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People and organizations
Person · 1847-1928

Laura Abigail (Fuller) Benson (1847-1928) was the daughter of Reverend Thomas Brock Fuller, first Anglican Bishop of Niagara, and the second wife of Thomas Moore Benson.

Laura Abigail Fuller married Thomas Moore Benson in 1874. The couple had three children: Clara Cynthia (1875-1964), Thomas Bingley Fuller (1876-?), and Jessie (1880-1936).

Benson, Mary Edith, d. 1870
Person · d. 1870

Mary Edith (McCaul) Benson (d. 1870) lived in Port Hope, Ontario.

She was the eldest daughter of Rev. John McCaul, President of University College, Toronto. She married Thomas Moore Benson in 1866, and had two daughters, Ethel Mary (186[7]-1915 or later) and Emily Constance (186[9]-1915 or later). Mary Edith Benson died in 1870.

Person · ca. 1839-1907

Richard Lowe Benson (ca. 1839-1907) was a barrister in Peterborough, Ontario, and served as a deputy sheriff in the county of Northumberland and Durham during the 1880's.

Benson was born around 1839 in Ontario (possibly in Northumberland County).

The 1871 Census recorded a Richard Benson (aged 32) of the Church of England, serving as deputy sheriff in the Town of Cobourg, Northumberland County.

Benson was still serving as deputy sheriff of Northumberland and Durham County in 1880, and was practicing as barrister-at-law in Peterborough as of 1886.

Richard Lowe Benson died in 1907.

Person · 1876-1941

Thomas Bingley Fuller Benson (1876-1941) was an examiner of ships in Toronto, Ontario in the early 20th century.

Benson was born in Port Hope, Ontario in 1876, the son of Thomas Moore Benson and Laura Abigail (Fuller) Benson.

He died in Toronto in 1941 at the age of 64.

Person · 1833-1915

Thomas Moore Benson (1833-1915), the second son of Thomas Benson (1804-1857), was a businessman, lawyer, and judge in Ontario during the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Thomas Moore Benson (1833-1915) was educated at the University of Toronto and practised law at Port Hope while continuing in the family railway business. Benson served in a volunteer militia company at Port Hope (1865-1866), and later at Kingston (1866) under Lt.-Col. A.T.H. Williams until the end of the Fenian Raids. He was created Queen's Counsel in 1880 and appointed Deputy Judge of the Counties of Northumberland and Durham in 1882, and Senior Judge in 1887. He was also Revising Officer under the Election Franchise Act for Northumberland and Durham counties in 1885 and 1887.

Like his father, Thomas Moore Benson was a Liberal Conservative and a supporter of Sir John A. Macdonald. He was also an active member of the Church of England. He married Mary Edith Lowe in 1866, and they had two children, Ethel Mary (186[7]-1929) and Emily Constance (186[9]-?) Following her death in 1870, Benson married Laura Abigail Fuller in 1874. The couple had three children, Clara Cynthia (1875-1964), Thomas Bingley Fuller (1876-?), and Jessie (1880-1936).

Benson, Thomas, 1804-1857
Person · 1804-1857

Thomas Benson (1804-1857) was a businessman and the first mayor of Peterborough, Ontario during the early and mid-nineteenth century.

Thomas Benson was born at Fintona, Ireland, and immigrated to Upper Canada with his family in 1816. He commenced his business career as a general merchant at Kingston, moving to Port Hope in 1832. During the Rebellion of 1837 he served at Niagara, and later served as Captain and Paymaster in the 3rd Battalion of Incorporated Militia. In 1845 he settled at Peterborough, where he leased a flour mill, and in 1850 became the town's first Mayor. In 1851 he turned the Peterborough operation over to his brother, Richard, and returned to Port Hope, where in 1853 he became Secretary-Treasurer of the Port Hope, Lindsay and Beaverton Railway, later called the Port Hope and Peterborough Railway.

Thomas Benson was a Liberal Conservative in his political convictions, and a devout member of the Church of England. His community activities included a position as Chair of the local school board, and President of the Port Hope Mechanics Institute. He married Alicia Maria Lowe (1805-1877) in 1827 and the couple had twelve children. Thomas Benson was killed in the Desjardins Canal railway disaster in 1857.

