G.W. BADGEROW, M.P.P., is a native of this county, born near Markham. His father, a native of the State of New York, came to Canada in 1810. Our subject received his professional education in this city, in the same building as his office is now located (Ontario Hall). He was called to the bar in 1871, and has since practised his profession in this city. He is Past Grand Master of the United Workmen. He was elected a member of the Provincial Parliament in 1879 and re-elected in 1883. He is a member of the law firm of Badgerow & Galbraith. (vol. II, p. 4)
ALLEN BAINES, M.D., C.M., L.R.C.P., London, England, is a native of Toronto, being the youngest son of the late Thomas Baines, one of the pioneers of the brewing interest in this city, who was born in Shropshire, England, and came to Canada in 1826, and for a number of years was Crown Land Agent. He died in Toronto in 1866, at the age of sixty-seven. Dr. Allen Baines was educated at Mr. Barron’s school, Cobourg, and at the Upper Canada College, Toronto. He graduated M.B. in 1878 at Toronto University, and M.D., C.M. in 1878 at Trinity College, Toronto. He studied at St. Thomas Hospital, London, England, and while there acquired, in 1879, L.R.C.P., London. He returned to this city and commenced practice in 1882. He is at present physician in attendance at the Home for Incurables, Toronto Dispensary, and Infants’ Home. (vol. II, p. 4)
DR. JAMES BUCHANAN BALDWIN is the son of William Augustus, second son of Dr. William Warren Baldwin. William Augustus Baldwin was twice married; his first wife was Isabel Clarke Buchanan, daughter of James Buchanan, British Consul, New York, by whom he had the following children: Phoebe, now Mrs. Lefroy, living in Toronto; James Buchanan, living in Toronto; W. Augustus, M.D.; Robert Russel; Aemilias, living in Muskoka; Isabel E., married to her third cousin, William Ross Baldwin, agent for the Duke of Devonshire, and now living in Ireland. His first wife died in 1850. By his second wife – Margaret Fry McLeod, daughter of Captain McLeod, Drynoch, Isle of Skye, of the 93rd Highlanders – he had the following children: Jane McLeod, now Mrs. Martin Graham, living in Rome, New York; Bessie, now living in the old homestead; Anna Maria Martin, who died 1883; Lawrence, living in the old home; Margaret, Norman Charles and John. Dr. James Buchanan Baldwin was born in Toronto, July 14th, 1839. In 1872 he married the second daughter of Hon. J.C. Morrison of the Court of Appeal. (vol. II, p. 4)
JOHN SPREAD BALDWIN, second son of Robert Baldwin, was married in 1822, to Ann, daughter of Major-General Shaw, and widow of Dr. Scott of the Royal Navy, by whom he had the following children: Harriet E., dead; John, dead; Edmund, dead; Louisa Isabella, dead; John Maurice; Frederick A., dead; and Arthur Henry. Edmund Baldwin was born in Toronto in 1826, and married Miss Grasett, by whom he had two children, Dr. E. St. George Baldwin, 51 Baldwin Street, and Rev. Henry Grasett. (vol. II, p. 5)
The Hon. ROBERT BALDWIN was born in Toronto, May 12th, 1804, at the old home on the corner of Front and Frederick Streets, and died December 9th, 1858. He had the following children: Maria, died 1865; William Willcocks Baldwin, Osgoode Hall; Augusta B., wife of the Hon. John Ross; Robert, 22 Carleton Street. William Willcocks Baldwin was born May 20th, 1830. Up till 1864 he was farming, but since that year he has held the position of Distributor of Law Stamps at Osgoode Hall. (vol. II, p. 5)
ROBERT BALDWIN, deceased, came with his family from the County of Cork, Ireland (where the Baldwins, of Norman descent, had lived for generations), in 1799, and settled on a farm in the Township of Clark. He had the following children: William Warren; Eliza, afterwards Mrs. John Morgan; Alice Anna Maria; John Spread, father of the late Canon Baldwin, of the present Bishop of Huron and of the Rev. A.H. Baldwin, of All Saints; Church; Mary Warren. All his other surviving children also came to Canada between 1817 and 1819: Captain Augustus Baldwin (afterwards Admiral Baldwin); Captain Henry Baldwin; and Mrs. Sullivan, the mother of the late Judge Sullivan. William Warren Baldwin was born in the County of Cork, Ireland, in 1771, and graduated with the degree of M.D. at Edinburgh, Scotland. After coming to Canada he began to practise his profession and subsequently adopted that of law; and it often happened that while attending to a case in one of the law courts he would be called away to attend to the case of a sick person. In 1803 he married Phoebe Margaret, daughter of William Willcocks. At his death in January, 1844, he left two sons, the Hon. Robert Baldwin and William A. Baldwin. (vol. II, p.5)
JERROLD BALL, M.D., is a native of York County, having been born on his father’s old farm, where he lived until he was fifteen years of age. He attended the Public Schools and Grammar School in this city, matriculating in Toronto University in 1870, and graduating as M.B. four years later. He began the practice of medicine in 1875, which he has since continued with success. In 1881 he married Miss Emily Moore, of Toronto. (vol. II, p. 6)
