
It was the largest field ever for the running of the Queen’s Plate, with 12
horses competing for the prize of 50 sovereigns. The winner was a four-year-old
filly named Brunette, owned by Dr. George Morton of Bradford, the reeve and
coroner of Simcoe County and a leading horse breeder
he first established sports team in the city was the Guelph Cricket Club which
played on the grounds of Market Square beginning in 1833 and later moved beside
Goldie Mill. Thomas Goldie was president of the Ontario Cricket Association in
1892
Probably the most enduring sport in Guelph has been curling. Dr. William
“Tiger” Dunlop, who helped Galt chop down the maple tree to found the city,
would join some of the earliest settlers for games on the Speed River or on
Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827-2002 50 The Guelph Maple Leafs baseball team
was perhaps the greatest team in Guelph sports history, winning the world
semi-professional championship in 1874. COURTESY OF GUELPH PUBLIC LIBRARY
ARCHIVES H T local ponds. The Union Curling Club was formed in 1836 by
immigrants from Scotland, the birthplace of curling
Games would be organized near Allan’s Dam or the Dundas (Gordon Street) bridge.
The game really took off when the first covered rink opened in 1869 at the
corner of Huskisson (Lower Wyndham) and Wellington streets
In 1888, brewer George Sleeman organized a second club, the Guelph Royal City
Curling Club, and spearheaded construction of the Victoria Rink on land that
had been the town’s burial ground before the Union and St. George’s cemeteries,
later Woodlawn Cemetery, were built in the north end. The rink was enjoyed by
curlers and skaters in the winter and by roller skaters in the summer. It
operated until the city purchased the land in 1968 for what is now the Baker
Street parking lot
Over the years the city produced some excellent curlers. In 1918 the Royal City
club won the Ontario Tankard. The two clubs united in 1926 as the Guelph Curling
Club. Curling has remained strong in Guelph and in 1997 the Guelph club hosted
the Ontario Men’s Curling Championship
Guelph has produced an impressive number of individual athletes. Jack Purcell
was world badminton champion between 1932 and 1945. In 1911, runner Freddie
Meadows, a moulder at the Taylor-Forbes Company, won the middle- distance world
championship, competing against Tom Longboat at Madison Square Gardens in New
York City. Nationally, George Creelman and George Chapman won top honours in lawn
bowling in the early 1900s. Mico Valeriote, later a city alderman, made a name
for himself in the early 1930s as a long-distance runner. One of the greatest
Guelph athletes was Victor Davis, a swimmer who trained as a teenager with the
Guelph Marlin Aquatic Club. In 1984, Davis earned an Olympic gold medal for his
world record performance in the 200- metre breast stroke. He was just 25 in
1989 when he died after being hit by a car outside a Montreal bar
In the 1940s and ‘50s, Guelph turned out a surprising number of professional
boxers, including the Zaduk brothers - Bill, Peter and Mike - as well as Joe
Contini and Manny Sorbara. Many of the young Italian boys would work out in the
basement of Sacred Heart School with trainer Joe Veroni. Rod Lamont, Ontario
boxing champion in 1924, founded the Guelph Boxing Club and coached the
Canadian Olympic boxing team in 1936. The greatest Guelph boxer was Cosmo
(Cutts) Carere who won the Ontario heavyweight championship in the 1920s
Minor sport has a huge following in Guelph, supported financially by local
businesses and kept going by volunteers. Minor baseball has experienced sharp
fluctuations, often influenced by the fortunes of the Toronto Blue Jays and
competition from soccer, lacrosse, track and field and basketball. In 2001,
3,858 youngsters aged four to 19 were signed up to play soccer while only about
2,080 opted to play ball
Soccer has deep roots in Guelph. As early as the 1880s Guelph teams played
soccer at Exhibition Park. The game was tremendously popular through the 1890s
and in 1905 a league was formed by the Guelph Scots, the Guelph Rovers and the
“Red and Blue Soccer Machine” from the Ontario Agricultural College
After the First World War, soccer lost ground to baseball and American
football, a slump that was blamed on the importing of English and Scottish
soccer players and a failure to develop young local talent through minor league
play. Soccer enjoyed a resurgence during the Second World War when teams of
servicemen, including members of the Royal Netherlands Army training in Guelph,
formed a league
Soccer flourished again in Guelph during the 1970s and 1980s when the Guelph
Royal Oaks had a strong team
Since then it has become primarily a recreational sport with a growing number
of female teams
The sheer numbers of children enrolled in hockey, baseball and soccer have
challenged the city’s ability to keep up with the demand for ice surfaces and
lighted ball parks and soccer fields. “Luxuries” like recreation must also
compete for dwindling budget dollars as cities wrestle with new
responsibilities for social housing, welfare and public health. The ill will
between the provincial government and the province’s teachers has hurt school
sports programs but Guelph’s high school athletes continue to excel in local,
regional and national competitions
Slapshots and Shortstops 51 Cosmo “Cutts” Carere, Ontario heavyweight champion
in the 1920s, led a strong Guelph boxing tradition
Carere later became a local developer
COURTESY OF GUELPH MUSEUMS Environment A Green C I T Y he Guelph Horticultural
Society, established in 1851, was one of the earliest horticultural societies
in Ontario
Just 25 years after the wholesale clearing of trees to create a town, the
society was formed to plant shade trees on “The Avenue” (Waterloo Avenue). The
society’s primary focus became the beautification of the market square, but at
times the forces of progress made their work difficult. When the railway
arrived in 1856, John Higinbotham, the son of Col. Nathaniel Higinbotham, who had
lived next to the square in the Priory, lamented the loss of a downtown gem.
“Truly, one can say, who visits the present scene of desolation with its
odoriferous stock yards and wheezy, asthmatic locomotives - the Glory has
departed,” he wrote
The market square was certainly changed forever, and the glory of the virgin
forest that it replaced was long gone, but over the years Guelph has redeemed
itself in many ways. The oldest park in Guelph is the 32-acre Exhibition Park
developed in 1871 as a site for the agricultural society’s annual fall fair.
The Guelph Central Exhibition was held in an octagonal fair building and on the
grounds of the fenced park. The fair flourished until 1879 when the first
Toronto Industrial Exhibition, later the CNE, was held in Toronto. The park had
a bandstand for most of its first 100 years and was a gathering place for
Sunday evening concerts and political and patriotic meetings. It was torn down
in 1964 but a new bandshell is part of a plan for redevelopment of the park
Riverside Park opened in 1905 and was part of Guelph Township until the 1953
annexation. The park was part of a plan by the Guelph Radial Railway, then
headed by industrialist J.W. Lyon, to boost ridership. People would ride the
streetcars out to the park for company picnics, skating, concerts, dances at
the dance hall or to visit the zoo, complete with bears and monkeys. In 1908,
Lyon donated land for another park that still carries his name The floral clock
in Riverside Park, decorated with more than 6,000 plants and flowers each year,
was designed in 1954 by the city’s long-time parks administrator, John “Jock”
Clark, who combined his love of gardens with a passion for old clocks. Each
year the floral design is changed to commemorate a different event and historians
report that it is Canada’s only patented clock
Jubilee Park was created when the 19th century market shelter was torn down but
the prime downtown land was later redeveloped for the Grand Trunk Railway
station. Many parks filled the void. There are now more than 100 in Guelph,
many bearing the names of people who have made important contributions to the
city
Skov Park, W.E. Hamilton Park and Fitness Trail, Hugh C. Guthrie Park, Wolfond
Park and Mico Valeriote Park are all named after men who contributed time,
money or land to the city. Margaret Greene Park was named after the woman who
donated 33.5 acres in the city’s west end for a park in 1966. Heritage Park was
excavated in 1977 from the ruins of Allan’s Mill and Hillcrest Park on Grove
Street was created after the 500,000-gallon standing water reservoir was
removed
A group of former classmates of John Kenneth Macalister petitioned the city to
rename St. George’s Park in memory of the Rhodes scholar who was hanged by the
Nazis at Buchenwald in 1944; the city agreed instead to create Macalister Park
in the south end. Today, the Alf Hales Memorial Trail and Overlook links up
with the TransCanada Trail and Guelph brings home prizes almost every year in
the Communities in Bloom and Nations in Bloom competitions
Ironically, many of the city’s beautiful riverside parks are built on
industrial and household garbage dumps
During the 19th century, three bridges crossed a broad expanse of channels near
Edinburgh Road where the Speed now travels in a straight line. There was
nothing to stop plating and other industries from discharging heavy metals into
the sewers. Silver Creek flowed on the surface but today is enclosed in storm
sewers below a residential neighbourhood and Silver Creek Park
This postcard of Exhibition Park depicts the busy fairgrounds
The annual Guelph Central Exhibition was held in the park from 1871 to 1915.
The park was fenced and had a large wooden exhibition building with four wings
called the Crystal Palace
COURTESY OF GUELPH MUSEUMS 52 T In the 1970s, Pollution Probe, a campus
environmental group, presented a report to Guelph city council recommending
that the riverlands that had been used as landfill until the 1960s be converted
into parkland
The Speed River Cleanup, started in 1981, contributed to a gradual shift in the
community. The Speed River Project, coordinated by Peter Meisenheimer and Mike
Pearson, promoted restoration and naturalization of the river corridor and
thousands of people in Guelph participated
Also critical in Guelph’s environmental evolution were the purchase of the
Arkell Springs to secure Guelph’s water supply and the Hanlon Creek Watershed
Study which preserved an original habitat of brook trout. Former provincial
cabinet minister W.E
(Bill) Hamilton was mayor when the city learned that a Kitchener gravel company
had purchased the Arkell land. Hamilton used his powers of persuasion on the
company and on Queen’s Park to secure the property for the city. Hamilton was
also one of the people responsible for the city putting every home on water
meters. Previously, people had paid for their water based on the number of taps
in their homes. Switching to meters reduced water consumption by 25 per cent
In the 1960s, several aldermen worked with scientists at the University of Guelph
to create a plan to protect the Hanlon Creek, which was threatened by rapid
industrial and residential development in Guelph’s south end. Their job was
made easier by city manager Fred Woods who convinced the city and the Grand
River Conservation Authority to buy up land to preserve the watershed
Garbage was a highly contentious issue. The city and the county could not find
a community that was willing to host a new landfill site. The sense that
incineration was a done deal served as a clarion call to the growing
environmental movement at the University of Guelph. OPIRG-Guelph, one of the
public interest groups inspired by American activist Ralph Nader, was
established on campus in 1976 and early organizers Peter Cameron and Tom
Kleinbeernink set out to sell the city on the three Rs - reduce, recycle and
reuse. In 1987, campus and community volunteers established a recycling depot
next to the lawn bowling club, the lead-in to the blue box program
Environmentalist Evan Ferrari lobbied for more public consultation in the
development of a waste management master plan
The garbage crisis could have descended into ideological warfare but developed
instead into what Dan Hoornweg, the city’s former waste management
co-ordinator, calls “a happy confluence of interested and willing people.” He
gives credit to teachers at local schools for creating a generation of students
who forced their parents to recycle, Chris Clark at the Guelph Tribune for
giving recycling good press, the Bookshelf for carrying books about the environment,
Brenda Elliott for organizing women to fight incineration, garbage hauler Ken
McLellan for buying into recycling, Alderman Ken Hammill for bringing Guelph
city council on side and OPIRG for keeping up the pressure. After city engineer
John Bull and other officials travelled to Europe to investigate waste
management practices that incorporated alternatives to incineration, Guelph
made the leap to state-of-the-art wet/dry recycling
The balancing act between the forces of progress and the importance of
protecting the natural environment has constantly been tested during half a
century of rapid suburban development. The Hanlon Creek study was a turning
point for planning in Guelph. Decisions no longer flowed from the top. They
were reached through consideration of all the environmental, social and
economic factors, and with the involvement of people from all sectors
Hoornweg, Kleinbeernink and Graham Knowles, president of Hart Chemical, met
over coffee and laid the groundwork for Guelph to start the first round table
on the environment and the economy in Canada. The River Systems Management Plan
spawned an advisory committee that provides input on development applications
and strategic planning. Stephen Rodd and the Green Plan Steering Committee monitor
Guelph’s unstoppable growth
Environmental protection is now imbedded in the bureaucracy where people like
city engineer James Etienne have become champions of environmental initiatives.
