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• Honourable Alexander Grant 1734-1813, The
  Alexander Grant, son of the seventh Laird of Glenmoriston, was born in Inverness- Shire, Scotland. During the Seven Years' War he served with the Montgomery's Highlanders, eventually commanding a sloop on Lake Champlain. In 1776, Grant became Commander of the Great Lakes. This appointment, reduced to Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan in 1778, he held until 1812. With an estate at Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Grant served on the Land Board of the District of Hesse...

• William Dummer Powell 1755-1834
  The first professionally trained lawyer appointed a judge in what is now Ontario, Powell was born in Boston and educated abroad. He opened a legal practice in Montreal in 1779 and quickly gained a reputation as a brilliant advocate able to conduct cases in French and English. Powell was appointed sole presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas here in the District of Hesse in 1789. When the district courts were abolished five years...

• Lieutenant-Colonel William Caldwell
  Born about 1750 in Fermanagh County, Ireland, Caldwell emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1773. During the American Revolution, he served with the British forces as a captain in Butler's Rangers at Niagara and Detroit. In 1784, he obtained land near the mouth of the Detroit River and became one of the area's earliest settlers. Caldwell's exceptional influence with the local Indians enabled him to obtain control of some 11,000 additional acres on the north shore of...

• Jack Miner 1865-1944
  A noted naturalist, John Thomas Miner was born in Dover Centre, Ohio, and in 1878 settled on this property. In 1904, he established this world-famous bird sanctuary primarily for the conservation for migrating Canada Geese and ducks. Five years later, he began banding waterfowl to determine their subsequent movements. During his life, Miner lectured extensively throughout North America on wildlife conservation. To perpetuate his work, the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation was incorporated in the...

• Lieutenant Charles Davidson Dunbar, D.C.M. 1870-1939
  An internationally renowned piper, Dunbar was born in Halkirk, Scotland. In 1886 he joined the British army, embarking upon a distinguished career as a military piper. During the Boer War, Dunbar was wounded while piping troops into battle. For his gallantry he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. In 1911 he emigrated to Hamilton where he soon joined the 91st (later the Argyll and Sutherland) Highlanders. As pipe-major of the 19th Battalion, he saw action...

• George Hamilton 1787-1836
  Born at Queenston, George Hamilton was the son of a prosperous merchant, the Hon. Robert Hamilton. He followed his father's career as a merchant in the Niagara District until the War of 1812, in which he served as a Captain of Light Dragoons. In 1815 Hamilton acquired land here at the Head of the Lake, laid out a village plot and sold lots. When the settlement was chosen as the administrative centre of the Gore...

• Thomas Baker McQuesten 1882-1948
  Over a 30-year career, Hamilton lawyer and politician Thomas Baker McQuesten presided over a remarkable array of public works and beautification projects. Starting in his hometown of Hamilton, McQuesten led multiple park development projects — including Gage Park, the Sunken Garden at McMaster University (which he helped bring to Hamilton) and Royal Botanical Gardens, which he saw as his legacy. Appointed provincial Minister of Public Works and Highways in 1934, in less than a decade...

• Horatio George Summers 1865-1941
  Comedian, actor and theatrical manager, George Summers established the Mountain Park Theatre here in 1902. It was one of the earliest theatres of its kind in Ontario. For twelve successful seasons, "Geo. H. Summers Theatrical Enterprises" performed in Hamilton in the summer and toured during the winter. Most of the repertoire was popular melodrama, much of it written by Summers himself. On stage, he was particularly renowned for his portrayal of Rip Van Winkle. After...

• Froome and Field Talfourd
  Froome (1807-1902) and Field (1815-74) Talfourd emigrated from England in 1832, and in the following year took up adjoining lots here in Moore Township. Froome had previously served in H.M.S. Ariadne under Captain Frederick Marryat, the author. Field soon moved to the United States, then back to England, where he became an accomplished portraitist. Froome purchased his brother's lot and laid out the townplot of "Froomefield" on the combined property in 1836. He later became...

• Josiah Blackburn 1823-1890
  The son of a Congregationalist minister, Blackburn was born in London, England. After some experience in journalism, he immigrated to Canada West (now Ontario) in 1850 and joined the staff of The Star in Paris. Two years later he purchased a small London weekly, The Canadian Free Press, from its founder, William Sutherland. Blackburn's keen business sense and flair for political writing made this newspaper a success. In 1855, he began a daily, The London...

• Harold A. Rogers, OBE, O.C.
  The founder of Kinsmen & Kinette Clubs of Canada was born and raised at 324 Dundas Street, directly across from the armouries. Seeking the camaraderie he had experienced in the army during the First World War, "Hal" Rogers began the first Kinsmen club in Hamilton in 1920. Under his guidance other clubs soon formed, each dedicated to "serving the community's greatest need." Ongoing contributions from women prompted the formation of the Kinettes in 1942. During...

• Gideon Tiffany 1774-1854
  A native of New Hampshire who had come to Niagara in 1794, Tiffany was appointed King's Printer and published the official "Upper Canada Gazette" until 1797. He was not a Loyalist and the government, concerned by his American background, forced his resignation. In 1799, he and his brother Silvester founded at Niagara this province's first independent newspaper, the "Canada Constellation". When it failed in 1800, Gideon moved to Delaware where, with Moses Brigham and another...