J. BALMER, Superintendent of the Necropolis, was born in County Down, Ireland, on the 8th March, 1819. He joined Her Majesty’s 39th Regiment of Foot in November, 1839. The Regiment until 1848 was stationed at Gibraltar, Ionian Islands, and Jamaica, when it was sent to Canada, and was stationed at Halifax for two years, then returned to England. Mr. Balmer remained in Canada, and joined the Royal Canadian Rifles. He was stationed at St. Johns, near Montreal. In 1856, when the Hudson Bay Company applied to the British Government for troops to protect their interests, which were threatened by the Indians, Mr. Balmer was one of the hundred men who were sent by the Government, and who arrived at York Factory on the shores of Hudson Bay in August, 1857. After remaining at York Factory for two weeks, they went to Fort Garry where they remained four years. In 1861 he returned to St. Johns, and completed his time, receiving his discharge with Sergeant’s pension in January, 1865. In 1870 he came to Toronto, and in the following year became superintendent of the Necropolis, which position he still holds. In 1851 Mr. Balmer was married at St. Johns to a daughter of Robert Carey, of Sligo, Ireland. He has three sons, two of whom are Methodist ministers. The elder, Robert Henry, is stationed at St. William’s (1884), and the other, William John, is an Undergraduate of Victoria University, Cobourg. His third son, George Francis, is a student in Upper Canada College, preparing for the University. His eldest daughter married Rev. J.B. Avison, who was pastor of the Don Mills Church (Methodist). He died in 1882. Mrs. Avison was again married to Rev. James Liddy, Methodist minister, in September, 1884. His second daughter Lina is married to G.T. Pendrith, machinist, of Toronto. (vol. II, p. 6)
WILLIAM BARCHARD, retired, was born in Ross, Yorkshire, England, in 1810. He was the fourth child of his father’s family. His parents were Peter and Ross (Turner) Barchard. In 1829 he married Sarah Calvert, born August 21st, 1810. He and his wife came to Canada in 1833, and on Saturday, August 11th, landed at Toronto; the steamer “William IV” was burned to the water’s edge that night. He first located on a farm in Vaughan Township, about three miles from Stone Hollow, where he worked for fourteen months for Aaron Barker, who was married to his wife’s sister, and who paid him at the rate of $100 a year. He then went to work for a Dutchman named Baker, who was in the saw-mill business. In 1858 he began business for himself on the lot he now occupies, the whole extent of his capital at that time being $700. With this sum he purchased a lot of lumber, and making it into boxes sold them to the city merchants; on this he realized such a profit as to form a foundation for what is now a prosperous business. Mr. Barchard is a Reformer, and a member of the Methodist Church. By his marriage he had twelve children, of whom seven are now living. His eldest son, John Barchard, was living in Cincinnati at the breaking out of the American Civil War. He enlisted in the cavalry, and reached the rank of Captain, but was never heard of after the Battle of Gettysburg. Another son, George Edward, a brakeman, was killed at Nipissing by falling from a car. There are now two sons at home, William D. Henry, and Isaac James. (vol. II, p. 7)
JOHN BARRON was born in Cumberland, England, in 1827. In 1832 his parents, John and Ann (Robson) Barron, came to Canada with their family, consisting of one son and four daughters. The family settled in Little York, and for ten years occupied a house in George Street, between Queen and Duchess Streets, which is still standing. About 1842 the father, who had been a farmer in England, took up fifty acres of land outside the city, on the east side of Yonge Street, where he lived until his death in 1862, aged sixty-nine years; his wife died in 1872. John Barron, our subject, was educated in Toronto, and until he was twenty-five years of age worked with his father on the farm. In the spring of 1852 he came to the city and began the business in the Market Square, remaining there for twenty-five years, when he removed to his present stand, 149 King Street East. Mr. Barron married Hannah Bond Herron, whose father was born in Toronto in 1807; she was the grand-niece of Captain Bond, who received large grants of land from the Crown. Mr. Barron has two sons and two daughters living in Toronto, John and William, Mary and Minnie. He is a member of the Methodist Church. (vol. II, p. 7)
CHARLES R. BELL, real estate and insurance agent, was born in Milton, Cumberland, England, in 1820, being the only child of George and Mary (Ruddick) Bell. In 1835, when nearly sixteen years of age, he enlisted in the Cumberland Regiment, which, when formed, was known as the “Cumberland Sharpshooters.” In 1837 our subject, being an acting corporal, joined the regiment which was then stationed at Halifax. After spending some time in cities in the Maritime Provinces, he came to Toronto in the winter of 1837-38 and was made a staff-sergeant, and was afterwards stationed at Amherstburg for two years. On its return to England in 1840 Mr. Bell procured his discharge, and became a clerk in the office of Gamble & Boulton, on the recommendation of the late Lord Airey, remaining there ten years. In 1850 he became manager of Milton’s mill on the Humber, and in 1860 went to Pennsylvania, where he remained for two years engaged in railroad construction. On his return to Toronto he became book-keeper at Hurd & Leigh’s, where he was until 1865, when he became connected with the firm of Hewlett & Bell. He has been engaged in his present business since 1878, and represents two insurance companies, the Royal and the Liverpool. In 1842 he married a daughter of James Kennedy, by whom he had five sons and one daughter. On son is dead. (vol. II, p. 8)