Citizen watchdogs like Hugh Whiteley continue to raise the alarm at City Hall
when they think the environment is in jeopardy. The risk is that as Guelph
continues to grow it will become an outward-looking bedroom community. In 2001,
Guelph’s mayor, Karen Farbridge, a former OPIRG coordinator, launched a “smart
growth” initiative to mitigate the risk
A Green City Jubilee Park was created when the 19th century market shelter was
torn down but was later developed for the Grand Trunk Railway station, now the
Via Rail station. PRIVATE COLLECTION 53 Ahead 54 L O O K I N G Ahead n its
175th birthday, Guelph is what it has always been - a good place to live
What makes it that way in 2002 is dramatically different from what the pioneer
village had going for it in the 19th century. Guelph is no longer a rural
community, and it is no longer overwhelmingly British in its character
Massive post-war growth and the arrival of the University of Guelph in 1964 set
the city on a new course and today Guelph is a multicultural urban centre
dealing with urban problems like homelessness and pollution. It is also a
sophisticated city that wants its children to be well educated, cultured,
tolerant and physically fit, and to be able to develop those strengths at home
By resisting amalgamation into Waterloo region, Guelph was forced to become
strong enough to go it alone and to nurture an identity that values the arts, a
healthy environment and the welfare of its more vulnerable citizens
Guelph citizens typically resist the top-down approach and one of the benefits
of staying out of regional government is that public participation has remained
strong. “The community is always ahead of the politicians,” says Guelph’s
mayor, Karen Farbridge. It was public participation that gave Guelph its own
railway, its first industrial basin, the Guelph General Hospital, recycling and
the River Run Centre. Public participation drove the development of the city’s
well-used network of parks and trails along a revitalized and naturalized river
system
A sense that government had abdicated its responsibility for social housing
spawned the Wellington Guelph Housing Committee which could well succeed in
changing public policy. Alarm over widespread illiteracy has triggered a
community response. The campaign to raise money for equipment for Guelph’s
redeveloped hospitals is a testament to the community’s ability to get the job
done
People are what have made the difference. These pages could have been filled
just by listing the names of those who have put their stamp on Guelph
People like no-nonsense judge Henry Howitt, outspoken alderman Albert Frank and
ecumenical priest John Newstead
Individuals who have given much to their community like arts advocates Helen
Brimmell and Sally Wismer, Children’s Aid directors Fred Promoli and Moe
Brubacher, teachers Daisy Pope and Joe Tersigni, business leaders Bob Ireland
and Martha Jakowlew and social activists Lucy Reid and Chris Margetson
How Guelph grows towards the end of its second hundred years depends on how
people participate in their community over the next 25 years. They will have to
grapple with big issues. A truly viable city has to have a viable core and
Guelph’s downtown has still not recovered from the destruction of much of its
architectural heritage during the 1960s and the blunder of the Eaton Centre.
But a new arena and performing arts centre, visionary public realm and
transportation plans and redevelopment of the downtown mall, Memorial Gardens
and the Baker Street parking lot could turn things around
Protection of the quality of life that exists today will depend on good planning
if municipal infrastructure is to keep up and if people in the expanding
suburbs are going to think of themselves as Guelphites. Growth may not come
just from urban sprawl, but from governmental change if the sharing of services
with Wellington County puts amalgamation back on the table
Throughout its history, Guelph has had to balance the pressure to grow against
the desire to maintain its small-city feel. Sometimes the balance was lost and
polluting factories were allowed to proliferate, high rises were built that
blocked the view of the city’s historic churches and wetlands were drained in
the rush to expand
For the most part, the people who have made Guelph what it is have done a good
job. They have balanced the demand for sports and recreation facilities with
the desire to support the arts and juggled maintenance of roads with The Church
of Our Lady Immaculate, inspired by the 13th century French Gothic cathedral at
Cologne, Germany, and designed by renowned Catholic architect Joseph Connolly, is
the city’s defining structure. PHOTO BY HILARY STEAD O Looking Ahead 55 the
growing need for social services. One of the city’s greatest assets in ensuring
people will be able to pay the taxes to provide the services is its diverse
economy. Guelph’s links to agriculture and rural life are still strong,
especially at the university where scientists have helped Ontario remain the
largest agricultural producer in Canada. Linamar, the city’s second largest
employer, heads a large automotive sector. Information technology, health care,
insurance, creative arts and manufacturing are all represented in an economy
that still includes many locally-controlled companies
Salaries in Guelph for university professors and company presidents may not
match what is available in the United States or in larger Canadian centres, but
Guelph wins hands down because of the quality of life. Because of the carousel
at Riverside Park and the covered wooden bridge over the Speed River. Because
of Hillside Festival and the Dragon Boat Races at Guelph Lake. Because of minor
sport and summer camps that keep kids busy and out of trouble. Because of
concerts in the Church of Our Lady and a bookstore that is also a cinema, a
pool hall and a restaurant. Because of the beautiful stone buildings and the
intimacy of the Farmer’s Market
John Galt believed that celebrations were important events in communities. He
chose St. George’s Day for the ceremonial felling of the first tree to provide
some insurance that the solemn occasion would be remembered. In the 21st
century, few people mark St. George’s Day, but the 175th anniversary of the
founding of Guelph, a city where good things happen, is a day to remember and
to celebrate
Happy Birthday, Guelph
The Queen’s representative in the Royal City, Governor General Jeanne Sauve,
officiated in 1985 at the unveiling of the Family of Man fountain at St.
George’s Square
The work by sculptor Bill McElcheran was a gift from the city’s Italian
community, represented in this photograph by John Valeriote
COURTESY OF THE GUELPH MERCURY Bibliography 56 Bibliography Allan, David.
Guelph: Its Early Days and Later. Guelph, 1939
Allan, David. Some of Guelph’s Old Landmarks. Ontario Historical Society, 1934
Anderson, Rosemary, and Matheson, Dawn (editors). Guelph: Perspectives on a
Century of Change 1900-2000
Guelph: Guelph Historical Society, 2000
Breeze, Kim. The True Story of the Harvey Murders. Guelph: University of
Guelph, 2000
Burrows, C. Acton. The Annals of the Town of Guelph 1827-1877. Guelph: 1877
Cauz, Louis. The Plate: A Royal Tradition. Toronto: Deneau, 1984
Christensen, Ingrid. The History of the Guelph Police Force. Guelph: Guelph
Police Force, 1984
Cole, Harold. The Guelph Sports Hall of Fame
Coulman, Donald. Guelph: Take a Look At Us! Cheltenham, Ont.: The Boston Mills
Press, 1976
Crowley, Terry. For All Time: A Centennial History of St. James the Apostle
Anglican Church, Guelph, Ontario
St. Jacobs, Ont.: Printed by St. Jacobs Printery, 1990
Conolly, Leonard, and Dent, Gloria (editors). Guelph and Its Spring Festival.
Guelph: Edward Johnson Music Foundation, 1992
Galt, John. The Autobiography of John Galt. London: Cochrane and M’Crone, 1833
Gattinger, F. Eugene. A Century of Challenge: A History of the Ontario
Veterinary College. Toronto: U of T Press, 1962
Gillespie, Gilbert. Public Access Cable Television in the United States and
Canada. New York: Praeger Publishers Inc., 1975
Guelph Advertiser
Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute. Acta Nostra 1926
Guelph General Hospital. A Century of Care and Concern: Guelph General
Hospital. Guelph, 1975
Guelph Herald
Guelph Historical Society. Historic Guelph (periodicals)
Guelph Mercury
Humber, William. Cheering for the Home Team. The Boston Mills Press, 1983
Hunt, James. Wisdom of the Past: Physics at the Ontario Agricultural College.
Guelph: University of Guelph, 1989
Hurtig Publishers. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2nd ed. Edmonton: 1988
Johnson, Leo. History of Guelph 1827-1927. Guelph: Guelph Historical Society,
1977
Lapp, Richard, and Macaulay, Alex. The Memorial Cup: Canada’s National Junior
Championship. Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour Pub., 1997
LACAC. Designated Buildings and Structures of Architectural and Historic
Interest in the City of Guelph
Mercer, Ruby. The Tenor of his Time: Edward Johnson of the Met. Toronto:
Clarke, Irwin, 1976
Moore, Archdeacon Peter (editor). A History of St. George’s Church. Guelph: St.
