THOMAS WINSLOW ANDERSON, retired, was born in the Township of York in 1809, being the son of Cornelius and Mary (Snider) Anderson. His father was born in Scotland, and came to America in 1754, when only two years old, in company with his mother and two brothers. In the year 1776 he joined the British Army under Colonel Allen and served through the whole campaign of the Revolutionary War, in which service he remained until disbanded in New Brunswick. He then came to York County in 1804, accompanied by his wife and family, consisting of nine children. He located on lot 11, concession I, York Township, where he resided until about 1835. During the War of 1812 he lost a horse which the Government had pressed into service, and it was not until some years afterwards that he received any compensation, and then only to the amount of $13. He died in 1848, aged ninety-six years, leaving a family of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. The subject of this sketch learned the watchmaking business with James McKenzie, with whom he served for four years. In 1832 he began business for himself, and continued it until 1854. In 1835 he married Jane Drummond, daughter of Colin Drummond, a native of Scotland and a member of the first corporation of York, by whom he had ten children. In 1869 he removed to a farm in the Township of York, where he now resides. Mr. Anderson is a Reformer in politics, and a Presbyterian in religion. (vol. II, p. 179)
W.C. ALISON was born at Pickering, Ontario, and came to York County in 1880, having accepted the position of foreman in the saw-mill of Mr. J.H. Taylor, the working capacity of which is twelve thousand feet of lumber per day, and gives employment to fourteen hands. (vol. II, p. 179)
JOSEPH ARMSTRONG, lot 3, concession 4, the eldest son of Edward Armstrong of this township, was born in 1837 on the old homestead, where he remained until 1868. He then settled on a farm which had previously been purchased by his father on lot 3, concession 4, containing sixty-two acres, which he has greatly improved and continues to cultivate. In 1861 he married Miss Eliza Porter, of York Township, who died in 1874, leaving six children. (vol. II, p. 180)
SAMUEL ARNOLD, proprietor of the brick works, Doncaster, is a native of Northamptonshire, England, and came to Canada in 1871. He learned his trade in England and afterwards worked about nine years in the English metropolis. On his arrival in Canada he worked for Pears, of Toronto, taking charge of the brick-machine. In 1877 he commenced to manufacture bricks on his own account near his present location. He employs ten hands and turns out about eight hundred thousand bricks per annum. (vol. II, p. 180)
THE ASHBRIDGE FAMILY were originally “Penn Quakers” and emigrated from England before the War of Independence, and settled in Philadelphia. After the close of the war, the father being dead, the mother and two sons, John and Jonathan, came to Canada. This was in 1793, and on arriving at York they stayed the first night in the old French fort, subsequently making their way to what is now known as “Ashbridge’s Bay”. Being U.E. Loyalists they drew land from the Crown and settled on lot 8, concession I, broken front east of the Don. John and Jonathan participated in the War of 1812 and the Rebellion of 1837-8, and died on the homestead on the shore of the Bay. Isaac Ashbridge, farmer, is the son of Jonathan mentioned above, and was born at the bay, February 17, 1811. When eight years of age he attended school in the old Simcoe house east of the Don, the teacher being Mr. Stark. Isaac remained at home with his parents until he was thirty-two years of age, his father dying two years later, in 1845. He married, in 1850, Ruth Auburn, a native of Northumberland, England. Mr. Ashbridge has been in the York Township Council two years. He is a Reformer in politics and was commissioned a Justice of the Peace, but did not qualify. He is a member of the Methodist Church. Jesse Ashbridge, deceased, youngest brother of Isaac, was born on the old home farm in 1825. He married, in 1864, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Rooney. His death occurred in 1874. (vol. II, p. 180)
MARK BARKER, deceased, was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1801, and in 1830 came to Canada and located in Little York, and engaged in farming. In 1834 he purchased one hundred acres on lot 5, concession 3, which he cleared and continued to cultivate until his death in 1869. He married Miss Ann Jaffrays, also from Lincolnshire, England, the result of this union being six children, four of whom are living and reside in the county. Mark, the eldest son living, was born on the old farm in 1843, where he has always remained, and which he is now in possession of. (vol. II, p. 180)
