GEORGE DIGBY, harness manufacturer and proprietor of the Coleman Hotel, Little York. Mr. Digby has been engaged in the manufacture of harness in York County for the last twenty years. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to Canada in 1852 and located in Toronto, subsequently removing to Markham, where he stayed fifteen years. He again returned to the city and, after a prolonged residence there, came to his present location in 1884. In 1868 he married Miss Mary Jane Wilson, by whom he has five children. (vol. II, p. 185)
JOHN DOEL, deceased, was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1790, where he remained until 1817. He then determined to seek his fortune in the New World, and accordingly sailed for Philadelphia, U.S., in which city he remained about one year. He then decided to come to Canada, a journey which took him above a month, landing in LIttle York, November 5, 1818. Soon after his arrival here he engaged in the brewing business on Sherbourne Street, then known as Caroline Street; subsequently conducting his trade on Adelaide and Bay Streets until the burning of his brewery in 1847, when he retired into private life; his death occurred in 1871, his wife following him a year later. From 1825 to 1830 Mr. Doel was the only letter carrier in Little York. He was a Justice of the Peace for many years. In 1815 he married Miss Huntly, of Wiltshire, England, by whom he had six children four of whom are still living, viz., the Rev. John Doel, of Yorkville; Hester Ann, the widow of the late John W. Drummond, J.P.; Elizabeth, widow of the late Rev. William Price, and William Henry. In religion Mr. Doel was an active and prominent member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. In politics he was a Reformer, and during the troubles of 1837 suffered with many others for his political principles, he having been twice imprisoned during that memorable winter. William Henry Doel was born in Little York in 1827, being the second son of the above. He was educated at Upper Canada College, and served his apprenticeship as an apothecary under Francis Richardson, after which he carried on the drug business both in Toronto and Whitby. On the commencement of the Civil War in the States Mr. Doel entered the service of the United States Government in connection with the Medical Department, and continued until the close of the war, then taking up his residence in Philadelphia, where he remained until 1870. He returned to Toronto and resided in the city two years, afterwards removing to his present residence on Broadview Avenue. In 1852 Mr. Doel married Miss Jane Huntly, of Philadelphia, by whom he has three children living. Mr. Doel has filled various public positions, having been a License Commissioner for East York a number of Years. He was President of the Reform Association for his district, and has been a Justice of the Peace since 1877. He was one of the promoters of the Industrial Exhibition Association of Toronto, of which society he has been an active director since its inception. (vol. II, p. 185)
DOUGHTY BROS., proprietors of brick-yard, Doncaster. This firm is composed of I.H. and R.A. Doughty, natives of Toronto and sons of Richard Doughty, and Englishman by birth, who came to Canada at an early day. During his lifetime he carried on the business of builder and contractor. Previous to 1881 the brothers were engaged in a different business, I.H. following his father’s trade, and R.A. conducting a pork-packing business. The present business was established in 1881, and now employs about ten men, and the annual output is from seven hundred thousand to one million machine stock. They use a Fowmley machine. (vol. II, p. 186)
JOHN DOUGLAS, deceased, was born in Ireland in 1804 and came to Canada in 1831, and settled in Toronto, where he resided up to the time of his death in 1869. He had six children, four of whom are living. William, the eldest son, was born on York Street, Toronto, in 1834, and remained in the city up to 1855. He then moved to Eglinton and engaged in the carriage business, which he still continues to carry on. In 1855 he married Miss Eliza Gillespie, of Yorkville, by whom he has four children. (vol. II, p. 186)
DAVID DUNCAN is the third son of Wm. Duncan, and was born on the old homestead in 1837. In 1864 he settled on a farm which had been previously purchased by his father, being lot 11, concession 3, where he owns two hundred and fifty acres. In 1873 he married Miss Anne Laird, daughter of Hugh and Ellen Laird, by whom he has two sons and one daughter. (vol. II, p. 186)
