ANDREW TINGLE, carpenter, was born in the Township of Scarboro’ in 1820, being the eldest in a family of thirteen children. His father was John Tingle, who was born near Leeds, England. He was a farmer. In 1818 he came to Canada and, two years later, married Ellen, daughter of Andrew Thompson, who came to Canada from Scotland. He cleared a farm in the Township of Scarboro’, and lived there until his death in 1877. He survived his wife two or three years. He served during the Rebellion of 1837, under Captain McLean; he was stationed in the city for two weeks, and then spent the winter on the Kingston Road. In 1841 Andrew Tingle married Agnes, daughter of John Reeve, of the Township of Clarke; she died about 1853, in the County of Oxford. His second wife was Mary, daughter of James Patton, of Scarboro’ Township. By his first wife he had one son and two daughters, and by his second wife two sons and one daughter. In 1845 Mr. Tingle removed to the County of Oxford; he remained there until 1853, when he returned to Scarboro’. In 1857 he came to Toronto and engaged in the trade of a carpenter. In politics he is a Reformer, and in religion a Presbyterian. (Vol. II, p. 158)
JOHN TINNING, retired, third son of Richard Tinning, sen’r, was born at Brampton, October, 1832. In 1864 he married Jane Donley, daughter of Patrick Donley, by whom he has two sons and one daughter. (Vol. II, p. 159)
RICHARD TINNING, deceased, was born in Cumberland, England, in 1801, and about 1824 married Ann Tiffin, who was born at Durham, England, and died at Toronto, July 6, 1874. In 1832 he came to Canada with his wife and two children and settled in Toronto, locating himself at the foot of Bay Street on the shore of the Bay, where he established a timber and lumber business. His stock was cut principally at Oakville and Port Credit, and after being thrown into the Lake was towed along the shore to his saw-mill, which was the first erected in Toronto. In 1840 he removed to the foot of York Street, and in 1846 erected a steam saw-mill where the St. James’ Hotel now stands, and which was then the shore of the Bay. He leased for forty-two years the tract of land extending north from the Bay along York Street to Front Street; upon this he erected several buildings, one a house, in which he resided. In 1834 he contracted with the University authorities to clear College Avenue of the heavy growth of trees and brushwood which covered it. Mr. Tinning continued to run his sawmill, and did a prosperous business, until his death in 1858. He was a member of the old fire company, and for six years was Alderman for St. Andrew’s Ward. At his death he left a family of three sons and one daughter. (Vol. II, p. 159)
RICHARD TINNING, jun’r, eldest son of Richard Tinning, sen’r, was born in Cumberland, England, in 1825, and in 1832 came to Canada with his father, with whom he was for years associated in the lumber business. He married the eldest daughter of W.B. Hornibrook, by whom he has one son. For twelve or thirteen years he has represented St. George’s Ward in the City Council. (Vol. II, p. 159)
THOMAS TINNING, 39 Front Street West, the second son of Richard and Ann (Tiffin) Tinning, was born in Carlisle, England, in the year 1832. His father was born in 1801, at the same place; his mother was a native of Durham, England, and died in Toronto July 6, 1874. Mr. Tinning, sen’r, married in 1824, and in the spring of 1832 emigrated to Canada with his wife and two sons, Richard and Thomas. He landed in Quebec, and at once proceeded to Montreal, and from thence he came to Toronto, the journey being accomplished by Durham boats drawn by oxen. On their arrival here, the head of the family went to Brampton, leaving his wife and children in the city, but subsequently returned after a short absence and located at the foot of Bay Street, on the shore of the bay. He established himself in the lumber trade, and for twenty years employed a large force of men cutting lumber by means of whip-saws. In 1840 he moved to the foot of York Street, and in 1846 erected a steam saw-mill upon the site of the present St. James’ Hotel. The mill was a frame building eighty feet in length, and would cut forty feet lengths of square lumber. He leased from the city for forty-two years a tract of land extending from the water’s edge along York to Front Street upon which he erected buildings, and where he himself resided. In 1834 the contract was given Mr. Tinning to clear what is called College Avenue, which was then covered with a good growth of black ash, basswood and oak, together with a variety of other timber. In this work he employed a staff of forty men, and he himself cut down the first tree. All the timber felled in connection with this clearing was given to Mr. Tinning, and in addition a handsome recompense. It was subsequently cut for firewood and sold to the citizens. While the work was being performed, and incident happened one day which created a slight sensation and, although it may appear paradoxical, will