Bidwell, Barnabas, 1763-1833
Person · 1763-1833

Barnabas Bidwell (1763-1833), was a lawyer and politician in the United States before moving to Upper Canada, where he established a school in the village of Bath and assisted his son, Marshall S. Bidwell (1799-1872), in his law practice.

Barnabas Bidwell was a lawyer in Massachusetts, and was first elected a state senator in Massachusetts in 1802. He served in that position until 1805, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He stayed in that position until 1807, when he became the Attorney-General for Massachusetts. From 1801 to 1810, he was Berkshire County Treasurer. When a scandal emerged out of a deficit in the accounts for Berkshire County, Bidwell moved to Upper Canada. He was elected to the House of Assembly, but was excluded from serving in that position on the grounds that he was an alien. The same grounds also prevented him from practising law in Upper Canada. Bidwell established a school in the village of Bath, and assisted his son in his law practice.

Family

The Bidwell family were involved in law and politics in the United States and Upper Canada during the eighteenth and nineteenth century.

Person · 1799-1872

Marshall Spring Bidwell (1799-1872) was the leader of the Moderate Reformers in Upper Canadian politics prior to the Rebellion of 1837.

Marshall Spring Bidwell was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and moved to Upper Canada with his family in 1810, settling first in Bath, and then in Kingston. He was called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1821, and from 1825 to 1836 he represented Lennox and Addington in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. He was also elected Speaker in 1829 and 1835.

Bidwell came to be regarded as the leader of the moderates of the reform party in Upper Canada. He took no part in the uprising of 1837, but was advised by Sir Francis Bond Head to leave the province. Thereafter, he resided in Albany, New York, and looked after his affairs in Canada by correspondence.

Birmingham, Robert, b. 1852
Person · 1852-[ca. 1910]

Robert Birmingham (1852-ca. 1910) was a Conservative Party official and active in the Grand Orange Lodge of Ontario West.

Robert Birmingham was born in Ireland in 1852, and emigrated to Canada about 1870. He became a Conservative Party organizer in Toronto, rising to Secretary of the Conservative Party. He was also very active in the Grand Orange Lodge of Ontario West and held various positions, including Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ontario West in 1884. Birmingham favoured "very strongly the perpetuation of the connection between Canada and the Mother Country." His son, A.H. Birmingham, similarly wielded influence in the Conservative Party and the Grand Orange Lodge. Robert Birmingham died between 1910 and 1913.

Person · b. 1874

J.H. Black (b. 1874) was a teacher and amateur photographer in Colchester, Essex County, during the late nineteenth century.

James Henry Black, born on 11 September 1874 at Trenton, Ontario, was the son of James Black, grocer, and Jane Carlton. He became a school teacher and in 1901 was boarding with the family of John and Margaret Wilson. He was also an amateur photographer, his subjects being places and people in the area of Colchester, Ontario, including Grace Baldwin, daughter of the Wilsons' neighbours, Whitson and Georgiana Baldwin.

Family · 1831-

The Blackstock, Gibbs and Gooderham families were prominent early settlers to Upper Canada during the 19th century. Of British and Irish descent they played an important role in the development and growth of industry, in particular with mills, distilleries, banking, mining, and railways.

The Blackstock, Gibbs and Gooderham families were prominent early settlers to Upper Canada, who played an important role in the development and growth of industry, in particular with mills, distilleries, banking, mining, and railways.

Of British and Irish descent, the three families migrated to Upper Canada in the first half of the nineteenth century. Here, they established themselves in industry and through marriage became intertwined.

The Gooderham family began their immigration to Upper Canada in 1831 when William Gooderham Sr. (1790-1881), along with his brother-in-law James Worts, began a large scale migration of their two families, settling near York. Gooderham invested in Worts' already established milling business and the two years later added a distillery.

William Gooderham Sr. rose to prominence through his milling and distillery business, also adding to his influence through railways and banking (he was president of the Bank of Toronto from 1864 until his death). He married Harriet Tovell Herring and had eight sons and five daughters. His eldest son, William Junior, refused the family business and moved to New York to establish himself. His other son George (1830-1905) took over a large part of the family business; he became president of the Bank of Toronto.