George’s Church, 1982
Murray, David. Hatching the Cowbird’s Egg: The Creation of the University of
Guelph. Guelph: U of G, 1989
Ross, Alexander. The College on the Hill: A History of the Ontario Agricultural
College 1874-1974. Toronto: Copp Clarke Pub., Ontario Agricultural College
Alumni Association, 1974
Shutt, Greta. The High Schools of Guelph. Toronto: University of Toronto Press,
1961
Stamp, Robert. The Schools of Ontario, 1976-1978. Government of Ontario, 1982
Statistics Canada. Profile of Census Divisions and Subdivisions in Ontario,
1996
Stelter, Gil. The Carpenter/Architect and the Ontario Townscape: John Hall,
Jr., of Guelph. Historic Guelph, 1991
Stelter, Gil. Guelph and the Early Canadian Town Planning Tradition. Ontario
History, 1985
Stelter, Gil. Henry Langley and the Making of Gothic Guelph. Historic Guelph,
1989
Stewart, Robert Alan Maclean. A Picture History of Guelph. Guelph: Robert
Stewart, 1976-78
Thompson, Robert. A Brief Sketch of the Early History of Guelph. Guelph:
Mercury Steam Printing House, 1877
University of Toronto Press. The Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Toronto:
1966-
Waterston, Elizabeth (editor). John Galt: Reappraisals. Guelph: University of
Guelph, 1985
Wellington County Historical Atlas Wellington County Historical Society,
Wellington County History (periodicals)
Zeman, John Paul. A Search for Successful Government Structure: Urban Political
Reform in Guelph 1900-1925
Guelph: U of G
57 Steering Committee City of Guelph 175th Anniversary Steering Committee For
everyone in Guelph, 2002 is a year of celebration
The many events and special projects including Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827
– 2002 have been carefully planned by a hardworking committee including: Peter
Barrow Don Drone Mayor Karen Farbridge Ken Hammill Norm Jary Leslie LaCelle Gus
Stahlmann Special thanks to Norm McLeod for his passionate and focused
leadership in the development of this book
In 1832, Thomas Adsett emigrated from the hardship of Dickensian England to an
exciting new land full of hope and future
Thank you, Guelph! . . . for a new place to settle . . . for education,
entrepreneurial opportunity, recreation and cultural pursuits
Today, the Adsett family remains in the Guelph area and like so many local
families, has roots from coast to coast of our great country
We look forward to many more great years together
The Adsett Family of Guelph/Wellington A proud Canadian family since 1832
Committed to Community Service Thomas Adsett, 1832 Congratulations Guelph on
your 175th! Thanks for the photographs The wonderful historical photographs and
illustrations throughout this book would not have been available without the
generous cooperation and permission of the following community groups and
individuals: • Archival and Special • Hillside Festival Collections, University
• Trina Koster of Guelph Library • Bill MacDonald • Don Coulman • Macdonald
Stewart • Ken Danby Art Centre • Gloria Dent • Dean Palmer • Greg Denton •
Public Archives • Ted Ernst of Canada • Lou Fontinato • Shirley Reed • Guelph
General Hospital • Hilary Stead • The Guelph Mercury • Gil Stelter • Guelph
Museums • Geza Tormasi • Guelph Public Library • Wellington County Archives
Museum and Archives • Guelph Transit Founded in Guelph in 1966, Linamar
Corporation is a dynamic, growth-oriented corporation in the precision
machining segment of the automotive and related industry. With our headquarters
and major manufacturing capacity in Guelph, Ontario, Linamar employs over 8,000
people worldwide in 30 autonomous facilities and one product development centre
in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Hungary. Sales in 2001 were in excess of $1.2
Billion
Proving our ongoing commitment to superior quality and service has made Linamar
a leader in our industry. We are a people oriented company that fosters
continued learning, personal contribution and outstanding performance
Linamar Corporation Linamar Corporation 287 Speedvale A 287 Speedvale Ave., W
ve., W., ., Guelph, Ontario Guelph, Ontario CANADA CANADA N1H 1C5 N1H 1C5 Tel:
(519) 836-7550 el: (519) 836-7550 Fax: (519) 824-8479 Fax: (519) 824-8479 w w w
. l i n a m a r . c o m s t r e n g t h O u r i s i n o u r p a r t s
O u r p a r t s i n c l u d e y o u
precision machining casting sub-assembly & assembly 36 Years in Our
Community Guelph: A People’s Heritage 1827-2002 Written by Hilary Stead Layout
and design by Barrow Communications © The City of Guelph 2002 All rights
reserved
60 Proudly sharing our name, our heritage, our future THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
Partnering with Guelph for 128 years Please visit the campus often With a
heritage that goes back to 1874, the University of Guelph has grown into a
world-class education and research institution that carries the Guelph name
around the globe
• 72,000 alumni in 115 countries, 7,000 grads live in Guelph • The hub of
Guelph’s agri-food technology cluster • Local economic impact of $673 million
annually • Leadership in the arts and cultural activities • Up to 4,800 campus
volunteers in local agencies • Largest United Way campaign in Guelph
www.uoguelph.ca
Edward Michael Stewart started his time in Canada here in
Cayuga, although probably not as a minister.
Sir Frederick Haldimand
1718-1791
Swiss soldier of fortune and British Colonial Governor. He served in various
Continental armies, including that of Frederick the Great. He joined the
British army in 1754 and held several responsible positions in North America,
including that of commander in chief, 1773-1774. In 1778 he became Governor of
Québec, and was successful in securing the province against internal
disturbance and American attack. Before leaving his command late in 1784, he
assisted in the settlement of some 7,000 loyalist refugees from the United
States.
Ref: Grolier's Encyclopedia International, Ltd. 1968 Vol. 8, page 269
The History of Haldimand County
Courtesy of Estelle Pringle, UE
Dunnville Library
Dunnville, Haldimand Co., On.
The first known inhabitants of Haldimand County, circa 1600, were an Indian
tribe known as the Neutrals or Attiwandaronk. There were as many as 40 Neutral
villages in a territory that ranged from what is now Dundas, On., through the
Niagara Peninsula, across the Niagara River and into New York State. One of the
largest of these villages is said to have been built on the Grand River, near
Caledonia.
The Indian tribe was known as the Neutrals because they traded with both the
Huron and Iroquois, maintaining their neutrality even during the battles that
were fought between those two tribes. However, around 1650, the Iroquois
attacked and entirely wiped out the Neutrals and destroyed Huron villages in
the area, as well.
Over the next century, Haldimand County was host to the transient Chippawas
(Mississaugas), French explorers and Jesuit missionaries. But no real attempt
was made to settle the area.
After the American Revolution the loyal Indians, the Six Nations, who had lost
their lands in the Mohawk Valley of New York State, petitioned the British
government for land. In 1784 a tract of land, purchased from the Mississaugas,
was granted to the Six Nations. This land extended six miles on either side of
the Grand River from its source to its mouth on Lake Erie.
When white settlers began to pressure the Indians to sell some of their prime
land along the Grand River, approximately 350,000 acres of the Crown Grant was
divided into six blocks to be sold.
Four new districts were created by the colonial government, in 1788. They were
Nassau, Hesse, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg. Nassau stretched from the Trent River
to Long Point, and included what is now Haldimand County. In 1792, the
districts were renamed and counties and townships created.
Haldimand County was named for Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor of Quebec from
1777 to 1789. The county became part of the Niagara District, and eventually
included Canborough, Dunn, Moulton, North Cayuga, Oneida, Rainham, Seneca,
Sherbrooke, South Cayuga, and Walpole Townships.
Butler’s Rangers, Mennonites, and Germans were its earliest pioneers. The
earliest white settlement was said to have been established in 1784.
Haldimand County has been part of Nassau District, Home District, and Niagara
District. It was incorporated on January 1, 1800 but remained part of the
Niagara District until 1850. In 1974 it became known as the Regional
Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk.
Sources:
Grand Heritage, the history of Dunnville, Canborough, Sherbrooke, Dunn, Moulton
and South Cayuga edited by Cheryl MacDonald
The County of Haldimand by Mrs. C.W. Coulter
The Early History of Haldimand County by Russell Harper
Place Names of Haldimand-Norfolk by Cheryl MacDonald
3.5.
CAYUGA - 1846 HISTORY
Reference: Wm. H. Smith's 1846 Canadian Gazetteer
Upper Province or Canada West
Published for the author by H. & W. Rowsell, Toronto
Courtesy of Elva Sanghera Burnaby, B.C.
A small village in the township of Cayuga, pleasantly situated on the Grand
River, fifteen miles above Dunnville. The road from Simcoe to the Falls of Niagara
passes through the village. Cayuga contains about seventy inhabitants; one
store, one grocery, three taverns, one blacksmith, two waggon-makers, one
shoemaker, two tailors.
CAYUGA
A township in the Niagara District; is bounded on the east by the township of
Canboro; on the north-west by Seneca and Oneida; and on the south-west by
Rainham and Walpole. In Cayuga 14,871 acres are taken up, 3,666 of which are
under cultivation. The Grand River flows through the township, on the banks of
which are some good clearings. The timber on the Grand River, to within a short
distance of the village of Cayuga, is mostly hard wood, much of which is white
oak of a large size; in exporting which a profitable trade is carried on. Above
the village of Cayuga the timber is principally pine, with a small quantity of
hard wood intermixed. About four miles below Cayuga village, is a bed of white
gypsum, situated close to the river. The village of Indiana is situated on the
river, about two miles above Cayuga, and about six miles below the same village
is a small Episcopal church.
Population in 1841, 837.
Rateable property in the township, £13,872.
FAP Chadwick's 2nd Ministry was St Paul's Dunnville.
A village in the township of Moulton, situated on the Grand
River, at its junction with the feeder of the Welland Canal, four miles and
three quarters from Lake Erie. It commenced settling in 1829, and now contains
about 400 inhabitants. A steam boat plies here regularly during the season, and
a smaller boat continues the route to Brantford. Considerable quantities of
lumber are shipped here. Dunnville contains an Episcopal church, and a
Presbyterian church is in progress.
Post Office, post three times a week.
Professions and Trades: One physician and surgeon, two grist mills, three saw
mills, one distillery, one tannery, one carding machine and cloth factory, six
stores, four taverns, four groceries, two waggon makers, four blacksmiths, one
saddler, two tinsmiths, four shoemakers, three tailors, two cabinet makers, one
baker, one turner.
3.7.
ESSEX COUNTY HISTORY
The Essex County GenWeb Page would like to share the following information
regarding Essex County with you.
Essex is the most southerly county in Ontario, bordered by Lake St. Clair, Lake
Erie, the Detroit River and Kent County.
The county was named by Governor Simcoe after a county in England.
Francois Dolllier de Casson, a missionary, and his group were the first white
men to land at Point Pelee in 1670.
Samuel de Champlain, in 1615 navigated the Detroit River.
The French built a fort on the Detroit site in the early 1700's. It was first a
trading post and then a military post.
In the 1730's, land grants were given out, on the Essex side of the Detroit
River between Amherstburg and Sandwich, to the French settlers and the British
military. Such french families as: Baby, Lajuenesse, Dumouchelle, Langlois,
etc..received land.