in truth call up startling reflections on the immense progress made by Toronto since that time. The incident referred to was a deer which ran across the avenue from the direction of Rosedale and darted into the bush in a south-westerly direction. All the men gave chase, but the fleetness of the animal soon distanced the pursuers. Mr. Tinning continued to run his saw-mill until his death in 1858. He was a member of the old Fire Company; also a member of the A.F. and A.M. He was Alderman for St. Andrew’s Ward six years. In political matters he was strongly Conservative, and in religion a member of the Church of England. At his death he left a family of three sons, Richard, Thomas, and John. Thomas Tinning, whose name appears at the commencement of this family record, was only an infant when his parents located in Toronto. Brought up beside that element on which he was destined to play thereafter many a gallant part, he imbibed that affection for aquatics which afterwards secured for him the Championship of Toronto Bay, which he maintained for so long a period. He assisted his father in the lumber business, which he has continued to carry on; but it is especially by those deeds of daring inspired by a desire to rescue human life from shipwrecked vessels that Mr. Thomas Tinning has earned the gratitude of the citizens of Toronto. He has during the last twenty years been the means of saving the lives of two hundred human beings from drowning in the lake and bay. The following examples bear testimony to the courage and endurance displayed on two memorable occasions in which Mr. Tinning was the principal actor. In the month of December, 1856, a schooner, named F.G. Beard, went ashore on the south side of the Island during a furious gale. The crew had taken refuge in the rigging; and, observing the wreck by the aid of his glass, together with the perilous position of the crew, Mr. Tinning immediately launched his skiff and rowed over the bay and, hauling his boat across the Island, succeeded in pulling off to the wreck in the face of a tremendous sea. This feat was not easily accomplished, and he was thrice upset while attempting it, but on the fourth trial he reached with his skiff the unfortunate crew, who were eventually rescued. The weather was bitterly cold, and during the long hours that passed while undertaking this meritorious action his clothes became coated with ice. In December, 1861, the schooner Pacific, while attempting to make the Queen’s Wharf during a violent gale was driven ashore in the Humber Bay. The position of the vessel, and the probable fate of the crew caused Mr. Howard of High Park to hasten to Toronto, and, if possible, bring back a relief party with him to make the attempt to save the shipwrecked crew. He called upon Mr. Thomas Tinning, was got together some volunteers, and taking with him one of the life boats of the steamer Zimmerman, proceeded at once on a sleigh to the scene of the wreck. After considerable difficulty and much danger, they succeeded in rescuing the crew, and as the success was in a great measure the result of coolness and daring, he was shortly after the event presented by the citizens of Toronto with a handsome trophy in recognition of his valuable services. The presentation took the form of a splendid piece of silver rockwork, surrounding a representation of water in glass, with an appropriate mermaid figure in the centre holding a nautilus shell of frosted cut-glass made to contain flowers. The following inscription is engraved on a silver shield: “Presented to Thomas Tinning by a few of his friends and fellow-citizens for his gallant behaviour in rescuing the crew of the schooner Pacific, wrecked in the Humber Bay, December, 1861: Toronto, May, 1862.” These two instances we have given will be proof sufficient of what benefit his long residence in Toronto has been to the saving of life from the dangers of the Lake, and will serve to impress the toilers of the deep with the conviction that Toronto is not behind other ports in possessing brave hearts and willing hands, ready to risk their own lives in the prospect of saving others. Among the list of vessels which he has been at different times the means of saving from entire destruction and consequent loss of valuable cargoes, we may mention the Rapid, Echo, Olive Branch, and the crew of the Fearless, in Ashbridge’s Bay. On the 3rd August, 1870, he was presented with a silver tea service for his great and successful exertion in recovering the bodies after the deplorable and heart-rending catastrophe in the Bay of Hamilton that year. Mr. Buchanan made the presentation, and expressed to Mr. Tinning the views, in regard to him, of the citizens of Hamilton. “He had not only been the instrument of alleviating the distressed feelings of a family, but also of a community.” The silver tea service bears the following inscription: “Presented by a few of the citizens of Hamilton to Thomas Tinning, as a mark of their high appreciation of his services in