HENRY DUNCAN, Reeve of the Township of York, is the eldest son of William Duncan. He was born on the old homestead in 1833, where he remained until twenty-seven years of age, afterwards settling on a farm previously purchased by his father, containing two hundred acres, being lot 10, concession 3, which he has very much improved and still resides on. In 1861 Mr. Duncan married Miss Betsy J. McGinn, daughter of Charles McGinn, who came to the Township of York in 1812. Mr. Duncan’s family consists of six children. He has always taken a deep interest in the affairs of the township and was elected to the Council in 1870, and from 1871 to 1878 was Deputy-Reeve, and in 1879 was elected Reeve, being in the Township Council fourteen years. (vol. II, p. 186)
JUSTUS DUNN is a native of the State of New Jersey, where he was born in 1813. In 1862 he came to Toronto and first engaged in the wholesale fruit trade, being one of the first engaged in that industry, which he carried on for nine years. He purchased twelve acres on Queen Street East extension, where he engaged largely in the growth of small fruits. In 1836 Mr. Dunn married Miss Barbara Ann Mackie, of Niagara County, New York State, by whom he had seven children, three of whom are living in Canada. Mr. Dunn is now cultivating six acres, growing small fruits. (vol. II, p. 187)
THOMAS ELGIE, deceased, was born in Durham, England, in 1816, and emigrated to Canada in 1841, taking up his abode in Toronto. He engaged in farming for about four months, after which he opened the celebrated Bay Horse Hotel, conducting the same for about seven years. He then gave up the hotel business and purchased about two hundred acres of land on lot 15, concession 2, which he improved and cultivated up to the time of his death in 1880. In 1842 he married Miss Elizabeth Cook, who died in 1848, taking for his second wife Miss Elizabeth Beckwith, daughter of George Beckwith, by whom he had ten children, only four of whom are living. (vol. II, p. 187)
G. EMPRINGHAM, of Little York, was born in England in 1837, where he remained until 1851, in which year he came to Canada with his father, Wm. Empringham, and settled in the Township of York, where he was engaged in farming until 1881. Since that time he has been engaged in the hotel business. In 1862 he married Miss Mary Ormerod, of Scarborough. (vol. II, p. 187)
DANIEL FITZGERALD, deceased, was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1804. In 1825 he emigrated to New York State and settled in Cape Vincent, where he remained until 1843. He then came to Canada and settled in the Township of York, on lot 5, concession 2, having purchased one hundred acres of land, on which he lived until his death in 1844. His wife was Rebecca Noble, a native of New York State, by whom he had four children. Joseph, the youngest, was born in New York State in 1839 and came to Toronto with his parents. In 1864 he went to Lambton County, where he stayed until 1871, and returning to York purchased the old homestead, which he now owns. In 1861 he married Miss Catharine Gorman, by whom he has ten children. Lewis F., the eldest son of Daniel Fitzgerald, was born in 1837 in the State of New York, and came to Canada with his father and lived on the old homestead. He purchased fifteen acres on lot 8, concession 2, to which he has since added ten acres, which is devoted to gardening and fruit growing. In 1856 he married Miss Ellen Daily, of York Township, by whom he has eight children. (vol. II, p. 187)
WILLIAM GALLOW, deceased, was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1807, and in 1857 emigrated to Canada, settling in Toronto, where he engaged in gardening, which industry he has continuously carried on. In 1861 he purchased a farm on the Don and Danforth Road, which he cleared and cultivated, doing the largest gardening business in the district, until the time of his death, which occurred January 8, 1885. In 1833 he married Miss Grace Reid, by whom he had nine children, six of whom are living. (vol. II, p. 188)
ROBERT GOODINGS, proprietor of brick-yard, Doncaster, was born at Windermere, a village in the Lake District of England, being on the shores of a romantically situated lake from which the village takes its name. He came to Canada in 1873, and having previously learned brick-making he followed the same occupation on his arrival here. In 1870 he commenced on his own account at his present location, where he does an extensive trade, manufacturing between eight hundred thousand and one million bricks annually and employs from eight to ten workmen. (vol. II, p. 188)
ALEXANDER GRAY was born in Scotland in 1804 and came to Canada in 1820, locating with his brothers William and James on lot 19, concession 3, where they erected a grist and saw-mills, the property now belonging to the subject of this sketch. Mr. Gray married, in 1835, Miss Marion McLean, daughter of John McLean, of Wellington County, who died during 1883, leaving a family of six children. James Gray, the only son of James, deceased brother of Alexander Gray, was born on the old homestead and now owns the west half of lot 9. (vol. II, p. 188)