The Empire Loyalist arrived to receive free land in 1783 ei Caldwell and
Elliott
Fort Malden in Amherstburg was built to replace the former British military
post at Detroit. The Fort was strengthened by the 1812 war.
The Mackenzie Rebellion of 1837-1838 saw an attack at Fort Malden, however the
forces at Fort Malden subdued their attackers.
The Great Western Railway came to Windsor in 1854.
The number of streets, building and the population of Essex County increase in
their numbers. The population of the county in 1861 is more than 25,000.
In the 1880's, settlers arrived in large numbers and land became available to
them when Indian Reserve land was made open to the public.
1892: Windsor was a city. Leamington, Walkerville, Sandwich, Amherstburg and
Essex were incorporated towns.
1904: Henry Ford, build an automotive plant in the county.
1928: there were over 100,000 people in the Windsor area.
The Ambassador Bridge (1929) and the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel (1930) made travel
across the river much easier.
3.8.
The History of Windsor
The first European settlement in the Detroit-Windsor area
occurred in the year 1701 when the Sieur De Larnothe Cadillac and approximately
100 military and civilian personnel arrived to found Fort Pontchartrain on the
Detroit side of the river.
European settlement remained largely confined to the Detroit
side of the river until 1748 when the Jesuit mission to the Huron Indians was
established on the south (Windsor) shore near the foot of the present Huron
Church Road and the Ambassador Bridge. From 1748 to 1760, a French agricultural
settlement developed along the Windsor side of the river, paralleling a similar
settlement on the Detroit side.
Although Fort Pontchartrain surrendered to the British in
1760 and the Detroit side of the river was again officially surrendered to the
United States in 1783, both sides of the river remained under effective British
control until 1796, when U.S. forces took up actual occupation of Detroit.
During this period, the settlement continued to grow but remained predominantly
French in population, and until 1791 French civil law remained in effect. Few
buildings from the period of French settlement have survived, although the
street pattern of the City still reflects the French method of agricultural
land division i.e. long narrow farms fronting the river. In 1797, the original
townsite of Sandwich was established to accommodate persons of both French and
British origin from the Detroit side of the river who wished to remain under
British rule following American occupation of Detroit. This constituted the
first urban settlement in what is now the City of Windsor, and also the first
significant migration of English speaking people into the Windsor area.
Sandwich developed over the following decades as the seat of
government and the courts for the County of Essex. It still retains a number of
buildings of the preconfederation era which are of historical significance
and/or which exemplify the Neo-classical and Georgian styles of architecture
which were in vogue during the first half of the nineteenth century. Two such
houses are the Duff-Baby Mansion (1798) and the McGregor-Cowan house (c.
1805-09). Several log and timber farmhouses of the 1850s have been identified
further east along Riverside Drive (i.e. bordage).
For more information about heritage buildings in Sandwich -
Please click here to access the Sandwich walking tour brochure
As the chief port-of-entry to the region opposite Detroit,
the Town of Windsor (now the downtown area) was already catching up to Sandwich
in population when the Great Western Railway chose Windsor as its termination
point in 1854. The arrival of the railway also marked the beginning of
significant industrial development in Windsor. Due to numerous fires and the
continuous redevelopment of the area over the decades, few of the early
buildings in downtown Windsor still exist, but a number of late nineteenth
century and early twentieth century buildings remain, including in particular a
number of larger, upper income houses in areas immediately adjacent to the
downtown area.
For more information about heritage buildings on Victoria
Avenue – Please click here to access the Victoria Avenue walking tour brochure.
For more information about the history of the City Hall
Square area – Please click here to access the Heritage Garden brochure.
The arrival of the railway in 1854 also sparked the
foundation of the third of Windsor's oldest settlements, Walkerville. In 1857,
Hiram Walker established his distillery at the point east of downtown, where
the Great Western Railway first met the waterfront. On his lands running south
of the river, Walker planned a complete town including provisions for industry,
commerce, residences and agriculture (Walker Farms). The housing, a large part
of which was built by Walker's own contractors, ranged from E. Chandler
Walker's estate of Willistead (1906), built in the style of a Tudor manor
house, to blocks of row housing for his industrial workers (1880s). Walkerville
is a unique example in Canada of a Victorian new town developed by private
capital inspired by that peculiar combination of business and philanthropic
motives which characterized Victorian enterprise. Fortunately, many of the
early Walkerville buildings still survive in excellent condition.
For more information about heritage buildings in Walkerville
– Please click here to access the Walkerville walking tour brochure.
For further information on Walkerville, the Walkerville
Times invites you to visit www.walkervilletimes.com
Although the Ford Motor Car Company was established in
Windsor as early as 1904 to gain the benefit of Imperial trade preferences, it
was the period during and following World War I which saw the auto indsutry
asume predominance in the City. An area known as “Ford City” was developed
around the industrial complex. Numerous large residences were built
overlooking the river at that time.
For more information about heritage buildings in Ford City –
Please click here to access the Ford City walking tour brochure.
The automotive industry changed Windsor from a relatively
slow growing collection of border communities to a rapidly growing, modern,
industrial city. By the early 1930s, the separate Border Cities of Windsor,
East Windsor (Ford City), Walkerville and Sandwich amalgamated politically into
a single community with a population of over 100,000.
For further information about the history of the automotive
industry in Windsor, the Windsor Public Library invites you to visit
www.city.windsor.on.ca/wpl/millennium/sar
In the second World War, industrial production increased dramatically
attracting many new workers and resulting in substantial residential growth
within the city and in the surrounding townships. The Town of Riverside,
incorporated in 1921, had already absorbed some of the spillover. In 1966 the
City annexed the Towns of Riverside and Ojibway, and parts of Sandwich East,
Sandwich South and Sandwich West Townships.
Windsor rose to pre-eminence in the area at an early date and, with a
population of about 200,000 at the dawn of the 21st century, has continued to
be by far the largest urban centre in the county.
By Mike King 2014
The Quaker Lead Company
We now turn away from Iron and Steel to look at two more
metals that have an interesting role in the economy: lead and silver. Both come
from the same ore, mined extensively in Britain since Roman times. The Quaker
Lead Company, which mined and smelted lead, copper and silver, was ‘a dominant
influence in mining’ in Britain for two centuries according to Raistrick.22
As with iron the smelting of these metals had traditionally depended on
charcoal, and with the decline of forests the industry had lagged behind demand
until a method of smelting lead with coal had been invented using reverberatory
furnace technology. It was the Quaker Edward Wright who developed this
technology. It was the Quaker Edward Wright who developed this innovation, one
that transformed the industry, and which paralleled the Darby discovery.2:1John
Freame (1669 1745) was a notable Quaker partner in the Quaker Lead Company,
along with Edward Wright, and was a goldsmith banker in Lombard Street, whose
Operation eventually evolved into Barclays Bank - it was he who originally
bought the sign of the spread eagle, the Symbol still in use today. The
connection between Quaker metals, Quaker goldsmithing, Quaker banking and
Lombard Street is another small microcosm of emerging British capitalism which
we will explore later on, including the role of the goldsmith banker. Freame’s
story is typically Quaker: he had moved to tolerant London from persecutory
Gloucester, and there did exceedingly well. As Reynolds did for the Darbys,
Freame did for the Quaker Lead Company: he provided Capital.
The Quaker Lead Companys venture became well established in
Wales with early smelting operations in 1703, though the lead produced had to
transported by sea to London at risk of storms and French privateers. As usual
the Quaker gift for technological innovation saw rapid improvements to
traditional methods, and the Welsh works were considered the most efficient in
the country. Raistrick teils us that:
The needs of the workmen were not forgotten in this
development. [...] Usually the smelt mills worked very irregular times with the
Variation in the amounts of ore produced in their related mines, and smelters
had often to suffer long spells of unemployment and no pay. The Quaker Company
always either accumulated ores onto stock in good periods, or bought heavily in
the outside market, so that they always had a sufficient ore on hand to keep
the smelt mills in perfectly regular work. This enabled them to get the best
workers, as there was complete security of employment. The wages also were
related to the cost of living, and by the Standards of the country generally
were generous. Reports frequently stress the contentment of the workmen, even
in contrast with the unrest and strife in the immediate neighbourhood.24
In return for these good conditions workers were required to
abstain from alcohol and swearing. ln 1728 there was a scarcity of corn which
made the wages of the smelters of low real value, so the Quakers, to avoid pay
rises that would be awkward to rescind after the shortages passed, decided
instead to buy corn. Cargos of wheat and other foodstuffs were made available
so that the miners were assured of food prices appropriate to their wages.
There were also distress funds and funds for social purposes.25
In 1753 in their Teesdale Operation the Company further
accepted responsibility for the welfare of their men, and introduced training
and education, and later on a school. Mining is historically a dangerous
pursuit, and the Quakers did their best to improve Ventilation and drainage. As
in Coalbrookdale they organised sick clubs and made their own donations in the
form of annual grants to the Workmen’s Fund. In the 1750s there were riots in
Cumberland amongst miners, at the same time as unrest hit Coalbrookdale. Just
as on the Welsh border, the Quaker employees of the Company had such good
working conditions that they refrained from participating.26 The Quakers
universally ran the ‘Company store’ or ‘truck shop’ System to the benefit of
their workers, and in Cumberland used their shops to drive out the moneylenders
or predatory practices described in novels such as Disraeli’s Sybil, Zola’s
Germinal and Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. But the Quakers never restricted
their honest dealings to their own workforce, and opened these shops to all
residents of the area.
A by-product of working with lead is silver, in much smaller
quantities. The refinements to the reverberatory furnace for lead smelting made
by the Quakers enabled them to dominate silver refining in the country, and
substantial amounts of their silver entered thc coinage of ihc realm. Their
pre-eminence in silver production coincided with the tenure at thc Royal Mint
of Sir Isaac Newton, under whose direction the entire Quaker Lead Company’s
output was sent to the mint.27 This led to the term ‘Quaker Shilling’
to apply to the resulting batch of new coinage, which bore a distinguishing
mark identifying its Quaker origins.
In 1737 the price paid by the mint for silver to the Quaker
Lead Company was below the market price and the Company ceased supplv, which
was argued over but finally accepted by the mint solicitor. In fact the Company
had long supplied silver to the mint at below market priccs through a sense of
public responsibility, but in 1737 control of the Company was less in the hands
of Quakers. The Quaker majority was re-established in 1750, and Raistrick
implies that the Company turned again to selling the mint silver at the low
price.28 For a people that had historically suffered distrainment of
wealth and property at the hands of the Crown, this was indeed highly public
spirited.