recovering the bodies of the daughters of Thomas Swinyard, Esq., June 27, 1870.” In 1870, Mr. Tinning was appointed by the Government Captain of the Life Saving Station at Toronto, which position he held for some years, finally relinquishing it on account of the small allowance made for the support of crew, boats, etc. Mr. Tinning is a well-built man of about six feet two inches in height, and a frame which proves him to be possessed of great muscular power. He married Miss Summer, the daughter of the late Bernal Summer, a prominent Niagara merchant, and grand-daughter of Dr. Cyrus, of Beamsville, an old U.E. Loyalist. Mr. Tinning has two sons; Frank, the eldest, is fast following in the footsteps of his father, having in 1882 saved two young men from drowning in Georgian Bay. William, the other son, is in the Custom House. (Vol. II, p. 159)
JOHN M. TINSLEY, retired, 81 Agnes Street, was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1783. His grandfather, Thomas Tinsley, came to America from Ireland during the time of Oliver Cromwell, and located at Hanovertown, twenty-one miles from Richmond. He had four sons, Thomas, Peter, John and Samuel. The father of our subject was Samuel Tinsley, who was born in Ireland, and who married Elizabeth Merrywether, who was born in Virginia. He was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, and was in many of the battles. He died in Virginia in 1815. The early boyhood of our subject was spent in Richmond, where he went to school. In 1800 he began to learn the trade of a carpenter, and in 1807 he was a journeyman. He married Douglas Dailey in 1811. In 1831 he paid a visit to Canada, spending some weeks at Toronto, and at the Wilberforce settlement near London. He returned to Richmond where he remained until 1837, in which year he removed to Cincinnati. In 1842 he came to Toronto and opened a grocery store on the corner of Albert and Elizabeth Streets, which business he continued for one year; his wife died in 1842. He then worked at the carpenter trade for John Harper and for J. George Joseph. Mr. Tinsley has long since ceased to work. He has not been able to read for the last ten years, but he can see things at a distance. When he was fifteen years old he saw George Washington, who used to visit some families in Richmond. His family were very long-lived. A sister, Polly, who was born in 1775, was living in New Orleans in 1870 when Mr. Tinsley last heard from her. Mr. Tinsley is a Reformer in politics and a Baptist in religion. (Vol. II, p. 162)
ROBERT TROTTER was born in the County Cavan, Ireland. He spent the early part of his life in County Louth, from which place he emigrated to Canada in 1837, and at once took up his residence in this city. He was for a time connected with the police force, and was clerk of the market for some years. He has for many years been a successful speculator in real estate, and now owns a large amount of property in this city. (Vol. II, p. 163)
The career of MRS. JENNY K. TROUT, M.D., of Toronto, furnishes an excellent illustration of what a woman possessing pluck and perseverance may accomplish. Dr. Trout was born in the year 1840, in the pretty town of Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Her parents, Andrew and Elizabeth Gowanlock, emigrated to Canada when she was but seven years old, and at the age of seventeen we find her still living with them in a sparsely populated district near Stratford, Ontario. Her education was only of an imperfect rudimentary nature, but books were her close companions and she read them with a fixed determination to acquire knowledge. About this time she commenced attending the little country schools with a view to qualifying as a teacher. When nineteen years old she graduated from the Toronto Normal School, and was shortly afterwards placed in charge of a school in the northern part of her own township. Labouring in this capacity and neighbourhood for nearly five years, she was able, by industry and good husbandry, to accumulate a considerable sum of money. It was during her fifth teaching year, 1864, that she married Mr. Ewart Trout, of Toronto, and subsequently removed to that city. One of her youthful ambitions was to become a physician. Loss of health intensified this ambition and having made good use of her spare hours she succeeded in matriculation in 1870. Her health at this time was so poor as to excite the serious apprehension of her medical adviser and friends, but notwithstanding she attended – during 1871-72 – a full course of lectures at the Toronto School of Medicine. An account of the trials and tribulations which she underwent would prove as instructive as interesting, but our space will not permit of it. Dr. Trout was one of the first to apply for admission to the lectures in the University, this being the place where the students of the Toronto School assembled for Chemistry lectures, but the Faculty denying admittance to women, she was, with others, compelled to forego for a time the study of