HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-10-14, Page 1131 Dec, 1 09e7.6
:1,?u uJ.ic Library,
,
52 Montreal St . ,.
Goderich. Ont. N7A 2G4.
BY.W. E. ELLIOTT
called
one time did appear, on the baptismal
roll of the Chippewa church -ofwhich the.
minister was the Reverend Charles
Fletcher, sent from Scotlandin. that year
as a missionary. Mr. Fletcher in . 1846
became minister Of the United
Presbyterian Church i'irOoderich, and
.was also superif tendent of common
schools, a. county • appointment. He
resigned as minister in 1851.. His eldest
daughter, Mary Balfour, born in 1847,
subsequently became the wife of James
Garrow.
The Garrow clan is listed as entitled to
wear the Stewart tartan (of which there
are many) . The Huron Garrows have not
been known to do so, but::apparently the
family also traces back through the
Fletchers, Farquharsons, Maitlands :to
the House qf Stewart. The Farquharsons
established an,additional connection by
marriage. -
The other children of Edward and
Rebecca Garrow, besides• James and
Robert, were Edward,. Yoh' n and_Janet,.
and three who died in infancy.
"GARROW.- Or; Saturday Aug: 25, a't
his residence in McKillop, Edward
Garrow, a native of Stirling, Scotland, in
his 90th year." •'
The foregoing death notice appeared
in the '.Huron Expositor in. 1894, but
diligent search of Seaforth and other
newspaper filed has turned up no
obituary article. This is something of a
mystery, . and certainly disappointing,
for .Edward Garrow, although hesettle&
in 'McKillop later than the pioneer
Scotts, Dicksons; Grieves and
Hon. James .Thompson Garrow, 1843-
1916; Warden of Huron, 1880; :Member
for West Huron in Ontario Legislature,
1890-1902 member of the Cabinet of Hon..
A.S. Hardy, 1898-99; Justice �f Court of '
Appeal, Supreme Court of Ontario, 1902=
1916. Local Judge' in Admiralty of the
Canadian Exchequer Court, 1910-16: •
A white brick 'cottage on'Coricession'1,
McKillop, invisible from any public
road, sits drowsing in, theautumn sun.,
empty of all but memories. Me: es of
-five 'children; of one -boy who left the
farm.to becdme a lawyer and became a
'_ cabinet'ininister before appointment to
the Ontario High Court. Memories, too,
- . of the youngest son; .for whom the cot
• tage was horne most of his life and who
developed one of the most outstanding
farm properties in Huron. '•
Of Mr. Justice James T. Garrow, the
Huron Bar .. Association said: "His
logical and analytical mind:, his clear
grasp of the, most intricatedetails; his
capacity for prolonged.' labor and his.
restless energy jalified him to -fill -the
high and honorable position 'to .which he
was summoned as a memberof the
Court of Appeal.'! '
At the death of Robert Garrow, the
bachelor farmer, the Huron Expositor
said: "Always a .man of quiet manner,_.
he nevertheless 'possessed a geniality, •
wit and honesty that made andretained
• for him countless friends."` The
Goderich Star; opposed to
politically, said Mr. Garrdw was "highly
esteemed' by his neighbors and the whole
community because of his generosity,
and fine qualities." •
With this' preview of the two best
known sons of Edward Garrow;' whose
lives -were •so different, the story of the
Garrows 'in Huron begins with the first
settler. Edward was born not far from
Stirling Castle in Scotland. There are
still Garrows in that area, including
_ Alexander Garrow-,_Labor-_M,P. forthe....
Pollok division of Glasgow. In Nor-
thumberland there is Sir Nicholas,
'knighted for his activities in various
welfare organizations.
Edward was 37 when in 1842, in
'Glasgow, hemarried Rebecca Kay, •24.
They migrated to Canada in 1843,, and
were in Chippewa, Upper Canada,, when
James, their eldest :son, was born oi4,
March 11, 1843. His name appears, or at .
•Govenlocks March, 1854„ is the date of
his grant of the north half of Lots 28 and
29 in Concession 1 there were still
forty years of which a' contemporary
record Would have been interesting to
later generations. '
1888 WILL
One contemporary document
Edward's will, made in 18$8,' in which he
provided for: l' iiswlfe:'left:$500 to Edward
the younger,- and the rest of his estate
equally to his daughter Janet and•his son
Robert. Robert was 36 when the father
led and when for a first time he became
owner, in part, of the farm he worked.
James T.•:Garrow,-the brother practising
law • in Goderich, was not a beneficiary,
and was one . of the witnesses to
Edward's signature. The other .was his
son Charles; a future barrister and
judge; but at the time 13.
Edward Garrow and his wife saw no
need for more than one baptismal name
tore their :ciildren but James _,later
adopted Thompson• aS middle name. It is
also the middle name :of James T.