CHARLES T. BELL was born in Toronto in 1842, and is the son of Thomas and Catharine (Kendrick) Bell. His father was born in Little York, January 1st, 1803; his grandfather, Thomas Bell, senior, settling here before 1800, and taking part in the war of 1812-14. His father was a Justice of the Peace, and lived for some time in Newmarket. Our subject is connected with the mail department of the postal service between Toronto and Hamilton. His wife is a daughter of David Ross, of Queen Street West. (vol. II, p. 8)
ROBERT BELL, M.P.P., was born in Toronto, and is the eldest son of John Bell, builder and contractor, who came to Canada from County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1823; married, in 1827, Annie Anderson, and died in 1855. In 1853 Robert married Matilda, seventh daughter of Joseph Clegg, C.E., of County Monaghan, Ireland. In 1860 he was elected councilman for the Ward of St. Andrew’s, and served in that capacity until 1867, when he became an alderman until 1873. In 1872 he was elected to the Board of Water Commissioners, and in 1874 was made chairman of that body until its extinction in 1877. In 1875 he was first elected to represent West Toronto in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and was re-elected in 1879. (vol. II, p. 8)
THOMAS BERNEY, caretaker of the Riverdale Park, is a native of the North of Ireland (Strabane), and came to Canada in 1850. He was variously engaged up to 1854, after which he kept an hotel on Yonge Street for about ten years. In 1880 he accepted the position as head caretaker of this beautiful park. (vol. II, p.9)
THOMAS BEST was born near Darlington, in the County of Durham, England, in 1821. He came to Canada in 1843, and engaged in the hotel business in Toronto. He was connected with the Bay Horse Hotel from 1844 to 1872, and has been living retired since the latter date at 33 Murray Street. Mr. Best was married in 1849 to Elizabeth Tindale; the issue of the marriage was five children. We may add that Mr. Best is one of the oldest living hotel proprietors in the city. (vol. II, p. 9)
DR. NORMAN BETHUNE is the son of the late Angus Bethune, who was born, in 1793, at Carleton Island, in the River St. Lawrence, opposite Kingston; his grandfather, the Rev. John Bethune, of Williamstown, Glengarry, was chaplain to H.M. 84th Regiment, which was then stationed on that island. The Rev. John Bethune had the following sons: Angus Norman, who settled in Montreal, and was a merchant and Queen’s auctioneer; John, who became Dean of the Church of England Cathedral at Montreal; James, who lived at Cobourg; Alexander Neil, who became Bishop of Toronto; and Donald, a well-known steamboat proprietor. Angus Bethune was engaged in the North-West and Hudson Bay Company’s service for fifty years. He came to Toronto in 1840, and at his death left five sons, Norman being the second. His wife was a daughter of Roderick Mackenzie. Dr. Norman Bethune was born at Moose Factory, Hudson’s Bay. He came to Toronto in 1840, was educated at Upper Canada College, and in 1843 began his medical studies. He graduated in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1850, and in the following year began his practice in Toronto, which he has since continued with the exception of nine years in which he practised in Edinburgh. Dr. Bethune was for many years connected with the Medical School attached to Trinity College, in the organization of which he was largely interested. (vol. II, p. 9)
JOSEPH BICKERSTAFF was born in the County of Armagh, Ireland, in 1832, and came to Canada in 1851. He located in Toronto, and began business as a grocer, which he continued for twenty years. In 1881 he received an appointment in the Custom House, and has charge of the Queen’s Warehouse. He is a member of the Orange Society, and the Church of England. He is a Conservative in politics. Mr. Bickerstaff married Elizabeth Moore, of this city; her father was Captain of a Company during the Rebellion of 1837. (vol. II, p. 9)
JOHN BISHOP, retired, was born in Islington, near London, England, December 16th, 1799. His parents were John and Sarah Bishop. His father was a butcher, and previous to his arrival in Canada conducted a large business in London. He arrived in New York in 1816, from thence he removed to Toronto, and erected a small cottage in which the family lived for a short time, afterwards removing to a house on the west side of Market Square, which he built along with others in 1819. He followed his own trade successfully for a number of years, retiring from active participation in the business in 1833, being succeeded by his son William. In 1829 he built Bishop Buildings on Adelaide Street, a large row of brick houses, which are still standing. He died December 25th, 1845, aged seventy-five years, leaving a family of five children, of whom John was the second. William, the third son, succeeded to the father’s business, continued the same until 1852, when he retired. Mr. Bishop was a member of the old fire company in 1826. In politics he is a Reformer. In 1831 he married Jane Julia Rubergall, who died in 1841; his second wife was Christiana Ferrier, second daughter of the late R.C. Ferrier, baker. (vol. II, p. 10)