• Honourable Edward Blake 1833-1912, The
  Born near Strathroy of Irish parents, Blake, a distinguished lawyer and brilliant orator, was elected in 1867 both to the Canadian parliament for West Durham and to the Ontario legislature for South Bruce. After serving as leader of the Liberal opposition in the provincial house, he became Ontario's second prime minister in 1871, but resigned his provincial seat the following year. Blake served as federal minister of justice in Alexander Mackenzie's cabinet and was recognized...

• William Pope 1811-1902
  William Pope grew up in the lush countryside of southern England and studied painting at the Academy of Art, London. Reports of abundant wildlife drew the keen sportsman and naturalist to Upper Canada in 1834. After three extended visits, he settled permanently with his family near Port Ryerse in 1859. Financially independent, Pope spent his days hunting, sketching and painting the local flora and fauna. His watercolours of birds are compared to those of John...

• Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Whiteside Boyle, D.S.O. 1867-1923
  A legendary adventurer known as "Klondike Joe", Boyle was born in Toronto and came to Woodstock with his family in 1872. He worked at various jobs before attaining great success as a prospector and entrepreneur in the Yukon. At the outbreak of the First World War, Boyle raised, financed and equipped a fifty-man machine gun contingent. Determined to help the war effort further, he headed an allied mission to Russia in 1917 to help reorganize...

• Honourable James Young 1835-1913, The
  Born in Galt, Young was educated locally, and from 1853-63 was editor and publisher of the Dumfries Reformer. From 1867-78 he represented South Waterloo in the Canadian parliament, and from 1879-86 was member for North Brant in the Ontario legislature. Appointed provincial treasurer in 1883, he was compelled by illness to resign the post four months later, though he remained a member until 1886. A frequent speaker and writer on commercial affairs, Young was also...

• James Morrison 1861-1936
  J.J. Morrison, an influential activist in farmers' causes, lived on a farm 2 km south of Arthur. He entered politics in the early 1900s, a time when many farmers felt ignored in an increasingly urban and industrial society. Morrison became deeply involved in farm organizations and helped found the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) and the United Farmers' Cooperative in 1914. The UFO surprised the province by winning the election of 1919. Morrison declined the...

• John McIntosh 1777-1846
  McIntosh's parents emigrated from Inverness, Scotland to the Mohawk Valley, N.Y., and John moved to Upper Canada in 1796. In 1811 he acquired a farm near this site, and while clearing the land of second growth discovered several apple seedlings. He transplanted these, and one bore the superior fruit which became famous as the McIntosh Red apple. John's son Allan established a nursery and promoted this new species extensively. It was widely acclaimed in Ontario...

• Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada
  On March 14, 1793 Chloe Cooley, an enslaved Black woman in Queenston, was bound, thrown in a boat and sold across the river to a new owner in the United States. Her screams and violent resistance were witnessed by a neighbour, William Grisley, who informed Peter Martin, a free Black and former soldier in Butler's Rangers. They brought the incident to the attention of Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe who immediately moved to abolish slavery...

• The Honourable George Alexander Drew, C.C. 1894-1973
  George Alexander Drew, Premier of Ontario from 1943-1948, was born in Guelph, Ontario in 1894. Educated at Upper Canada College, the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall, Drew served in the First World War as an artillery lieutenant. He practised law in Guelph, entered municipal politics there in 1922 and became mayor in 1925. Drew was the first chair of the Ontario Securities Commission (1931-1934). Chosen as leader of the Ontario Conservative Party in 1938...

• Honourable George Stewart Henry 1871-1958, The
  Ontario's tenth prime minister was born in King Township but throughout his life farmed on this property. From 1903 to 1910, as York Township councillor and reeve and warden of York County, he promoted the cause of good roads and formation of a Metropolitan Toronto government. In 1913, he was elected to the Ontario legislature as Conservative member for East York. In 1918 he became minister of agriculture and, in 1923, was appointed minister of...

• Flight Lieutenant David Ernest Hornell, V.C. 1910-1944
  Born in Toronto and educated in Mimico, Hornell enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force on January 8, 1941. He was commissioned Pilot Officer later that year. On June 24, 1944, while serving with 162 Squadron and stationed at Wick in northern Scotland, Hornell was on anti-submarine patrol in a twin-engined Canso when he and his eight-man crew sighted and attacked a German submarine. Heavy enemy fire quickly crippled the aircraft but Hornell persevered with...

• Honourable William McDougall 1822-1905, The
  Father of Confederation, William McDougall was born on a farm in this vicinity. He became a solicitor and in 1850 founded the North American, a newspaper which became the voice of the "Clear Grit" Liberals. A leading Reformer, McDougall became Provincial Secretary in the coalition government that sought confederation. He attended the Quebec and London Conferences which negotiated the terms of federal union. Appointed first Lieutenant-Governor of the North West Territories in 1869, he was...

• Maud Leonora Menten 1879-1960
  An outstanding medical scientist, Maud Menten was born in Port Lambton. She graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1907 and four years later became one of the first Canadian women to receive a medical doctorate. In 1913, in Germany, collaboration with Leonor Michaelis on the behaviour of enzymes resulted in the Michaelis-Menten equation, a basic biochemical concept which brought them international recognition. Menten continued her brilliant career as a pathologist at the...

• John Ross Robertson 1841-1918
  Publisher and philanthropist, John Ross Robertson lived in this house, 1881-1918. He was born in Toronto and while at Upper Canada College he started The College Times, the first school newspaper in Canada. He became city editor of The Globe in 1865 and the following year, with James B. Cook, established The Daily Telegraph, published until 1872. Four years later Robertson founded The Evening Telegram which quickly became one of Toronto's leading newspapers. Financial success...

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