THOMAS S. GRAY, the eldest son of Alexander Gray, was born on the old homestead in 1836. In 1863 he settled on lot 10, concession 2, where he has eighty-six acres. In 1873 he married Miss Mary N. Bonoby, by whom he has four children. (vol. II, p. 188)
WILLIAM GRAY was born in Renfrewshire, Scotland, in 1802, and in 1823 emigrated to Canada, and in conjunction with his brother located on lot 9, concession 3, Township of York, erecting theron a saw and grist-mill. Since 1854 Mr. Gray has had exclusive control of the grist-mill property, where he still carries on a good custom trade. In 1840 Mr. Gray married Miss Phoebe Street, a daughter of Timothy Street; she died in 1878, leaving six sons and four daughters. (vol. II, p. 189)
R. GREENWOOD, fruit-grower, Kingston Road, is a native of England and came to Canada in 1874. He has now under cultivation some thirty acres of land devoted to the growth of strawberries, raspberries, apples, currants and other fruits, all of which find a ready sale in the Toronto market. (vol. II, p. 189)
HALLAT BROTHERS, glue and oil manufacturers, Doncaster. This firm consists of Vincent and J.S. Hallat, who are the sons of Joseph E. Hallat, a native of Cornwall, England, who emigrated to Canada in 1851, and was engaged in the wool business for many years. Messrs. Hallat Brothers built their extensive manufactory in 1879-80; the dimensions of the main building being 42 x 22 feet and four storeys high, with the annexes – one of two storeys, 36 x 16 feet; one of one storey, 72 x 14 feet; one of two storeys, 42 x 60 feet, and boiler-room, 30 x 12 feet, with an engine fifteen horse-power, the boilers having a capacity of fifty horse-power. The business turn-over is annually from fifty thousand to sixty thousand dollars. (vol. II, p. 189)
W. HARRIS & Co. This firm is composed of William and John B. Harris, who established their business in 1870 on Kingston Road, afterwards removing to Pape’s Avenue, where they are now engaged in the manufacture of sausage and bologna casings, fertilizers and fertilizer materials, animal oils, etc. They also do an extensive trade as stock dealers, handling horses, cattle, milch cows, hogs, etc. William Harris was born in England in 1848 and came to Canada in 1870. John B. was born in 1856 and came to Canada in 1872, and engaged in business in London, Ontario, until 1882. (vol. II, p. 189)
WILLIAM HARRISON, deceased, was born in Nova Scotia in 1784, and came to Canada and settled in the County of York in 1797. He took up lots 12 and 13, concession 2, East York, consisting of three hundred acres, which he partially cleared before his death, in 1838. In 1813 he married Miss Elizabeth Wright, daughter of Archibald Wright, of this township, by whom he had eleven children, seven of whom are yet living. In the War of 1812 Mr. Harrison took a prominent part, and received a medal for services rendered at Queenston Heights. William Harrison, the third son of the above, was born on the old homestead in 1820, where he has always remained; he now owns one hundred acres on lot 13, fifty acres on lot 12 and sixty on lot 11. In 1848 he married Miss Susan Brooks, daughter of Edward Brooks, of Scarboro’ Township, by whom he has four children. Christopher, the youngest son of William Harrison, deceased, was born on the old homestead in 1829, where he has continued to live and of which he now owns two hundred acres. In 1860 he married Miss Catharine, daughter of Thomas Shepherd, by whom he has six children. (vol. II, p. 190)
THOMAS HASTINGS, retired, was born in the Township of Whitchurch in 1808. His father, Nathaniel Hastings, came from Massachusetts in 1796. He drew two hundred acres of land at Hogg’s Hollow, but finally settled on Yonge Street, in Whitchurch Township, on a farm of two hundred acres, where Thomas was born. He afterwards removed to lot 10, concession 1 from the bay, Township of York, where he died in 1833, leaving a family of twelve children, of whom four are now living. He served in the War of 1812 and was taken prisoner at the capitulation of York. Thomas Hastings’ mother was a Miss Webster, of English descent; she died in 1847. The subject of this sketch learned the trade of an axe-maker in Toronto, serving three years. He afterwards worked in Rochester, New York, for one year, at the end of which time he returned to Canada and engaged in business for himself at Cobourg. In 1832 he commenced farming in the Township of York. He next went to Orleans County, New York, where he engaged in farming for four years, and to Cleveland, where for six years he worked at his trade. In 1847 he returned to Canada and settled in the Township of York. In 1834 Mr. Hastings was married to Elizabeth, second daughter of John Becket. He has one son now living in Toronto and engaged in the brewing business. (vol. II, p. 190)