FRANCIS BLACKSTONE, professor of music, was born in Chelsea, Brompton, England, in 1844, son of George Blackstone. His mother was a daughter of John Sartoris, who painted the celebrated racehorse Eclipse. He came to Toronto in 1871, where he has since lived, following the profession of music teacher. (vol. II, p. 10)
JOHN NETTERVILLE BLAKE, President of the Lake Simcoe Junction Railway, and for several years President of the Toronto Brewing and Malting Company, was born in Toronto in 1846. His father, the Rev. D.E. Blake, was born in Wicklow, Ireland, in 1806, and came to Canada in 1832. He was appointed by the Governor-General Rector of Adelaide, and settled in that Township; subsequently he became Rector of Thornhill, County of York, where he resided for many years. The subject of this sketch began to study law in 1863, and was called to the bar in 1869. In 1873 he originated the Lake Simcoe Junction Railway, and in 1880 became President of the Toronto Brewing and Malting Company. He is largely interested in the malting business. He is a Conservative, and a member of the York Pioneers. (vol. II, p. 10)
JOSEPH BLOOR, deceased, was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1789, where he acquired his education and spent the earlier portion of his life. He married Sarah Lees of the same place, and in 1819 came to Canada and settled in the County of York with his family. He located in Toronto, where he kept an hotel on King Street, and a few years later purchased a tract of land in Yorkville, east of Yonge, and opened out the great thoroughfare in the north of the city which bears his name. He divided his land into lots and erected many private buildings, and also engaged in the brewing business for a period of twenty years. He held a magistrate’s commission; in politics was strongly Conservative; and though in early life a member of the English Church, he subsequently identified himself with the Methodist Church, of which he proved a useful and earnest supporter, and contributed largely to the erection of the Bloor Street place of worship belonging to that body. After his death an appropriate slab was placed within the church to his memory by the congregation. Mr. Bloor was a member of the old Fire Brigade of York, and also of the St. George’s society. At his death he left two daughters, Sarah and Eliza, the latter married M. W. Browne, of Hamilton. (vol. II, p. 11)
JOHN BOND was born in Devonshire, England, in 1810, and came to Canada with his father when quite a child. His father was a sergeant-major in the British Army and served in the war of 1812-14, having fought at Lundy’s Lane, Chippewa, Fort Erie and Queenston Heights. He received his discharge at Kingston in 1817, and engaged afterwards in contracts for the Government. He died in the city on July 4th, 1853. His son, whose name appears at the head of this sketch, passed his early life in Kingston, removing from thence to this city in 1834; and having previously learned his trade of cabinet-maker, commenced business at 154 King Street East, which he conducted for thirty years, afterwards retiring. Mr. Bond served with credit during the Rebellion of ’37, and was sergeant in the corps commanded by Colonel Thomas. We ought not to omit to mention that his father had charge of the cannon at the skirmish of Montgomery’s tavern. Mr. Bond is a devoted adherent of the Roman Catholic faith, and in politics has thrown in his lot with the Reform Party. He married, in 1833, Catharine Gorman. (vol. II, p. 11)
GEORGE BOSTWICK. The grandparents of our subject, John and Mary (Lardner) Bostwick, were of English origin, having emigrated from England to the United States previous to the American Revolution. They took up their residence upon the present site of the city of Baltimore. The grand-mother was a niece of the Rev. Dionysius Lardner, LL.D., F.R.S. (Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh). Baltimore was the birthplace of a numerous progeny of descendants, of which Lardner, the father of our subject (so named in honour of the illustrious divine) was born in 1774; his early life was passed in that city until 1808, when he came to Niagara, where he married Sarah Bradshaw, and came to York two years later. He was a participant in the battle of York during the War of 1812, and was also a prisoner at its capitulation. After peace was declared he drew three hundred and fifty acres of land in the London district, although he never cleared or improved it. In 1810 he purchased on and one-fourth acres upon the south-east corner of King and Yonge Streets, for which he paid three hundred and fifty dollars, which he retained until his death. Upon this property he erected suitable buildings and embarked in the manufacture of carriages, in which business he was engaged for many years. In politics he was a Baldwin Reformer, and sat in the old Council of York with Wm. Lyon Mackenzie, when the city was first incorporated. His death occurred in 1834, at which time he left a family of seven children – three sons and four daughters. George, our subject, was the second eldest, born at York on the 22nd March, 1811. He received his early education at the primitive schools of that day, and early acquired of his father the