this branch of medicine. After a three years’ course of the Women’s Medical College, Philadelphia, she received the degree of M.D., and immediately upon her return to Canada, successfully passed the examinations before the Council of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Trout has the honour of being the first woman who passed the Ontario Council, and also held the position for many years of being the only lady member of the college. She now entered upon the duties of her new profession in Toronto, being joined by Dr. E. Amelia Tifft, a graduate of the same school and class in Philadelphia. It was not long before they opened a woman’s dispensary, in the eastern part of the city, which, however, they were, owing to the demands made upon them as physicians, compelled to abandon. Dr. Trout was, for a time, one of the two visiting physicians connected with the Infants’ Home in its early days. The lady doctors have made popular a comparatively new agent in the practice of medicine in Canada, i.e., Electricity. In order to successfully develop the capabilities of this curative power, they founded what proved to be one of the best institutions of its kind in the Dominion, occupying a handsome white-brick structure on the corner of Jarvis and Gerrard Streets, and facing the Baptist Church. Dr. Trout’s health, never robust, improved slightly for a time, but ultimately gave way under the heavy strain of her large and increasing practice, until utterly worn out, she was compelled in 1883 to retire from the laborious duties of the Institution. Dr. Trout has ever taken a lively interest in the education and advancement of the younger members of her sex. She has, wholly or in part, aided more than one young woman to obtain the degree of M.D. In thorough sympathy with the objection to mixed classes in the schoolroom, she was anxious to see a Women’s Medical College in Canada and, in 1883, offered to liberally endow such an establishment in Toronto; but the promoters hampered it with such conditions that she transferred her support and influence to Kingston, where a college had been opened, which is in a flourishing condition. She has also been an earnest and successful worker in the cause of Temperance, having filled, at sundry time, the office of President, Vice-President, and Secretary of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. The subject of our sketch is to-day Vice-President for Canada of the Association for the Advancement of Women. She is a member of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church, is liberal in her principles and tolerant in her religious views. (Vol. II, p. 163)
W.W. TURNER, M.D., was born at Millbrook, Ontario, 1849, and is the eldest son of Charles Turner of that place. In early life he attended the Public and Grammar Schools at Brighton, Ontario, afterwards studying at Victoria University, receiving a diploma in 1867. He attended various hospitals in New York, and graduated from Bellevue Hospital College. Dr. Turner first commenced practice in Winnipeg in 1876, where he remained five years and during his residence performed some very skillful surgical operations which made him quite a celebrity. He settled in Parkdale in 1882, and has already a large and lucrative practice. He is on the medical staff of the Home for Incurables, and during the present year read a paper before the Ontario Medical Association which was received and commented on with favour. Dr. Turner married, in 1872, Julia Laughton, of Hamilton, by whom he has one daughter. (Vol. II, p. 164)
CHARLES K. UNWIN, Deputy Registrar of the County of York, is the son of Charles and Elizabeth Unwin, the former a native of England and latter of Irish descent. His father married after he came here in 1835. He was employed in the office of Mr. Samuel Ridout for about fifteen years, afterwards being connected with the Beaver Mutual Insurance Company. Charles K. was born in 1853 in this city, and has been connected with the Registry Office about six years. (Vol. II, p. 165)
PROFESSOR VERNOY, the founder and proprietor of the Electro-Therapeutic Institution, 197 Jarvis Street, Toronto, is a native of New York. He commenced the practice of electro-therapeutics in Pennsylvania in 1869, according to the new theory, as discovered and promulgated in that branch of science, proving it to be a success. In 1876 Professor Vernoy was induced to leave Philadelphia for Canada; he accordingly settled on Jarvis Street, Toronto, where he established himself as an electro-therapeutist. Since his arrival here the success attending the exercise of his profession in the new and wide field of the Dominion has been marvellous, and has won for him a wide reputation in the cure of nervous diseases and those not successfully dealt with by other means. This new system of treatment by the application of electricity is becoming more popular and interesting year by year, from the fact that well-attested evidence has shown that wonderful cures have been effected by