THOMAS HELLIWELL, deceased, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1796, and emigrated to Canada in 1818, first settling near Niagara Falls, and coming to Toronto two years later. He engaged in the brewing and milling business on the Don at Todmorden, afterwards devoting his time to improving his property in that section. He died in 1862. Mr. Helliwell married Miss Mary Wilson, who died in 1832. He married a second time, his wife being Miss Ann Ashworth, of Lincolnshire, England. He had six children by his first wife, and seven by his second. W.P. Helliwell, the youngest son of his first wife, was born in Toronto in 1831, and has continued a resident of the county. In 1866 Mr. Helliwell removed to his present home on lot 12, concession 2, where he has been largely engaged in farming. In 1865 he married Miss Sophia Wood, by whom he has nine children. (vol. II, p. 190)
SAMUEL HILL, farmer, was born in the County of Wexford, Ireland, in 1815. His parents were John and Ann (Wright) Hill. In 1840 having learned the trade of a tanner and currier, he came to Canada and located at St. David’s, near Niagara, where he worked at his trade. In the following year he came to Toronto and worked at Smith’s tannery; he afterwards carried on a tanning business for himself, finally giving it up to engage in farming on lot 2, concession 1, York Township. He has also been largely interested in the ice business, having been proprietor of the Ontario Ice Company for several years. In 1850, he married a daughter of John Ashbridge, who settled near the bay, which now bears his name, in 1794. In religion Mr. Hill is an active member of the Methodist Church; in politics he is a Conservative. (vol. II, p. 191)
JOHN HOGG, deceased, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1795, and in 1835 emigrated to Canada and located on lot 7, concession 3, East York, where he purchased fifty acres of bush land, subsequently adding fifty acres more, on which he lived until his death in 1879. In 1820 he married Miss Janet Hogg, of Scotland, by whom he had eleven children, six of whom are still living. Robert, the youngest but one, was born on Yonge Street in 1835, and has always lived on the old homestead, half of which he now owns. In 1866 he married Miss Margaret Thompson Young, daughter of James Young, by whom he has nine children. (vol. II, p. 191)
THOMAS HUMBERSTONE, sen’r, deceased, was the only child of Samuel Humberstone, an Englishman, who learned his trade, the manufacture of pottery, in Staffordshire, and came to America with his wife, and settled in the British Province of Pennsylvia, now called Pennsylvania, where their son Thomas, was born in 1766, at Philadelphia. After the war by which the Americans gained their Independence they, with other U.E. Loyalists, left the United States and came to Montreal, where they resided for some time, having received a grant of one thousand acres of land for services rendered to the British during the American Revolution. Subsequently they removed to Swagorche, near Brockville, on the St. Lawrence, where the father carried on the manufacture of pottery, Thomas acquiring a knowledge of the trade. In 1798 he came to York, and located on lot 14, west of Yonge Street, taking up two hundred acres of land, which he cleared and fenced, erecting a pottery thereon, the first of its kind in York County. In 1800 he married Miss Harrison, by whom he had ten children, one of whom met with a tragical death. The following is an extract from the paper published at that time: “Died, on Saturday, 22nd February, 1822, Elizabeth Humberstone, aged fifteen years, from the effects of a mortal wound received by using an old gun-barrel to turn the back-log in the house of her uncle, Francis Lee, at Talbot Settlement, in the Township of Oxford.” It was an old gun-barrel found in the field, the wood having rotted away. For his services in the War of 1812, he drew a pension, a captain’s half-pay, also five hundred acres of land in Tecumseth, when Sir Peregrine Maitland, K.C.B., was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and he also received a medal in memory of the capture of Detroit. He belonged to the Third Regiment of Incorporated Militia, and was taken prisoner of war by the Americans and sent to Greenbush, October 11, 1813, where he was let out on parole until exchanged after being kept as hostage. He served under General Brock, and when the latter fell mortally wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights, he helped to carry him off the battle field, and the General’s words to the others were “If I die, remember Humberstone, remember Humberstone.” He was a Freemason, and helped to build the first Masonic Hall in Toronto. Morgan and his wife boarded at his house when they first came to Canada. Some time after leaving there Morgan published an exposition of Freemasonry. Mr. Humberstone, sen’r, died