So far this account of the Quaker Lead Company presents a
Quakernomics of integrated finance and industry, of care for vvorkers rising
well above what could he expected of die raw capitalism of the day, and of
profitabilitv. But mining is a dangerous occupation, and lead is a toxic
substance. Lead poisoning is one of the oldest known work and environmental
hazards, and it is now accepted that no levels of lead are too low to not
represent a risk to health. The industrial-scale mining and refining of lead,
made possible by the development of the Quaker Edward Wright and the
entrepreneurial savy of the Company; take us straight to the Charge in Morse’s
novel: that Quakers brought about all the ills of industrialisation. The fumes
from lead smelting must have been a serious pollutant and health hazard to
those nearby, let alone the workers. Hence it is of interest to see that water
condensers and horizontal flues were experimented with to reduce the nuisance
of flue smoke, and universally adopted within the Company and then the industry
as a whole29
In contemplating the economics of the Quaker Lead Company,
finance once again takes a central role. Wright’s innovation in lead smelting,
like Darby’s innovation in iron smelting, led to the Company being called one
of ‘Britain’s largest, most successful and long-standing industrial operations’
and ‘a prime exemplar of increased output for industrial development,
stimulated by the seventeenth-century commercial revolution.’30 We
saw that John Freame’s bank was directly involved in this financing, and in his
later years Freame joined the company’s ‘court’ or board of directors. But it
turned out that Edward Wright, who effectively ran the Quaker Lead Company in
the 1720s had, along with other Quakers, misappropriated Company funds in
unwise spcculation during the South Sea Bubble of 1720. It was a substantial
fraud. This only emerged on the death of Wright in 1728, after which Freame
took over as Company governor and prosecuted the surviving fraudsters. Freame
helped revive the Company and its reputation after this scandal.31
The 'total capitalism’ of the Quakers was not, it seems,
without temptations that could corrupt. But the role of the Meeting in this is
interesting: warnings from the London and Middlesex Quarterly Meeting about the
South Sea Bubble may have arrived too late to prevent the abuse, but what was
the response from the Meeting to the scandal? We are seeing perhaps the first
signs that the growth in the complexity of industrial capitalism and its
financial Services would eventually outpace the ability of the Meeting to understand
and oversee their ethics, though the real end of Meeting intervention in
business affairs came perhaps a century and a half later.
LITERATURE. – Newspaper extract.
Memoirs of
the Life of Elizabeth Fry, with Extracts from her Journal and Letters. Eidited
by two of her daughters.
[Charles Gilpin,
Bishopsgate-street.
Not only our biograpbical literature, but the history of ouir social progress,
wouId be incomplete without a memoir of Elizabeth Fry. Her virtues and good
deeds have earned her her a place among the worthies ot England, and stamped
her name on the roll of its history. But she has not raised a monument to Self
alone. She wrought for the weal of others. She influenced society by her
example as well as teaching. She roused the languid and apathetic rich, and il
she did not awaken their Sympathie«, she shamed them into action for the good
of their fellow beings. She pointed out misery and destitution, and she
insisted upon the duty of those who had abundance to give relief. Then she
spurred on sluggish legislation to its task. She laid bare oppression and
cruelty practised by the law, while professing to punish crime; and she urged
the Obligation of those who made the laws to redress the wrong. And she was
successful; for she was earnest in her work. She did not talk only, but actce.
She left the comforts ol a wealthy house and loving friends, to confront
disease and moral pestilence in prisons. She sought out poverty in its squaiid
abodes, and grappled with crime in its strongholds. A missionary of hope, she
brought solace to the despairing sinner; a minister of reliion, she gave
spirirual instruction to those who had never known their God. And these things
did she, a weak woman, do, while they of Apostolic descent were busied elsewhere.
Elizabeth Fry was born in
Norwich, in the month ot May, I780. She was thc third daughter of Mr. John
Gurney, of Earlharn, Norfolk, and Catherine, daughter of Mr. Daniel Bell of
London, merchant. Mrs. Bell, mother of Mrs. Gurney, was tlhe grand-daughter of
tlhe celebrated Roberl Barclay, the apologist of the Quaker. The family of
Gurney or Gournay (derived front the town of Gournay en Brai, in Normandy) is
of great antiquity in Norfolk, tracing a descent from Norman lords who held
fiefs in that county in the reign of William Rufus. The immediate ancestor,
however, was John, a merchant of Norwich, who was born in I665, and embraced
the tenets ol the Quakers under George Fox, their founder. Thus the subject of
this memioir was by hereditary descent for several generations a member of the
Society of Friends. Her falher, an aminble and excellent man, did not, it
appears maintain the tenets of the Friends in their extreme strictness and
there was probably more of taste and elegance in his household than the severer
members would approve. Music and dancing, for example, were allowed, and the
young ladies were permitted to dress smartly. Mrs. Gurney, the mother of
Elizabeth, died in I792, leaving eleven children, the eldest scarcely
seventeen, and the youngest not two vears old. Of these, seven were daughters.
At that time sceptical principles were very prevalent, and Norwich, according
to the memioir, was "noted for the charm, the talent, and the scepticism
of the society of the town and
neighbourhood.” The spiritual state of the seven sisters, so
eorly in life deprived of a mother's care, is thus described:
“ They appear to have been rich
in attraction and talent, llvely and original, possessing a peculiar freshness
of character, with singular purity of purpose, and warmth of affection. But
their faith was obscure, and their principles necessarily unfixed and wavering.
They appreciated the beauty and excellence of religion; but lt was more natural
than revealed religion with which they were acquainted.
“There was something of mysticism
amongst the Quakers of that day, and by no means the clear and general
acknowlegerment of the doctrine of the 'Trinity ln Unity’ as revealed in the
New Testament, which is now to be met with amongst the greater part of the Society
of Friends. To the present time, that expression, as designated the Deity, is
not in use amongst them, from its not being found in the Bible. The family of
Mr. Gurney, thus Ieft to their own resources, unaccustomed to the study of the
scriptures, and with no other sources of Information from which to learn, for a
time were permitted to ‘stumble upou the dark mountains, seeking rest and
finding none.'
“These remarks apply especially
to the three elder daughters, as they graduallv advanced into life. The four
yonger ones, sheltered in the school-room, were comparatively spared the
difficulties through which their sisters were pioneering the way. Mr. Gurney’s
occupations, both public and private, and his naturally trustful disposition,
prevented his seeing all the dangers to which they were exposed."
Under a later date (I798)
Elizabeth gives the following account in her Journal of her state of mind from
the time she was fourteen years old :—
“I had very scepfical or
deistical principles. I seldom or never thought of religion; and alotether I
was a negatively good character, having naturally good dispositions, I had not
much to combat with; I give way freely to the weakness of youth. I was
flirting, idle, rather proud and vain till the time I was serenteen, I found I
wanted a better, a greater stimulus to virtue, than I then had, as I better, a
greater stimulus to virtue, than I had had, as I was wrapt up in trifles. I
felt my mind capable of better thmgs; but I could not exert it, till several of
my friends, without knowing my state, wished I would read books on
Chrisrianity, but I said till I felt the want of religion myself, I would not
reed books of that kind: but if ever I did, I would judge clearly for mrself,
by rending the New Testament, and when I had seen for myself, I would then see
what others said. About this time, I believe, I never missed a week or a few
nights without dreaming, I was nearly being washed away by the sen, sometimes
in one way, sometimes in another; and I felt all the terror of being drowned,
or hope of being saved; at last I dreamt it so often, that I told many of the
family what a strange dream I had, and how near I was being lost. After I had
gone on in this way for some, months, William Savery came to Norwich. I had
begun to read tho Testament with reflections of my own, and he suddenly, as it
were, opened my eyes to see religion; but agaln they almost closed. I went on
dreaming the dream. The day when I felt I had really and truly got true and
real faith, that night I dreamed the sea was coming as usual to wash me away,
but I was beyond its reach; beyond its powers to wash me away; since that night
I do not remember having dreamed that dream. Odd! It did strike me at that time
so odd ; but now it does. All I can say is, I admire It, I am glad I have had
it, and I have a sort of faith in it; it ought, I think, to rnake my faith
steady, it may be the work of chance, but I do not think it is, for it is so
odd not having dreamed it since. What a blessed thought to think it comes from
heaven! May I be made capable of acting us I ought to act; not being drowned in
the ocean of the world, but permitted to mount abore its waves, and remain a
steady and faithful servant to the God whom I worsbip. I May take this dream in
what light I like, but I must be careful of superstition; as many, many are the
minds that are led away by it. Believe only in what I can comprehend or feel;
don’r, don’t be led away by enthusiasm ; but I don't fear. I feel myself under
the protection of One, who alone is able to guide me to the path in which I
ought to go."
The firmness and sincerity of
Elizabeth’s faith in after life are well known, and on that account much weight
and authority must be attached to the following mature expression of opinion,
so late as the year 1825 on a subject concerning which much
honsense has been spoken and written by the “ righteous
overmuch“:—
“Perhaps I said too much about
some pirtures and various ornaments that have been brought from France for us;
much as I love true Christian simplicity, yet if I show a wrong spirit in my
desire to maintain it in our house and furniture, I do wrong, and harm the best
of causes. I far prefer moderation, both from pninciple and taste; althouph my
experience in life proves two things ; first, that it is greatly for the good
of the community, to live according to the situation in which we have been
placed by a kind Providence; if it be done unto the Lord, and therefore done
properly; then I believe that by so doing we should help others and not injure ourselves.
Second, I have so much seen the extreme importance of occupation, to the
well-being of mankind, that many works of arts, that tend to our accommodation,
and even the graification of our taste may be innocently partaken of, may be
used and not abused, and kept in their proper places: as by so doing, we
encourage that sort of employment that prevents the active powers of man being
spent in things that are evil."
At the age of 20 Elizabeth Gurney
was married to Mr. Fry, and gave birth to a numerous family of children. It was
in the year I8I3 that she became first acquainted with the horrors of Newgate,
and the visit is recorded in the following simple entry in her diary :—
“Yesterday we were some hours at
Newgate with the poor female felons, attending to their outward neoessities; we
had been twice previously. Before we went away, dcar Anna Buxton uttered a few
words in supplication, and very unexpectedly to myself, I did also. I heard
weeping, and thought they appeared much tenderes; a very solenm quiet was
observed; it was a striking scene, the poor people on their knees around us, in
their deplorable condition."
At the latter part of 1816, Mrs.