its use when all other means have failed. In his paper, The Electric Age, Professor Vernoy records numerous testimonials (given for the purpose by individuals of unquestionable reputation in our midst) as to the saving of life and restoration to health by his new system of electro-therapeutic treatment. Many of those who have been thus benefited by him have expressed their willingness and desire to aid him in his endeavours to relieve suffering humanity; hence, in order to satisfy the enquiries of those who desire proof of his great success (by direct communication), a list of many important cases is recorded in his paper. Professor Vernoy’s Electro-Therapeutic Institution is situated on one of the finest and most beautiful streets in the city, within five minutes’ walk of the Post-office and the business centre, and can accommodate a limited number of patients, who are made to feel pleasantly at home, their comfort and convenience being consulted. In connection with his large experience and practice in the use of electricity, Professor Vernoy has devoted his attention to the production of a superior Electro-Medical Battery suited to all varieties of human temperament and the various classes of disease. This delicate instrument is so nicely arranged that individuals who cannot conveniently enter the Institution for treatment may, by obtaining one of them, take treatment at home successfully by following the instructions given. (Vol. II, p. 165)
JOHN JOSEPH VICKERS, proprietor of the celebrated Express Company of that name, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1818, being the second son of John and Hannah (Leeson) Vickers of that city. His father held a government position in the Treasury Department for many years, and his death occurred when John Joseph was but six years old. Our subject’s early education was acquired in Dublin, and when a young man he entered the service of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, and remained with them several years. In 1849 he went to New York, bearing introductory letters from James McHenry, Esq., of Liverpool, and entering the service of the Howard Steamship Company, he continued in their employ two years. In the meantime, having heard of the splendid agricultural prospects of Canada, young Vickers, who lacked neither energy nor ambition, determined to try his hand at farming, and, putting his resolution into effect, moved to the Bay of Quinte district and settled upon a farm in Prince Edward’s County. Two years’ practice as an amateur farmer convinced Mr. Vickers that rolling logs and growing buckwheat was more of a reality than he anticipated, hence he abandoned agriculture and left for Toronto. In 1852 he engaged with the American Express Company and continued in their service two years. On the completion of the Northern Railroad, he embarked in the express business on his own account, and by strict attention and great exertions he has developed his present extensive connection, a statistical account of which is given elsewhere in this volume. In 1859, in conjunction with others, Mr. Vickers visited the Lake Superior district in the first steamer (The Rescue) to Thunder Bay. He then noticed that the mouth of the Kaministiquia River would in the near future be a great harbour, and, acting on his own prophetic instincts, he purchased all the land obtainable in that region after its survey by the Government, and now owns nearly half of the navigable portion of the river frontage on the north side, the Canadian Pacific Railway running through the greater portion of his property. He owns about seven thousand acres, upon which are valuable mines of silver, slate and large quantities of fine sandstone. Since his settlement in Toronto he has taken an active interest in all that concerns the city’s welfare, and was elected alderman to represent St. George’s Ward in 1864, and remained in the Council until 1870. During the time he was a member of that body he proposed the resolution to construct the New Water Works, which was carried October 10, 1870. He is captain in the Sedentary Militia, having held a commission for many years. Mr. Vickers’ political opinions are strongly Conservative. In 1855 he married Catharine Mary, eldest daughter of the late John W. Dunbar Moodie, first Sheriff of Hastings County (her mother being Susanna Moodie, the eminent authoress, whose “Roughing it in the Bush” and other publications have contributed not a little to our national literature). The issue of this marriage are four sons and six daughters, all living; the eldest son, John A.D. Vickers, being active superintendent of the Express Company. William W. is a student at the University. Victor Gillmor Ridgeway is supposed to be the only boy born in Toronto the morning the Queen’s Own Rifles left for the frontier on the memorable First of June, 1866, at the time of the Fenian raid; the civic Council choosing the name in honour of the event and Colonel Gillmor acting as godfather. (Vol. II, p. 166)