trade of carriage making. Upon the death of the latter he succeeded him in business, which he conducted for several years. In 1836 Mr. Bostwick took up his residence on the west side of Yonge Street, on the northern portion of what was then the city limits, and was elected a member of the Council Board in the Village of Yorkville. In 1850 he was commissioned magistrate by the late Hon. Robert Baldwin, in which capacity he has ever since acted. During the crisis of ’37 he firmly adhered to the principles of responsible government as advocated by the Reform party, and has since lived to see those blessings shared in by those who were then his strongest political enemies. In 1840 Mr. Bostwick married a daughter of Robert Ferrier, from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by whom he had on son and four daughters. His son, George F. Bostwick, represents the extensive manufacturing firm of Goldie & McCulloch, safe manufacturers, of Galt, Ont., whose office and warerooms are at No. 50 Church Street, Toronto. The second daughter married John S. Mayfair, of the old-established wholesale dry-goods house of Bryce, McMurrick & Co., Yonge Street; third, Mr. J.H. Macdonald; fourth, Mrs. David Denne, of Montreal; fifth, Jessie, resides at home. Lardner, brother of our subject, was born at York, June 20th, 1815; educated at Thomas Appleton’s district school at the old market place on King Street; 1837, was a student with Dr. Morrison; 1842, he married Eliza Kennedy; one year later moved to Chicago, where he was three years engaged in the dry-goods business; then settled at Minneapolis, where he studied law and was admitted to the Bar, and subsequently elected Judge of the Surrogate Court. (vol. II, p. 11)
JAMES B. BOUSTEAD is the only son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bell) Boustead, and was born at Carlisle, Cumberland, England, in 1833. His father was educated for an Episcopal clergyman, but after completing his education, he emigrated to the County of York, Upper Canada, and settled at Newtonbrook in the year 1832, where he died in January following, leaving a son and a daughter, of whom our subject was the youngest. After completing his education, at the age of twenty-one he entered the well-known dry-goods house of John Macdonald, remaining one year, then for the five years following he had charge of a large milling business at Hillsburg. In 1857 he returned to Toronto, and engaged in the wholesale provision trade until 1874, when he became connected with the fire and life insurance business, which he has conducted until the present time. He now represents the “Citizens”, and “Union Scottish” Companies, and is also an issuer of marriage licenses, and a magistrate for the County of York. Mr. Boustead was elected to a seat in the City Council Board as early as 1865, first representing St. David’s and later St. James’ Wards; he filled the position for sixteen years, being one of the most active members of that honourable body. During the long period he sat in the Council he filled the position of chairman of some of its most important committees, notably the Fire, Water and Gas Committees, and is entitled to the credit of reorganizing the Fire Department, and establishing the Fire Alarm system; he also obtained for the city, through his earnest exertions, the charter under which our present water-works were built, and which resulted in obtaining pure water from the lake. Mr. Boustead has taken a great interest in our educational institutions, having been a member of the School Board for some years. When the “Queen’s Own” was organized he was one of its first members, and he received his commission of Lieutenant; he was present and took part with his regiment at Ridgeway; he retired in 1867 with the rank of Captain. Mr. Boustead has also been actively engaged in church work, having been Superintendent of the Methodist Sabbath school in Yorkville from 1866 to 1876, and of the Metropolitan Methodist Sabbath school from 1878 to the present time. His life has been an active and busy one, and he has left his mark upon the city which he has made his home. (vol. II, p. 13)
SAMUEL BOWMAN, retired, was born in the County Derry, Ireland, in 1812. His father was John Bowman, a farmer, and his mother a daughter of Joseph Thompson; they had seven children. The family came to Canada in 1832, landing at Quebec on June 4th. They remained at Quebec a few days and then went to Montreal, where, four days after they arrived, the father and one of the sons died. The family arrived at Toronto, August 9th, and took up their residence in a house on Yonge Street in which a man had died of cholera that morning, but fortunately none of them were infected. Samuel Bowman obtained work at teaming for a Mr. Clinkinbroomer, with whom he remained six months; then he became a porter in a store, helping a man named Ware, on the corner of King and Yonge Streets. In 1838 he commenced carting, and continued that until 1850, when he sold out and retired. During the Mackenzie Rebellion Mr. Bowman joined an independent company, and was present at the burning of Montgomery’s tavern. Mr. Bowman has only one brother living now; he resides at 142 Nelson Street. (vol. II, p. 14)