THOMAS BEATTY, retired, was born in New Brunswick in 1825, being the youngest in a family of five sons and two daughters, born to James and Margaret (Potter) Beatty. His father who was a farmer, came out to Canada in 1824; his mother was a native of Glasgow, Scotland. Both his parents returned to Ireland, where they died. Thomas Beatty came to Toronto in 1840, and worked on Jonathan Ashbridge’s farm for ten years. He then kept the Commercial Hotel on Jarvis Street for four years, and the Prospect Hotel for fourteen years, after which he retired. In 1865 he married Ella Winnett, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. Mr. Beatty is a generous and consistent member of the Methodist Church. (vol. II, p. 181)
JAMES BELL, deceased, was born in the County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1814, and at the age of twenty emigrated to Canada and settled in the Township of York. In 1833 he bought eighty acres of land on lots 23 and 24, concession 4, east of Yonge Street, which he cleared, improved and remained on until his death in 1860. He married in 1843 Miss Martha Cherry, by whom he had four children. John, the only surviving son, was born on the old homestead, which is now known as Clydesdale Farm, where he has always remained, and now owns, having added since his father’s death sixty acres on lot 25, concession 4; forty-five acres on lot 23, concession 3, and ninety acres in Markham Township, lot 16, concession 5; owning two hundred and seventy-five acres in all. In 1883 he married Miss Hannah Morgan, daughter of John Morgan, of Scarboro’. (vol. II, p. 181)
JAMES BEST was born in Berkshire, England, in 1807, where he learned the trade of carpenter, which he worked at until coming to Canada in 1850, and which he has also followed since his settlement here. In 1852 he purchased five acres on the Kingston Road, which he has continued to cultivate up to the present time. In 1842 he married Miss Helen Mills, of Surrey, England, by whom he has five children. (vol. II, p. 181)
ROBERT BOND, deceased, was born in Suffolk, England, in 1778, where he remained until 1829. He then emigrated to Canada, and first located in the Township of East York. In 1826 he purchased one hundred acres of unenclosed land which he fenced and improved until his death in 1852. Mr. Bond married Miss Mary Palmer, a native of the same place, by whom he had six children. Thomas Bond was born in England in 1817, and came to Canada with his father, and has always remained on the old homestead, which he now owns. In 1854 he married Miss Mary Manning, by whom he had four children, three of whom are living in the county. (vol. II, p. 181)
FRANK BOSTON was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1847, and came to Canada in the spring of 1869. He has been a resident of Ben Lamond since 1871, and was first in the employment of the Toronto Gravel and Concrete Company as manager, in which capacity he superintended the construction of the tramway. In 1872 he married Miss Maggie Flynn, of Portland, Maine, by whom he had four children. In 1877 he erected a store and boarding establishment on his present location, which was burned down in the beginning of 1884. He now does a large bakery trade. (vol. II, p. 182)
THOMAS BOTHAN was born in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in 1809, and in 1836 emigrated to Canada, and first settled near Brampton. In 1874 he purchased fifty acres of land in McGillivray Township, Middlesex County, and afterwards two hundred acres near Mimico Station, which eventually was bought by the Government. In 1872 he purchased his present property containing one hundred acres on lot 12, concession I, where he continues to reside. In 1833 he married Miss Eliza Stott, who is a native of Yorkshire, England, by whom he has five children, four of whom are living in this county. George, the youngest son was born in 1857, and lives on the old homestead with his father. In 1878 he married Miss Catharine Smith, daughter of William Smith, by whom he has one son. (vol. II, p. 182)
JOSEPH BRAUN, proprietor of the Woodbine Hotel, his occupancy of which commenced with the beginning of 1884, came from England in 1883. The hotel is beautifully situated, and commands a fine view of Toronto and Lake Ontario, and comfortably accommodates upwards of thirty guests. A tram car passes every half hour, by means of which passengers may reach the city in twenty minutes. Mr. Braun is well acquainted with the hotel business, his wife having had charge of four refreshment rooms on the London and North-Western Railway, England. (vol. II, p. 182)
WILLIAM H. BROTHERSTON is the only son of William Brotherston, deceased, who was born in Scotland in 1813, and came to Canada in 1832. He settled in Toronto, and engaged in the trade of a blacksmith, his shop being located at the foot of Church Street, where he conducted one of the largest establishments of that kind in the city up to 1879. He married Miss Isabel Murray, of Caithness, Scotland, by whom he had four children, two sons and two daughters, of whom only three are living, one daughter having died. William H. was born in Toronto in 1848, and has always been a resident of the county. Having learned the trade of blacksmith from his father he opened a shop at Little York, where he carries on a general trade including carriage-making. In 1878 he married Miss Emily Newman, of St. Catharines, who died three years afterwards. His second wife was Miss Ellen McGill, daughter of William McGill, of Toronto Township. (vol. II, p. 182)