Fry engnged in that career of active benevolence, the results of which are on
record in the improved and improving state of prison discipline. We cannot
extract so much as we could wish on this deeply interesting subject, but we
must give the narrative of the beginning of the good work
“On Her second visit, she was, at
her own request, left alone amongst the women for some hours; and on that
occasion, she read to them the parable of the Lord of the vineyard, in the 20th
chapter of St Matthew; and made a few observations on the eleventh tour, and on
Christ having come to save sinners, even those who might be said to have wasted
the greater part of their lives, estranged from Him. Some asked who Christ was;
others feared that their day of salvation was passed.
" The children, who were
almost naked, were pining for want of proper foodt air and
exercise. Mrs. Fry, on this occasion, particularly addressed herself to the
mothers, and pointed out to them the grievous consequences to their children,
of living in such a scene of depravity ; she proposed to establish a school for
them, to which they acceded with tears of joy. She desired them to consider the
plan, for without their steady co-operation she would not undertake it; leaving
it to them to select a governess from amongst themselves. On her next visit
they had chosen a achoolmiatress, a young woman named Mary Connor; who proved
eminently qualified for her task. She had been recently committed for stealing
a watch ; and became one of tlie first-fruits of Christian labour in that
place: she was assiduous in her duties, and was never known to infringe one of
the rules. A free pardon was granted her about fifteen months afterwards; but
this proved an unravelling, gift, for a cough, which had attacked her a short
time previously, ended in consumption. She displayed, during her illness, much
patience and quietness of spirit ; having, as she humbiy believed, obtained
everlasting pardon and peace, through the merits of her Lord and Saviour. She
died in this hope, “fuil of immortality. “
“Mrs. Fry’s views were received
true cordial approbation by the sheriffs of London, the ordinary, and the
governor of Newgate; although they looked upon it as an almost hopeless
experiment. An unoccupied cell was, by their permission, appropriated for the
school-room. On the day following this arrangement, Mrs. Fry, accompanied by
her friend, Mary Sanderson, and with the poor prisoner, Mary Connor, as
mlstress, opened the schooi for the children and young persons under twenty
five years of age. But from the small size of the room, they had the pain of
being obliged to refuae admiission to many of the women, who
earnestly entreated to be allowed to share in their instructions. Mary
Sanderson then visited a prison for the first time, and her feelings were thus
described by herself to Sir T. F. Buxton:-
“The railing was crowded with
half naked women, struggling together for the front situations, with the most
boisterous violence ; and begging with the utmost vociferation. She felt as if
she were going into a den of wild beasts, and she well recollects quite
shuddering when the door closed upon her, and she was locked in with such a
herd of novel and desperate companions.’
“Something similar must have been
the efttet on that faithful co-adjutor in this work, Elisabeth Pryor, at rather
a later period, upon seeing the women, squalid in attire and ferocious in
countenance, seated about the yard. From the prison door a female issued ‘yeliing
like a wild beast; (these were Mrs. Pryor’s own words:) she rushed
round the area with her arm extended, tearing everything of the nature of a cap
from the heads of the other women. The sequel too is important; for this very
woman, through the grace and mercy of God, became humanised, under the
insruction of the ladies. After having obtained her liberty, she married; and
for years came occasioually to see Mrs. Pryor, who considered her a
well-conducted person; her appearance being always most respectable.
II A lew other ladies
gradually united themselves to those already engaged in the work, and the
little school, in the cell of Newgate, coniinued for many weeks their daily
occupation.
“It was in our visits to the
school, where some of us attended almost every day, that we were witnesses to
the dreadful proceedings that went forward on the female side of the prison;
the begging, swearing, gaming, fighting, singing, dancing, dressing up in men’s
clothes; the scenes are too bad to be described, so that we did not think it
suitab!e to admit young persons wiih us.'*
“The ladies thought some ol the
existing evlls could be remedied by proper regulations; but in the commencement
of the undertaking, the reformation of the wonien, sunk as they were in every
species of depravity, was scarcely thought of, much less anticipated. By
degrees, however, the heroic little band became convinced that good might be
effected even amongst them: for intercourse with the prisoners had inspired
them with confidence. The poor wocien were ernest in their entreaties, not to
be excluded from the benfits, which they began to perceive would result to
themselves, from improved habits. But whilst thus encoumged on the one side,
every sort of discouragement presented itself on the other. The officers of the
prison, as well as the private friends of these ladies, treated the idea of
introducing industry and order into Newgate as visionary. Even some of those
interested in the attempt, apprehended that it wouid fail, from the character
of those for whose good it was intended ; also from its unfavourable locality,
in the midst of a great metropolis ; and from the difficulty of obtaining a
sufficiency of labcorers for such a work.
It was also urged that even if
employment could be procured, the necessary materials for work wouid be
destroyed or stolen. In recalling this period, one of those engaged in it thus
writes: “But amidst these discouraging views, our benevolent friend evinced
that her heart was fixed; and trusting in the Lord, sbe commenced her work of
faith, and labour of love. “
We have left ourselves no space to comment at length upon
the book, considered as a literary production. The main portion consists of
Mrs. Fry’s own letters and journals, connected by a slender thread of
explanatorv narration written by two of her daughters. Taking the memoir as a
whole, rmch rnight have been advantageously compressed, and much left out
altogether: while at other parts fuller information would have been desirable.
In a word, the pervading fault is that which more or Iess distinguishes all
biographies of religious persons which are written by religious persons;
namely, a superproportion of religious matter, even to the iteration and
reiteration again and again of devout ejaculations, prayers for divine
aasistance, and quotations from sacripture. That these must form a nccessary
part of every memoir of a pious person cannot be doubted; but generally they
overlay and superponderate all other matter to an extent which renders it
impossible to obtain a glimpse of the subject of the biography in any but a
religious light; and thus a very imperfect and even a false estimate of
character is formed. If we see only the religious phasis of a mind, we can no
more be said to know the man than if we saw him only on Sundays at church.
Moreover this spiritual exuberance, however grateful to serious readers, deters
from the perusal of a book many others who otherwise might bave reaped
advantage from its pages; and thus in fact one grand aim of its author may
become discomfited by his own act.
19/9/2010 Added Hercules Case
12/3/2011: Iron Church added
27/9/2011: inserted geography file
10/12/2012: William Eade Will – since moved to footnote in Chadwick volume.
3/11/2015: added Henderson Appendix
30/9/2019: Sections on individuals moved to main docments,
layout edited.
[1]
http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=3338
[2]
http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=TS®no=22205811
[3]
I would like to thank Dr. Hugh Laurence of Fasken Campbell Godfrey, who has
helped with the research for this paper and much more.
[4]
Letter to Violet Baker, 13 March, 1913. Copy in Fasken Campbell Godfrey
Archives (hereafter FCGA), original in archives of Irish Law Society, Dublin.
[5]
See the picture of the Palm Court of McConkey’s Restaurant in Marilyn M.
Litvak, Edward James Lennox: “Builder of Toronto” (Toronto, 1995) p.
64. “Electric lighting arrived in Toronto one evening in 1879 when two arc
lamps were turned on at McConkey’s Restaurant at 145 Yonge Street...thus
enhancing its reputation as ‘long the best-known’ restaurant in the city.” Bright
Lights Big City: The History of Electricity in Toronto (Toronto, 1991),
p.11.
[6]
Toronto Mail & Empire, November 21, 1912. This Beatty obituary is
also found in the Metro Toronto Library Scapbooks, vol.1, p.33.
[7]
A Standard Dictionary of Canadian Biography 1875-1933, (1934) vol. 1.
See also Morgan, Canadian Men & Women of the Times (1st ed.1898 ),
p.173 where the firm is called "one of the largest and most important in Ontario".
[8]
Toronto Star, November 27, 1951 in obituary of Melville Ross Gooderham.
[9]
See by way of comparison the paper by Blaine Baker, “Law, Practice and
Statecraft in Mid-Nineteenth Century Montreal: the Torrance-Morris Firm
1828-1868” in Wilton ed. Beyond the Law: Lawyers and Business in Canada
1830-1930 (Toronto, 1990) which looks at the Torrance-Morris firm which
served the business interests of the Torrance family in Montreal.
[10]
On the growth of financial institutions, see Michael Bliss, Northern
Enterprise: Five Centuries of Canadian Business (Toronto, 1987),
chapter 10 “Moving Money: The Growth of Financial Services”.
[11]
When I joined the firm in 1980, the senior partners still thought of the firm
as an “out of town” firm, drawing its lawyers from outside of Toronto.
[12]
On the opening of Ontario’s north see Robert J. Surtees, The Northern
Connection: Ontario Northland Since 1902 (Toronto, 1992)
especially chapter 2 “The Cobalt Bonanza and Beyond” and on the Methodist
businessmen see Michael Bliss, A Canadian Millionaire: The Life and
Business Times of Sir Joseph Flavelle 1858-1939 (Toronto, 1978).
[13]
See the chart in the appendices to Curtis Cole, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt:
Portrait of a Partnership (Toronto, 1995).
[14]
On the development of the U.S. firms, see Wayne Hobson, “Symbol of the New
Profession: Emergence of the Large Law Firm, 1870-1915” in Gerald W. Gawalt, The
New High Priests: Lawyers in Post-Civil War America ( Westport, Conn,
1984), pp.3-27. He notes in a table on p.7 that in 1904 there were only two
firms in the U.S. listed in Hubbell’s Legal Directory that had between 12 and
16 members.
[15]
Letter to Violet Baker, 13 Mar. 1913. Copy in FCGA, original in archives of
Irish Law Society, Dublin.
[16]
A Standard Dictionary of Canadian Biography 1875-1933, (1934) vol. 1,
p.29 and Edward Marion Chadwick, Ontarian Families, 2 volumes (Toronto,
1894-98) vol. 1, p. 160. Edith Firth, The Town of York 1815-1834 (Toronto, 1966) p. 76 says that James Beatty came in 1831. The Toronto City Directory for
1866 refers to his widow as “Mrs. James Beatty (widow of Col. James)”.
[17]
It was one block west of College Avenue (modern day University Avenue) and just
north of Queen Street and was later renamed and numbered as 173 Simcoe and
later still as 197 Simcoe. For a period between 1855 and 1859 the family moved
to 9 Sherbourne Street (just north of Queen St.). At that time the William St.
property is shown as vacant in the Toronto City Directory. See the Directories
for 1856 and 1859-60.
[18]
One of Howland's sons was Oliver Aiken Howland. Between 1875 and 1879, Oliver
Howland formed a partnership with Frank Arnoldi under the name Howland &
Arnoldi. This firm eventually became known as Campbell Godfrey & Lewtas.