WILLIAM BRIGGS was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England, 1818, and came to Toronto in 1845. He is a builder and contractor, which business he conducted from the time of his arrival in the city until recently, when he retired from it, and is at present enjoying the ease and comfort he has deservedly earned. Mr. Briggs was the first settler on the fifteen acre lot where he resides (No. 9 Maitland Street). His wife was Mary Machin, a native of Selby, Yorkshire, England; she died in 1850. (vol. II, p. 14)
JOHN BRIGHT. The Bright family are of English origin. John, the subject of this sketch is at the present time the eldest white male resident of Toronto. He was born at Three Rivers, Quebec, 1793, fourth son of Louis and Margaret (Brady) Bright, and came to York with his parents in 1802, being nine years of age. His father served seven years in the 42nd Regiment of His Majesty’s Infantry during the Revolutionary War, at the close of which he came to Canada, having but three weeks to serve, when he arrived on what is now called King Street. Here he rented a slab shanty situated between York and Bay Streets (of a coloured man by the name of Franklin), into which he moved his family and wrought for some time as a stone-mason, but subsequently settled down to farming and butchering. He died at the ripe age of ninety-nine years and ten months, leaving six sons and six daughters. John attended the first school held in the county, on the corner of King and George Streets, Mr. Elihu Pease being the first teacher; at the age of thirteen was burned out and learned the trade of shoemaker, of Mr. Wallace, serving six years, which business he afterwards conducted for over forty years. He married in 1808, Nancy, third daughter of William Knott, a Revolutionary soldier who came to Canada with the “Queen’s Rangers”, and afterwards settled upon King Street, just east of the Mail buildings. Mr. Bright participated in the War of 1812, was at the battles of York, Stony Creek, Queenston Heights and Lundy’s Lane. In the latter engagement he received three wounds – first, by a bullet on the top of his head, taking off a portion of the scalp; second, through the sleeve of the right arm; and third, a shot in the left side. He belonged to the Infantry Corps, and at the battle of Queenston Heights he saw General Brock fall from his little bay mare which he rode, it having been presented to him by Adjutant Fitzgerald, or “Crazy Fitzgerald” as he was sometimes called. He saw his body carried from the battle-field by orderlies into a barn near by; was present at his death and burial. “We cried like good fellows when he fell”. Mr. Bright was in the last charge made upon the army at Queenston Heights, and saw many of the Americans leap over the side of the mountain in their efforts to escape, while others stole away amid the clouds of smoke that enveloped the place. After serving his time Colonel Fitzgerald tried to induce the regiment to which he belonged to re-enlist for three years by offering every able-bodied man three guineas; but they, not having a change of clothing for three months, declined and returned home; after which he served twenty-seven years as assistant messenger under his father, who was chief messenger of the old Legislative Council of Upper and Lower Canada, while the Government buildings were at Toronto, Kingston and Montreal. He was present at the latter place when the buildings were burned. He also served twenty-seven years as Crier of the General Sessions and County Court, which office he still holds. During the Rebellion of 1837 he was a volunteer, while his father was doing garrison duty at the Parliament House. He and his brother Louis shouldered their muskets and joined the loyal forces at Montgomery’s tavern. He retains his mental faculties in a wonderful degree, and nothing affords him greater pleasure than to have an old friend or neighbour call and recount bygone scenes of his early life. (vol. II, p. 14)
JAMES BRIGHT, 71 King Street East, blacksmith, and brother of the above, is the youngest son of the same family, was born in York in 1807, corner of Princess and Duke Streets. When fifteen years of age he learned the trade of blacksmith with his brother Louis, whose shop then occupied the north-east corner of King and York Streets, where the Shakespeare Hotel now stands. They wrought together for five years. In 1832 he married Amelia, daughter of Isaac Columbus, who was employed in the Garrison, being edge-tool maker and silversmith. He made a sword for General Brock, which he carried on the day of his death. Soon after Mr. Bright’s marriage he moved east of the Don and took up his residence at 71 King Street East, where he established himself in business as a blacksmith, and where he has ever since resided. Having seven sons and two daughters, the former having succeeded him in business. (vol. II, p. 15)
JOHN BRIGHT, builder, was born in Toronto in 1842, his father being James Bright. He learned the trade of a carpenter before he was of age and worked at that until 1872, when he opened a grocery, flour and feed store on King Street East. In 1875 he gave up store-keeping and returned to his trade. In 1870 he married Emiline Louisa, daughter of Emerson Coatsworth, City Commissioner. He is a Conservative and a member of the English Church. (vol. II, p. 16)