in 1849, on lot 24, West York, aged seventy-three years. Thomas Humberstone, jun’r, the second son of the above, was born in 1811, on the old homestead, where he remained until 1833, following the same trade as his father and grandfather, subsequently carrying on a pottery at York Mills. He then returned to the northern part of the township and established a pottery, which, with the house and barn, was reduced to ashes by fire; he rebuilt, suffered from fire again, rebuilt a second time; moved to the other side of Yonge Street and built again, which was also destroyed by fire, again he rebuilt and continued in the business until he retired in favour of his second son, Simon Thomas, who now carries on the trade of his forefathers, having erected a large pottery on the site of the place where his father was first burnt out. There was no insurance whatever on any of the buildings that were destroyed by fire. After various properties passing through his hands, he moved to lot 8, East York, where he is now engaged in farming. On the 1st January, 1835, he was married by the Rev. Mr. Jenkins, Markham, to Miss Sarah Wilson, second daughter of John Wilson, of Markham Township, formerly of Tyrone, Ireland, by whom he has eight children. Two of his children are in the North-West, one died in the States, the other five are a present in York County. Last New Year’s day, 1885, was the fiftieth anniversary of his wedded life. (vol. II, p. 191)
JAMES HUNTER, deceased, was born in Ireland, 1790, and in 1815 emigrated to New York, where he stayed two years previous to taking up his residence in this city. He was a tailor by trade, and conducted a merchant tailoring establishment on Yonge Street up to 1835. He then purchased three hundred acres of land on lots 11, 12 and 13, concession 3, and carried on a general lumbering business up to the time of his death, in 1876. He married Miss Mary Nail, of England, who died in 1844, leaving a family of eight children, five of whom are still living. Alexander, the second son, was born in Toronto in 1824, and early learned the trade of a carpenter, and for many years carried on a building business in that city. He retired in 1865, and now lives on the old homestead. He married Margaret Elliott, of York, by whom he has three children. Edward was born on the old homestead in 1826, and carried on the lumbering business established by his father. (vol. II, p. 193)
ROBERT ARCHIBALD HUNTER was born in Scotland in 1833, and in 1852 emigrated to the United States, remaining there two years, afterwards coming to Canada and locating in the Township of Scarboro’, where he engaged in farming. In 1857 he purchased twenty-five acres on lot 2, concession 4, East York, to which he subsequently added another fifty acres, his farm being one of the finest in the township. In 1880 he bought one hundred acres in the Township of Scarboro’, which he still owns and which is attended to by his son. In 1855 he married Maria, daughter of Mark Parker, by whom he has eight children. (vol. II, p. 193)
JOSHUA INGHAM was born in Lancashire, England, in 1833, where he remained until 1862. He then emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, where he has since been a resident. He first opened a market on Yonge Street, which he continued for a short time, after which he engaged in buying and exporting largely both cattle and sheep. He was one of the well-known firm of Crawford & Company, cattle dealers, looking after the company’s interests in England, and doing all the receiving and selling of stock. This firm exported over six hundred head of cattle monthly. In 1855 Mr. Ingham married Miss Harriet Axon, of Cheshire, England, by whom he had seven children. Mr. Ingham resides on the Don Mill Road, Chester Village. (vol. II, p. 193)
WILLIAM JACKES, Eglinton, was born in little York in 1827. His parents (Franklin Jackes and Catharine Gibson) came from England in 1824, and were married the following year. Franklin Jackes, who was a baker by trade, carried on his business in York until 1836, when he removed to Eglinton where he died in 1852, aged forty-eight years. His mother is still living and is seventy-seven years of age. Mr. Jackes, sen’r, was one of the Aldermen of Toronto, and after he removed to Eglinton became Reeve of York Township and Warden of the county. He was commissioned a Justice of the Peace in 1837. William Jackes spent his early life in Toronto, and in 1835 went to Eglinton with his father. He now owns the farm, lot 2, concession 1, which his father purchased. He was for some years a member of the Township Council, and is now Treasurer of the Township. In 1869 he was commissioned a magistrate. He is also a member of the Agricultural Society. In politics he is a Reformer. Mr. Jackes was married in 1857 to Henrietta, daughter of Robert Jones. (vol. II, p. 194)