In 1863 when Beatty and Chadwick formed their firm, they could not have
realized that the young sixteen year old boy next door would found a rival firm
that would eventually merge with theirs 126 years later.
[19]
Following Confederation he would serve as Lieutenant Governor of the Province
of Ontario (1868-73). See The Toronto City Directory for 1861. Hagarty had
been a partner of John Willoughby Crawford in the firm that eventually became
Fraser & Beatty. See Stanley Edwards, Fraser & Beatty: The First
150 Years (Toronto, 198).
[20]
Chadwick tells us much about himself and his family in E.M. Chadwick, The
Chadwicks of Guelph and Toronto (Toronto, 1914) and E.M. Chadwick, Ontarian
Families.
[21]
The Wellington County Atlas of 1870 shows large parts of central Guelph
and the surrounding area owned by members of the family.
[22]
Toronto City Directory 1862-3.
[23]
C. Ian Kyer & Jerome B. Bickenbach, The Fiercest Debate: Cecil A. Wright,
the Benchers, and Legal Education in Ontario 1923 -1957 (Toronto, 1987), page
26.
[24]
At this time one was usually admitted as a solicitor first and then some time
thereafter one was called to the Bar. Chadwick was called as a barrister in
1863. Beatty was not called until 1880.
[25]
The floor plan is reproduced in Eric Arthur, Toronto, No Mean City, (3rd edition revised by Stephen A. Otto, 1986)p. 119. The plans for the
building show a door between offices 11 and 12, suggesting that the partners
moved into part of a suite of offices occupied by Gooderham and Worts. The
office addresses are found in the Toronto City Directory for the years 1862
& 1866.
[26]
It was a handsome building on Wellington Street East that had been erected in
1855 by a group of millers and grain merchants to house a grain exchange and
their offices. See Eric Arthur, Toronto No Mean City, pp. 116-18 for a
photograph, plans etc..
[27]
Another older sister, Elizabeth, became the third wife of John Craven Chadwick,
E.M. Chadwick’s father on May 4, 1876. Elizabeth was then 37 and unmarried.
John Chadwick was 61. See the St. James Marriage Register 1807-108, no.5240.
[28]
It was three years before Chadwick remarried. He would have five sons and two
daughters by his second wife, Maria Martha Fisher.
[29]
See The Globe, April 28, 1865 p.3. The Gooderham and Worts families
were important members of the congregation of the church. Alex Dixon was very
instrumental in having the church built in 1843. See Alan L. Hayes, Holding
Forth The Word of Life: Little Trinity Church 1843-1992 (Toronto, 199 ).
[30]
Toronto City Directory 1866.
[31]
Dianne Newell, "James Gooderham Worts", Dictionary of Canadian
Biography, vol.XI, p.937-8 and Joseph Schull, 100 Years of Banking in
Canada: The Toronto-Dominion Bank (Toronto, 1958), pp. 39-42.
[32]
Alan L. Hayes, Holding Forth The Word of Life: Little Trinity Church 1843-1992, p.11.
[33]
Robertson’s Landmarks of Toronto, vol. --, p. . See also Alan L. Hayes,
Holding Forth The Word of Life: Little Trinity Church 1843-1992, p.12.
[34]
See various minutes and shareholders lists in the Archives of the
Toronto-Dominion Bank.
[35]
Joseph Schull, 100 Years of Banking in Canada: The Toronto-Dominion Bank, p.
71.
[36]
This is seen again and again. In each company you find sons, cousins,
sons-in-law on the board, as officers or providing professional advice.
[37]
In December 1875, Beatty assigned the property lease to his father-in-law and
George Gooderham as trustees (probably for his wife). The land, part of the
University Park development, was leased from the University for $250 a year and
gave Beatty an immense corner property with an effective frontage of 400 feet.
His property, called "The Oakes", had a excellent location sitting as
it did near the garden and fountain that then occupied the south of the present
legislative building site where a statue of St. John A. Macdonald now stands.
A picture at p. 194 of Arthur, Toronto: No Mean City shows the site
after the erection of the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald. Beatty’s home can
be seen to the right. See materials in the University of Toronto Archives and William Denby, Lost Toronto (revised edition, 1993), pp. 182-3.
[38]
See the correspondence between Gooderham & Worts and Lanman & Kemp of
New York in the Baldwin Room, Metropolitan Toronto Public Library. J.W. Beatty
signed the Gooderham & Worts letters starting August 15, 1876. He is
termed a clerk in the City Directory 1878 and an accountant in the City
Directory 1880.
[39]
Letter to Sir John A. Macdonald September 1879, PAC, Macdonald Papers,
pp.166547-9, where the letterhead of Beatty Chadwick Biggar Thomson/ Beatty
Miller Biggar & Blackstock shows the firm as having "Offices over the
Bank of Toronto, Corner Wellington & Church Streets".
[40] Dendy,
Lost Toronto, p.54.
[41]
Proceedings of the 26th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of the Bank of
Toronto, 21 June 1882, Archives of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. It is important
to note that corporate officers had not yet taken on a significant day to day
operational role. The Bank of Toronto, for example, was managed by its chief
cashier not its President.
[42]
"James Gooderham Worts", Canadian Dictionary of Biography,
vol. XI page 938.
[43].
A power of attorney respecting the Worts estate in Beatty's favour dated 8 May
1900 is in the FCGA.
[44]
Worts v. Worts (1889) 18 O.R. 332.
[45]
Ibid, p.340. As trustee he sold J.G. Worts' interest in Gooderham & Worts
Limited. to George Gooderham for more than $900,000 in June 1892 (Agreement in
Archives of Toronto Dominion Bank).
[46]
This account is based on news clippings from Tuesday December 30, 1890 in the Montreal
Herald provided by Douglas Worts. I wish to thank Stephen Otto for
bringing them to my attention.
[47]
In 1902 there were actually two partnerships - Beatty, Blackstock, Nesbitt,
Chadwick & Riddell was one and Beatty, Blackstock, Galt & Fasken was
the other. Although in the absence of a written partnership agreement it is
difficult to know exactly why this was done, it seems likely that the two firms
did different work and shared the profits of that work differently. The use of
parallel but separate partnerships as a mechanism to differentiate partnership
interests was used intermittently by Beatty from 1876 to 1906. In 1879, for
example, one of the partnerships was described as “Barristers, Attorneys at Law
& Solicitors in Insolvency” while the other was referred to as “Barristers,
Solicitors in Chancery & Notaries Public”, suggesting that one had a legal
practice and the other an equity practice.
[48]
The firm would not be that large again until the 1960’s.
[49]
There were no women in the firm for almost 100 years. The first woman, Georgia
Bentley, joined in the mid-1950’s.
[50]
It is revealing to walk through St. James Cathedral and note the memorials that
are associated with Beatty and Chadwick. There is a beautiful white plaque
that Chadwick dedicated to his first wife's memory. It states: “In memory of
Ellen Byrne Chadwick the Beloved Wife of Edward Marion Chadwick Esq. and
Daughter of James Beatty Esq. Born 9 November 1843. Married 28 June 1864.
Died suddenly 10 February 1865. Him that cometh to me I shall in no wise cast
out.” The Beatty family dedicated a set of stain glass windows to Beatty's
wife. Beatty’s daughter and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Cawthra, donated
St. George's chapel.
[51]
It was these firms that would merge in 1989 to form Fasken Campbell Godfrey.
The deed transferring title from William Howland to the syndicate was prepared
by the Howland Arnoldi firm, but all other legal work for the syndicate seems
to have been prepared by Beatty’s firm.
[52]
The criticism was largely unwarranted. The cathedral was separately
represented by Moss Falconbridge & Barwick and Chadwick does not seem to
have participated in the final negotiations. Certainly, Chadwick was hurt by
the criticism. Shortly before his death at a time when the cathedral had been
all but officially abandoned, he wrote and published a pamphlet about the
Cathedral See the materials in the Archives of the Anglican Diocese which was
collected by Chadwick.
[53]
Minutes of the Bank of Toronto Board of Directors, 27 Nov. 1912 in Archives of
Toronto Dominion Bank. The Globe and the Toronto Telegram noted
that he had "a great knowledge of commercial law." Morgan, 2nd ed.,
p.76 and The Globe, 21 Nov. 1912, p. 9.
[54]
A Standard Dictionary, vol. 1, p.29-30. See also The Canadian Annual
Financial Review for the early years of the 20th Century which shows the
officers and directors of Canada's various financial institutions.
[55]
The list of shareholders shows several estates. It may well be that Beatty
invested these funds as trustee.
[56]
Nesbitt married Beatty's daughter in 1898. See A Standard Dictionary,
vol. 1 p.380.
[57]
Morgan 2nd ed and A Standard Dictionary.
[58]
On Beatty’s involvement in Upper Canada College as trustee and “generous
benefactor”, see Richard B. Howard, Upper Canada College 1829-1979
(Toronto, 198 ), pp. 124, 131, 354 and 446.
[59]
See the original petition to the federal government in the archives of
Confederation Life and their published history Confederation Life 1871-1971.
[60]
This committee reviewed all requests for insurance received by the company to
assess the risk that the company ran in granting a policy. This was no
sinecure. The Confederation Life letterbooks have a number of letters to
Beatty enclosing twenty or more applications. This work brought him into
regular contact with John Kay MacDonald, the Managing Director of the company.
[61]
Beatty signed the petition to the federal government asking that the life
insurance company be chartered as “Solicitor to the Toronto Grey & Bruce
Railway”, which was owned in part by Gooderham & Worts.
[62]
Leo Johnson, “William Gooderham”, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol
IX, pp.360-1.
[63]
The share certificate book is in the Confederation Life Archives, as is a
special May, 1893 supplement of The Budget on the opening of the Confederation
Life building. Beatty, a vice-president, was one of the speakers at the
opening ceremony as was an ailing Sir William Pearce Howland. Other directors
present included W. S. Gibbs, who was related to Thomas Gibbs Blackstock, and
Alfred Gooderham, one of George Gooderham’s sons.
[64]
His father-in-law, James Gooderham Worts, had had a bad experience in his one
attempt to win public office when his wealth and prominence in the community
had proved a detriment and one suspects that this might have swayed Beatty away
from politics. See Dianne Newell, "James Gooderham Worts", Dictionary
of Canadian Biography, vol.XI, p.937-8
[65]
Letter to Sir John A. Macdonald 13 July 1883, PAC, Macdonald Papers, pp.8665-6.
[66]
Letter to Sir John A. Macdonald September 1879, PAC, Macdonald Papers,
pp.166547-9.