THOMAS BRIGHT, youngest son of John Bright, was born at Toronto 1837, was seven years engaged in the grocery trade, subsequently succeeded his father as Sheriff’s Officer and Crier of the Court of General Sessions, which office he has held for the past twenty-two years, and which has been filled by some member of the family since the establishment of the first Court in York. Mr. Bright has been twice married, first to Mary, daughter of Robert Hodgson, by whom he had four children, second to Ellen Brady. In politics he has been a strong Conservative, and a member of the Orange Society, and Church of England. (vol. II, p. 16)
WILLIAM BRODIE, L.D.S., was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and was the son of George Brodie, a farmer in that district, who came to Canada in 1835, and settled on a farm in Whitchurch, where he died in 1882, at the advanced age of ninety years. During his residence in Whitchurch he took a lively interest in municipal affairs, and was for some time a member of the County Council. He was for a number of years an elder of the Presbyterian Church. He married Jane Milne, of Banff, only daughter of John Milne of that town, a vessel owner, who was lost at sea; she died in 1865 at Whitchurch. Mr. Brodie, the subject of this sketch, received his early education at Whitchurch, subsequently teaching school there for three years. He afterwards studied his profession, which he practised in Markham for two years, removing to Toronto in 1865. He has from its commencement been connected with the Toronto Natural History Society, and to his energy the institution may be almost said to owe its existence. He married Miss Jane Anna McPherson, eldest daughter of Alexander McPherson, farmer, of Scotch birth, who, as a contractor, had assisted in the construction of the Lachine Canal. He died at Whitby. Mr. Brodie’s residence is 325 Parliament Street. (vol. II, p. 16)
JOHN BUGG, deceased, the eldest of a family of seven children, born to William and Elizabeth (Walker) Bugg, was born in Yorkshire, England, February 6th, 1807. His early life was spent upon his father’s farm. Before he reached his majority he learned the trade of carriage and house building. Upon the death of his father he, being the eldest son, inherited all the property. After paying all claims upon the estate, he embarked for Canada, and arrived at Little York on June 19th, in the spring of 1831. It being Sunday, he immediately wended his way to church, and there found an old acquaintance in the resident pastor, who introduced him to Mr. Cawthra, then employed in the erection of the Ontario Parliament buildings, with whom he secured employment. After remaining in York one year he returned to England and brought the family back with him. After the completion of the Government work he began building for himself, and subsequently embarked in the lumbering and building business on a large scale, his yard being at the corner of Teraulay and Albert Streets. He also dealt largely in real estate, and purchased the McCauley estate, and opened Gerrard and Walton Streets. In 1837, during the Rebellion, the loyal forces were quartered at his residence, as at those of many others who were strong Reformers and advocated Responsible Government. Our subject took an active part in municipal matters, and was elected to a seat in the Council Board for St. Patrick’s Ward, when that Ward included the district at present covered by St. John’s, St. Stephen’s and St. Patrick’s. When St. Patrick’s Ward was subsequently divided he sat as alderman for St. John’s Ward, his term of service being thirteen years, and on every occasion but one he was returned at the head of the poll. As an alderman he united a progressive spirit with a careful regard to economy, a watchfulness over the city’s interests, and a firm adherence to his principles. As an instance of his firmness of character, it may be mentioned that for several years he formed one of a minority, composed of four aldermen, who strenuously opposed a number of measures which they considered detrimental to the city’s interests. In religion he was a Primitive Methodist, and was elected a life member of the Conference of that body. Soon after Confederation he was commissioned a Magistrate, in which capacity he acted many years. His wife was a daughter of the late John Purkiss, of Toronto. The fiftieth anniversary of their wedded life was celebrated on the 30th October, 1883. At his death he left three sons and two daughters: William, Charles, Joseph, Elizabeth and Sarah, now Mrs. Robert Jaffray. (vol. II, p. 17)
JAMES BUGG, farmer, and brother of the above, was fourteen years and six months old when he landed in York in 1833. He worked about one year for Mr. Northcott; the following spring he went to Thornhill and worked on a farm for about ten years; then was engaged as manager on a farm in Markham Township. In 1844 he married Rebecca, second daughter of Robert Mason, by whom he has three daughters. In 1850 he was chosen councillor for Markham Township, and in 1870 he received a Magistrate’s commission, but did not qualify until ten years later. In politics he is a Reformer, in religion a member of the Primitive Methodist Church. As a result of many years of honest toil, he has a beautiful farm in the Township of King, where he at present resides, and is one of the most substantial citizens in his municipality. (vol. II, p. 18)