JAMES BROWN, deceased, was born in Cumberland, England, in 1801. In 1819 he enlisted in the 34th Light Infantry, which came to Canada in 1834, and took part in the Rebellion three years later. In 1843 Mr. Brown received his discharge, and commenced working at his trade of tailor, which he followed until his death. His wife was Amelia Batchelor, to whom he was married in 1823, and who still survives him. James, the youngest son by the marriage, was born in 1846, on the old homestead in Eglinton, which he now owns, and where he still resides. Mr. Brown has held the office of County Constable since 1869. In 1874 he married Miss Lottie Ely, daughter of John Ely, of Ingersoll, by whom he has one son and one daughter. (vol. II, p. 183)
WILLIAM BRUNSKILL, proprietor of the Davisville Hotel, was born in York County, his father, John Brunskill, being a native of England who emigrated to Canada at an early day. He settled in Thornhill, and carried on the business of merchant, miller and farmer, to the time of his death, which occurred in 1870. William followed his father’s business of farmer, and in addition ran a line of busses from Eglinton to Toronto, he being the first to commence running on that route. In 1877 he leased and took possession of his present place of business, since purchasing the same, which in his hands loses nothing as a suitable suburban resort. (vol. II, p. 183)
THOMAS BURKE, deceased, was born in the County of Wexford, Ireland, in 1780. In 1817 he emigrated to Canada and first located in Perth, Lanark County, where he remained seven years, subsequently coming to York and settling on one hundred acres of land, which he had purchased, together with an additional one hundred acres given him by his father, on lots 3 and 5, concession 3, which he cleared and contined to cultivate until his death in 1841. About the year 1800 he married Miss Ann Wheelock, of County Wexford, Ireland, by whom he had six children, four of whom are living. John, the eldest son, was born in Wexford in 1811, and came to this country with his parents, since which time he has been a resident of York, and owns one hundred acres on lot 2, and one hundred acres on lot 3, concession 2. (vol. II, p. 183)
HENRY CALANDER, the subject of this sketch, was born in Scarboro’ Township, and has always been a resident of the county. He has been proprietor of the Calander Hotel, Leslieville, for twelve years, previous to which he was engaged in farming at Scarboro’. Mr. Calander is the son of the late John Calander, who came to Canada in 1812. In 1862 he married Miss Jane Weaymouth, of Willmouth, by whom he has seven children. His hotel property has a frontage of one hundred and fifty feet by five hundred feet, and has accommodation for forty guests, and has one of the best stables on the Kingston Road. (vol. II, p. 184)
GEORGE COOPER, deceased, was born in England in 1841. In 1846 he came to Canada, and in 1861 began gardening, purchasing seven acres on Pape’s Avenue, where he remained until his death in 1878, since which time his business has been carried on by his widow. In 1861 he married Miss Catharine Manus, by whom he had seven children. (vol. II, p. 184)
RICHARD C. COSBURN is a native of London, England, where he was born in 1834. In 1857 he emigrated to Canada, and first located on Kingston Road, York Township, where he followed the trade of carpenter, also gardener. In 1872 he purchased twelve acres on lot 8, concession 2, which he has very much improved, and at the present time does a considerable trade in market gardening, and growing small fruits. He married in 1857 Miss Louisa Palmer. (vol. II, p. 184)
GEORGE COULSON is the third son of John Coulson, and old resident of this township, and was born on the old homestead in 1850, where he remained until 1878, afterwards settling on lot 3, concession 3, his farm consisting of one hundred acres. In 1878 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Jesse Henry, of Scarboro’, by whom he has two daughters and one son. (vol. II, p. 184)
GEORGE CUDMORE, deceased, was born in Devonshire, England, in 1806, and in 1842 emigrated to Canada and took up his residence in the Township of East York, where he remained until his death in 1883. Soon after his arrival he commenced gardening in a small way, subsequently buying a farm on lot 11, concession 3, where he carried on that business until his death. In 1835 he married Miss Eleanor Rudd, of England, by whom he had twelve children, three of whom are living. John Cudmore, the second son, was born in England in 1839, and came to Canada with his parents. In 1860 he purchased a farm on lot 15, concession 2, on which he has carried on a successful gardening business, cultivating upwards of forty acres in vegetables, etc. In 1860 Mr. Cudmore married Miss Elizabeth Brown, daughter of John Brown, of York Township, by whom he had seven children, six of whom are living. (vol. II, p. 184)