George Gooderham also established himself in other industries, notably in mining. He invested in the War Eagle and Centre Star mines in Kootenay, British Columbia. George greatly expanded on his father's wealth, but avoided the public eye and remained relatively obscure in Toronto society. He married Harriet Dean and had a great passion for yachting. He entertained various guests and distinguished visitors on 'The Oriole', including the governor-general and prime minister.

Rev. William Schenck Blackstock (1824-1905) was born in Black Rock, New York (his father having arrived in New York from Ireland in 1816). In 1827, at the age of 3, he travelled from Queenston to York with his family, settling in the township of Cavan, within what later became Durham Region. He became a Wesleyan Methodist Minister. In 1850 he married Mary Hodge Gibbs, daughter of Thomas Gibbs and Caroline Tate. Mary and William had five children: Thomas Gibbs (1851-1906), Amelia Eliza (Millie) (1854-1936?), George Tate (1856-1921), Caroline Jane (Carrie) (1860-1919) and Mary Elizabeth (May) (1863-1924).

Thomas Gibbs Blackstock married Harriet Victoria Gooderham, daughter of George Gooderham and Harriet Dean. He played a large role in the business dealings of his father-in-law, becoming his business manager, as well as co-investor in the Kootenay mines. He also trained as a lawyer. His yacht 'Cleopatra' once entertained the prime minister and other distinguished visitors.

George Tate also studied law and rose to prominence as a lawyer and orator. Known for his loyalist and conservative values he was often asked to speak at lectures and other events both in Upper Canada and in Britain. He married Emiline Moulton Fraser, although their marriage ended in divorce, not long after his diagnosis as a hypochondriac.

For further information on the Blackstock, Gibbs, Gooderham and Tate families, please refer to the book “All the Journey Through” by C.M. Blackstock (University of Toronto Press, 1997). The book is available from the Archives of Ontario Library.

Blake, Anna, [183-]-1882
Person · [183-]-1882

Anna Blake ([183-]-1882) was the daughter of lawyer and politician William Hume Blake (1809-1870) and the sister of Ontario premier and federal Liberal Party leader Edward Blake (1833-1912).

Anna Blake was born Ann Margaret Blake to William Hume Blake and Catherine Hume Blake in Toronto. She married James Kirkpatrick Kerr; they had no children.

Person · 1771-1867

Anne Margaret Hume Blake (1771-1867) was the mother of William Hume Blake (1809-1870) and grandmother of federal and provincial politician Edward Blake (1833-1912).

In 1832, Anne Margaret Hume Blake emigrated from Ireland with her two sons, Dominick Edward Blake and William Hume Blake, to Upper Canada. She was the widow of Rev. Dominick Edward Blake (1771-1821), who had been the Anglican incumbent of Loughbrickland and of Kiltegan, County Wicklow. Anne Blake died on 28 December 1867.

Person · [1804]-1886

Catherine Hume Blake (1804-1886) was an Irish immigrant to Upper Canada, the wife of William Hume Blake (1809-1870) and mother of Edward Blake (1833-1912) the second premier of Ontario.

Catherine Hume Blake was born in 1804 or 1805 at Kiltegan, County Wicklow, Ireland. She was born into a less privileged branch of the prosperous Hume family, a landed gentry family of Protestant Ireland. Catherine's father was in the army, and she began her education in Dublin where he was stationed. Despite her father's premature death and their family's change in fortune, Catherine received a genteel education and was fluent in Italian and French, read classical literature in Latin, and played the piano and the harp.

In 1832 Catherine married her cousin William Hume Blake, and that same year they immigrated to Upper Canada along with a large group of relatives and friends. The couple first settled in Bear Creek, Adelaide Township, but moved to Toronto in 1834. When William enrolled in law school, Catherine ran a private school for girls. They had four children, Edward (1833-1912), Anna (d. 1882), Sophy (1837-1909), and Samuel Hume (1835-1914).

Catherine Blake died in London, Ontario at the home of her daugher Sophia Cronyn, in 1886.

Person · 1806-1859

Rev. Dominick Edward Blake (1806-1859) was a minister in the Anglican Church in Upper Canada during the mid-nineteenth century. He was the elder brother of William Hume Blake.

Blake was born in Kiltegan, Ireland in 1806, the son of Reverend Dominick Edward Blake and Anne Margaret Hume Blake. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a BA in 1829, and was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1832. He married Louisa Jones and they had two sons, Dominick Edward and John Netterville Blake.