ALEXANDER BURNS was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1837, and came to Canada in 1853. Previous to coming out he was for a short time in the grocery business, and on his arrival in Toronto continued the same business with his brother in a store at St. Lawrence Market. In 1869 he commenced a soda-water business on the corner of Yonge and Buchanan Streets, that part of the city being then all bush, which extended without a single break along the front of Yonge and College Avenue to Hayter Street. The trade conducted by Mr. Burns was one of the largest of its kind in the city, and proved very successful. He retired from business in 1881, since which time he has been living a quiet and retired life on the fruits of his former industry. In 1868 he married Miss Martha McDonald, by whom he has a family of three sons and three daughters. (vol. II, p. 18)
DAVID BURNS, deceased, was born in the County Derry, Ireland, in 1803. He came to Canada in 1823, and engaged in the leather business at Little York, which proved so successful that he retired about twenty years before his death, which occurred in 1872. At the time of his death he owned a considerable quantity of real estate. He left surviving him a wife and three sons. The eldest, David Burns, is a civil engineer; the second Robert, is studying medicine; and the youngest, Stephen, is engaged in the study of law. (vol. II, p. 18)
HORATIO C. BURRITT, M.D., C.M., was born at Smith’s Falls, Ontario in September, 1840. He is the eldest son of Dr. Walter H. Burritt, who was born at Burritt’s Rapids, Ontario, in 1809; being the youngest son of Colonel Daniel Burritt and grandson of Daniel Burritt, one of the original United Empire Lyalists, who emigrated to Canada immediately after the American Revolution, and settled on the Rideau River, where the Village of Burritt’s Rapids now stands. The subject of our sketch was educated at Smith’s Falls Grammar School, Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, and McGill College, Montreal, from which latter institution he received the degree of M.D., C.M., in May, 1863. He spent some months, after graduating in Lincoln Hospital, Washington, D.C., as acting assistant surgeon during the American Civil War. Shortly after returning to Canada he settled in Morrisburgh, Ontario; in 1868 he removed to Peterborough, where he had a very extensive and lucrative practice for fourteen years; when he began to feel that if the incessant hard work, with the exposure, etc., were continued much longer it would seriously impair his health. To avoid such a calamity he disposed of his practice to Dr. Halliday, of Grafton, and removed to Toronto. On his departure from Peterborough he was presented with a most complimentary address and a magnificent epergne, by many of his staunch friends. In 1880 he was elected by the medical men of Newcastle and Trent Electoral Division, as their representative for five years in the Ontario Medical Council. During his two years’ residence in this city, he has acquired a successful and extensive practice. Dr. Burritt married in 1864, Maria Harriet, fourth daughter of James G. Rogers, Esq., of Grafton, Ontario. (vol. II, p. 18)
EPHRAIM BUTT, third son of Samuel Butt, weaver, was born in Stonehouse, Gloucester, England, on the 8th of March, 1822. His father, with his family, came to Canada and settled in Toronto, in the year 1832. He has been a resident of Toronto for fifty-two years. In 1844 he married Sarah, youngest daughter of James Davey, of Hull, England, by whom he had sixteen children. Of these only four survive, viz.: the eldest, Samuel James; Mary (now Mrs. J.H.H. Mottram, Detroit, U.S.); George (of Toronto); and the youngest, Henry John Wilkinson (of Detroit, U.S.). For forty years he has successfully carried on the general business of waggon-making, and for a number of years past of blacksmithing. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ephraim Butt have been devout members of the Wesleyan Methodist denomination since 1842, and since the year 1854 the former has been a class-leader. He is a brother of James Butt, whose first wife, now deceased, was a sister of Mrs. Ephraim Butt. (vol. II, p. 19)
JAMES BUTT, retired, was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1815. His parents were Samuel and Anne (Smith) Butt. His mother’s brother Charles was killed at the battle of Trafalgar, where he fought under Lord Nelson. His father came to Little York (now Toronto) in 1832, with his wife and seven children, of whom five are living and two are dead; he was a gardener by occupation, and worked for Dr. Widmer until his death in 1843. James Butt first worked for Mrs. Major Small, and then spent three years in learning the blacksmith trade with James Bright, who lived east of the Don. At the time of the Rebellion he was working for Louis Bright, who had a blacksmith shop in Toronto, where they did some work for the Government. In 1839 he commenced business for himself on Shuter Street, and continued it until 1867, when he retired. In 1840 he married Mary, daughter of James Davey, of Yorkshire, England, by whom he had five children; three are dead, and two – Charles E., living in Plainfield, New Jersey, and Richard H., living in Toronto – still survive. His first wife died in 1870, and he afterwards married Jane, daughter of John Purkiss, of Toronto. He has been connected with the Methodist Church since 1835. (vol. II, p. 19)