[67]
Letter to Sir John A. Macdonald 14 April 1888, PAC, Macdonald Papers,
pp.58801-8.
[68]
A Standard Dictionary.
[69]
See Letter to Sir John A. Macdonald 22 July 1887, PAC, Macdonald Papers,
pp.8921-4 and Morgan, 2nd ed. 1912, p.76..
[70]
He was not called to the Bar until 1880, 17 years after commencing practise.
See files of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
[71]
See Curtis Cole, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt: Portrait of a Partnership
and “McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin, and Creelman, 1882-1902: Establishing a
Reputation, Building a Practice” in Wilton ed. Beyond the Law: Lawyers and
Business in Canada 1830-1930, pp.149-166.
[72]
Nesbitt married Beatty's daughter in 1898. See A Standard Dictionary,
vol. 1 p.380. Beatty’s other daughter, Alice Maud Beatty, married William
Hubert Cawthra, a member of the wealthy and influential Cawthra family.
Cawthra was then a partner in the Howland Arnoldi firm.
[73]
Memoirs in the FCGA.
[74]
He was made an honorary Chief of the Six Nations, of the Anowara or Turtle Clan
of the Kanienga or Mohawks. His Indian name of Shagotyshgivsaks (pronounced
Saugo-tyoch-gweesax, meaning "one who seeks a gathering of the
people") was given to him for his advocacy of the formation of a Six
Nations militia regiment. He himself had served as a major in the 2nd Reserve
Regiment of the Queens Own Rifles.
[75]
See Appendix A for the many different names the firm had over the years.
[76]
T. G. Blackstock was then living with his father Reverend William Blackstock
and his brother George Tate Blackstock at 444 Parliament. See Toronto City Directory 1880.
[77]
City Directory 1881.
[78]
City Directory 1881.
[79]
An Encyclopedia of Canadian Biography vol. ii (Canadian Press
Syndicate, 1907) p. 24.
[80]
See materials in Bank of Toronto Archives.
[81]
This is now the site of the mainland club house of the Royal Canadian Yacht
Club, in which he, Beatty and Gooderham were all very active. A picture of the
home is found at the entrance to the club house.
[82]
An Encyclopedia of Canadian Biography vol. ii (Canadian Press Syndicate
1907) p. 24.
[83]
Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs, vol. 1, 1901, p.55.
[84]
See Gooderham et al. v. The Corporation of the City of Toronto (1890) 21 O. R. 120. Gooderham was seeking to prevent the City from extending
Saulter, Strange and McGee streets through a 22.5 acre property south of
Eastern Avenue that he had acquired for the family's cattle business.
[85]
One member of the firm, Percy Galt, assisted in the action
[86]
They were the first partners who had a barrister’s practice. Even in 1870,
there was some doubt about whether a barrister and a solicitor could be in
partnership together. See Canada Law Journal vol. 7, new series January
1871, pp.•
[87]
Canada Law List 1879.
[88]
Unpublished autobiography of Wyly Grier in the Ontario Archives, p.46.
[89]
See his obituary in the Metro Toronto Library Scrapbooks, vol. 5 p.__.
[90]W.H.C.
Boyd, “The Last Chancellor” (1981) 15 Law Society Gazette 363-4.
[91]
See Curtis Cole, “McCarthy, Osler, Hoskin, and Creelman, 1882-1902:
Establishing a Reputation, Building a Practice” in Wilton ed. Beyond the
Law: Lawyers and Business in Canada 1830-1930, p162 on the role of Britton
Bath Osler as prosecutor in the case.
[92]
Unpublished autobiography of Wyly Grier in the Ontario Archives, p.47.
[93]
Editorial in the Toronto Star on the death of Gooderham.
[94]
Toronto Star, November 27, 1951.
[95]
Just inside a small room near entrance to St. James Cathedral is a plaque to
the memory of Sir Thomas Galt and his son Thomas Percival Galt.
[96]
In the FCGA is a note from David Fasken to "My Dear Galt" dated April
30, 1907 in which Galt was given a $1,500 bonus for "the satisfactory
result in the Ritchie litigation".
[97]
See Middleton’s History of Toronto vol. 2 (chapter on art club in Toronto).
[98]
Jarvis, “Chief Justice Hugh Rose”, Law Society Gazette 1968, vol II,
no.1, p.19 says that he commenced his articles with Maclaren Macdonald Merritt
& Shepley, but transfered to the Beatty firm and that on his call to the
bar in 1894 he joined the Beatty firm. Rose, however, does not appear on the
letterhead of the firm until after 1899.
[99]
A Standard Dictionary, vol. 2 p.149.
[100]
For a description and picture of both the Fasken home and the Beatty Building, see Litvak, Edward James Lennox: “The Builder of Toronto” pp. 7, 18,
54 and 67.
[101]
See for example the letter that David Fasken sent to his sister Belle Fasken in
July 11, 1912 where he talks of Dutch spending the day fishing with him at
Timagami Island. In the FCGA.
[102]
Hilary Bates Neary, "William Renwick Riddell: Judge, Ontario Publicist
and Man of Letters" Law Society Gazette Vol XI, 1977 pp. 144-174
[103]
Belle Armstrong, as she was known, had unsuccessfully sought to marry Lyman
Duff as is charmingly told by David Ricardo Williams in Duff A Life in the
Law (Toronto, 1984) pp.23-7.
[104]
His notes are in the FCGA.
[105]
See James G. Snell & Frederick Vaughn, The Supreme Court of Canada,
(Toronto, 1985), p.86.
[106]
He resigned on October 4, 1905. See Snell & Vaughn, The Supreme Court
of Canada, p.88 and p. 260.
[107]
He is buried with William Beatty in the family plot in St. James Cemetery in
Toronto. The family headstone has a memorial to Beatty on one side and to
Nesbitt on the other.
[108]
See Robert J. Surtees, The Northern Connection: Ontario Northland Since
1902 (Toronto, 1992) especially chapter 2 “The Cobalt Bonanza and Beyond”.
[109]
Obituary notice prepared by the Excelsior Life Insurance Company on the death
of Alexander Fasken in September, 1944.
[110]
The Cobalt Daily Nugget, September 1910, p. 2.
[111]
S.A. Pain, Three Miles of Gold: The Story of Kirkland Lake, (Toronto, 1960), p.3. The Cobalt Daily Nugget of September 1910 reported
Nipissing's production from 1905 to halfway through 1910 at a value of
$8,375,541.58 with aggregate dividends paid of $5,040,000 plus $400,000 to the
syndicate. It also reports for the period of 1904 to 1909 aggregate ore
shipments, value of ore shipments and dividends paid by Cobalt mines as
78,487.58 tons, $32,840,906 and $14,347,969 (or 43.7% of value shipped,
respectively).
[112]
Quoted in H. V. Nelles, The Politics of Development: Forests, Mines &
Hydro-electric Power in Ontario 1849-1941 (Toronto, 19 ), pp.147-8.
[113]
The Cobalt Daily Nugget, September 1910, p.10.
[114]
See Morris Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North 1870-1914, (Toronto, 1971) p.184.
[115]
Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North 1870-1914, p.185.
[116]
Charles Girdwood, Lawrence F. Jones and George Lonn, The Big Dome:
Over Seventy Years of Gold Mining In Canada, (Toronto, 1983) p.
119.
[117]
The Canadian Annual Review 1912, p.644
[118]
A review of the history of the Flin Flon mine and David Fasken's role appeared
in the Mail and Empire, December 10, 1927, p. 17 complete with pictures
of David Fasken with his Indian guides canoeing to the site and riding a large
ox.
[119]
Mail and Empire, December 10, 1927, p. 17
[120]
See Canada Law Lists, 1943-52.
[121]
He would later become counsel to Osler Hoskin & Harcourt. See Canada Law
List, 1940.
[122]
The Commission was established because of fears of mismanagement and
irregularities in the insurance industry arising out of a New York State
investigation. On the circumstances surrounding the commission and its
hearings and findings. see The Canadian Annual Review 1906, pp.215 et.
seq.
[123]
Report of the Royal Commission on Insurance Minutes of Evidence (1907) Volume
1, p.1287.
[124]
Dr. Ross, who had acted as George Gooderham's personal physician, had married
George Gooderham's third daughter, Adelaide Mary. He was head of gynaecology
at Toronto General Hospital, an institution to which both George Gooderham and
Henry Beatty gave generously.
[125]
Toronto Star, November 27, 1951.
[126]
Hilary Bates Neary, "William Renwick Riddell: Judge, Ontario Publicist
and Man of Letters" Law Society Gazette Vol XI, 1977 pp. 148.
[127]
Who's Who in Canada 1936-7, p.
[128]
J. B. Robinson Memoirs in FCGA.
[129]
A Standard Dictionary of Canadian Biography 1875-1933, (1934) vol. 1, pp.
126-7.
[130]
Obituary in the Globe & Mail, April 23, 1963
[131]
55th Annual Report and List of Shareholders, Bank of Toronto, November 1910,
p.4 (Archives of the Toronto-Dominion Bank). See also Minutes of Board, Bank
of Toronto, Jan 11, 1911.
[132]
The Anglican Bishop of Toronto presided at the funeral service.
[133]
Another young lawyer, Austin G. Ross left as well but he became "the dean
of police court lawyers" (Obituary in the Globe & Mail, April
23, 1963).
[134]
In addition to the office in the Gooderham & Worts suite of office in the Exchange Building and the office above the Bank of Toronto, the firm for a short time was
located at 56 King Street East, next to Rice Lewis and Son Hardware. Rice
Lewis had served as a witness at Beatty’s wedding and his daughter married a
Gooderham that same year.
[135]
See Litvak, Edward James Lennox: The Builder of Toronto
[136]
Letter to Violet Baker. Copy in FCGA.
[137]
Handbook of Texas, volume 3, p. 293.
[139]
Toronto Star, Wednesday, December 4, 1929, p. 1.
[140]
At one time this would have been unthinkable in the Gooderhams’ law firm but
the distilley business was no longer the cornerstone of the firm’s clientele
and Gooderham & Worts would soon be sold to Hiram Walker.
[141]
Memoirs in the FCGA.
[142]
August 1, 1925 agreement between Alexander Fasken, Robert S. Robertson, James
Aitchison, John Wellington Pickup and Collamer Chipman Calvin in the FCGA.
[143]
Memoirs in the FCGA.
[144]
Alex was not remembered with fondness by lawyers in the firm. It is said that
when Alex Fasken died, James Aitchison, his nephew and a partner with a
general practice, personally tore out this buzzer system.
[145]
Charles Johnston <cdfjohnston at hotmail.com> 22 Nov 2002