Following their emigration to Canada in 1832, Blake was appointed to the mission of Adelaide, Upper Canada at the newly established St. Ann's Church. Blake contributed a journal of his missionary activities in Upper Canada to the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel, in order to supplement his income after the British government discontinued its grants to the colonial church.

Blake remained in Adelaide until 1844 when he became the rector of Thornhill. Rev. Dominick Edward Blake died suddenly on 30 June 1859 shortly after making an address at Trinity College, Toronto.

Blake, Edward (family)
Family · 1809-

The Blake family came to Upper Canada in the early nineteenth century, where William Blake (1809-1870) and son Edward (1833-1912) became distinguished in law and the administrative affairs of Canada.

Person · [1860?]-[1938?]

Edward Hume Blake (1860?-1938?) was a Toronto lawyer, and the eldest son of Ontario premier and federal Liberal Party leader Edward Blake (1833-1912).

Edward Hume Blake was a lawyer in his father's law firm in Toronto. He was interested in family history, and researched and wrote a history of the Hume Blake family. Blake was also interested in architecture and was involved with architectural societies.

Edward Hume Blake married Georgina Manning, and they had three children: Edward Manning Hume, Norah Alexandria Hume, and Hollis Hume.

Person · 1860-1905

Edward Francis Blake (1860-1905) was the second son of Ontario premier and federal Liberal Party leader Edward Blake (1833-1912).

Edward Francis Blake worked in his father's law firm and became partner in 1891. When his father left Canada to enter Irish politics in the 1890s, Ned was responsible for managing family and business affairs. He also served on the board of Ridley College, 1888, 1901-1905, where his two sons attended school.

Ned Blake married Ethel Mary Benson (1860 - 1829) in 1891. They had four children: Gerald Edward (1892 - 1916), Mary Margaret (1893 - 1963), Ethel Constance (1896 - 1979) and Verschoyle Benson (1899 - 1971). Ned Blake died of leukemia in September 1905.

Blake, Edward, 1833-1912
Person · 1833-1912

Edward Blake (1833-1912) was a federal and provincial politician, Liberal member of Canada's federal parliament and Ontario Legislative Assembly, leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario (1869-1872), Premier of Ontario (1871-1872), and leader of the Liberal opposition in Ottawa (1880-1887).

Edward Blake was born at Katesville on Bear Creek, on 13 October 1833. He was educated at Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto. He was called to the bar in 1856 and entered into the practice of law with his younger brother, Samuel Hume Blake. The firm was very successful and had a large practice in colonial appeals to the Privy Council.

In 1858, Blake married Margaret Cronyn, second daughter of the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Cronyn. They had seven children, of whom three died in early childhood. The sons, Edward Hume, Edward Francis and Samuel Verschoyle, all entered the family law firm.

Blake's political career began in 1867, when he was elected as the Liberal Member from South Bruce to the Ontario Assembly and as the Member from West Durham to Canada's Parliament. He was offered the leadership of the Opposition in the Ontario Assembly, but did not accept the position until 1869. Then, on the defeat of the Sandfield Macdonald administration in December 1871, he became Premier of Ontario. In the next year, following a provincial act prohibiting members of the Ontario Assembly from simultaneously holding seats in the federal Parliament, Blake retired from provincial politics.

Blake agreed to join Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal administration in Ottawa as minister without portfolio. He served as minister without portfolio from 1872-1873, as Minister of Justice from May 1875 until June, 1877, and after that took the nominal post of President of the Council. In January 1878, he resigned from the cabinet.

Blake had been offered the leadership of the national Liberal party in 1872, but declined. However, on Alexander Mackenzie's resignation from the leadership in 1880, Blake succeeded him. For seven years and through two general elections, Blake led the federal Liberal party. He resigned in 1887 following the second defeat under his leadership. For two sessions, he was absent from Parliament, but in 1889 he returned. However, rumours that he would soon resume leadership of the party proved to be false and, in the general election of 1891, because he was opposed to unrestricted reciprocity with the United States, one of the principal planks in the Liberal platform, he did not contest a seat. The next year he accepted an invitation from the leaders of the Irish parliamentary party to stand for election to the British House of Commons. He was elected and remained an Irish Nationalist member until ill- health forced him to retire in 1907.