Garrow, member of a Toronto law firm
at the present time:
Robert' Garrow made his 'will in 1906,
leaving everything to • "my dear sister
,Janet" and appointing as 'executors.
Janet, James and Edward, All' three
died before Robert .himself in 1932.
Judge Charl'e's Garrow and Margaret.
Garrow, of Toronto, were . appointed
"administrators: The newspaper'obituary
of Robert mentioned Edward as of
Cobalt,' and Dr, John as of• -New.. West-
minster, B.C. Nothing further has..been
learned about them.
Robert, as mentioned, was 36 years of
age whenhis father died: Long before
that, he had met :the girl he 'wished to
marry. According to a former resident
of the area, his parents "did not think
her good enough." Whether or not that
was the case, one can imagine com-
plications with twowomen already in the
house, and Robert . evidently in no
po,,itipn _to' forsake the family farm. Of
course there is nothing on the record, but
it is said" that Robert's romance did..not
end all that abruptly.. •
James Garrow on . leaving the farm
'attended Grammar. School in Goderich,
nominally a ':county institution. It is
recorded that he boarded "at the Huron"
Zbe
uberirh
.CNA 04-
129YEAR-12
while studyinglaw under Isaac F. Toms
(County Judge, 1882-I895) and that he
completed his course at Osgoode Hall.
- He was admitted solicitor in 1868, was
called to the Bar in. 1869;.- and ;was ap-;
g
pointed'Kin's Counsel by the Marquis of.
Lorne` in .1895. In Goderich council he
was. reeve from 1874, to 1880, involving
attendance at county council. In his last
year the•re he was warden of Httron,
following Thomas E. Hays. '
In 1890, succeeding Hon. A. M. Ross,
he was elected to the Ontario Legislature,
from West •Huron in the first of five,
contests. Elections in those days were a
form of public entertainment — a game
— in which' the whole population took
part. The issues, if described now, would .
be of no interest, but to partisans of the
time they were vital. •
° J. T. Garrow's opponents ;were Con-
servative _ he did accuse one of..being•a
member of' the P.P.A.-"'(Protestant'
Protective Association): and his
majorities were small.-
.
•• NARROW WIN
•
In the 1890 contest, the electors•gav'e
Garrow 2125 votes, J. M. Roberts 2013.. In
:1894 his opponent was James"!Connolly,.a'
Goderich drover, who received 2187:
votes•to Garrow's 2263. In 1898, Joseph
Beck matched Garrow's .2464,' -and the,
returning officer broke ' the tie in
Garrew's favor.:. When.. -Garrow:. was •
�ap.pointed minister without' portfolio in
'the Hardy cabinet, a: by-election was.
necessary, and Garrow won•over:Beck'
by 45. There' were charges of
irregularities' and corruption in:several
of the West Huron elections, and Garrow
was unseated in 1901. In the subsequent
by-election;. Garrow won over Beck once
more, by 290.
In accepting the Liberal nomination in
that year, Mr. Garrow "acknowledged
that no party was: composed of .angels,
'and as a consequence, elections 'were not.
conducted like contests for the
nioderatorship of _ _ the': Presbyterian
General Assembly,''
The Goderich Star, 4lowever, corn-
mented that "Major • Joseph Beck can
fairly claim to have been twice elected
'by thehonest votes of West Huron."
James T. Garrow headed the Goderich '
law •firm of . Garrow, Proudfpot and
Heaton,with offices above where the
Royal Bank is now. One of his students
'was R. C. Hays, Sr., who later opened an
office on North Street. Charles Garrow,
called to the Bar in 1900, took over the
firm 'when_his father was appointed to
the Court of Appeal
*Back in 1851, an early barrister .in
Goderich, .Ira::•Lewis, bought Lot 167 on. .
Montreal Street' and erected thereon a
residence later •described as a cottage..
He got into financial difficulty and lost
the property. History repeated in the
case of a Goderich Iawyer.named: Jdhri
Bell' Gordon,' practising in Goderich
from as early as 1863.
He bought several Montreal Street lots
just west of Market Street, and had built
for him there the many -pillared mansion
which .became' the residence of J.' T.
Garrow and from 1905 that of Robert H.
Cutt;-whose name is —'or until recently ,
was - - imbedded in the concrete
sidewalk. Keith Cutt, married in 1941,
. lived there until he joined the RCAF in
early 1942. It became the Lodge Funeral
Home in 1943 'and from early in 1968 to
19.72 was the McCallum Funeral Home,
now at • East St. and. Cambria Road. It
has been rem Belled into apartment by
theprese •Lit owner, John Macfarlane.
DECLARES INSOLVENCY
Gordon, whose law office was on the
south side of West Street, near the
Square, borrowed $8930 on mortgages,
presumably while the house was being.
built; and got into difficulties, resulting
in an order of insolvency in June, 1877.'
The. I-tomestead, North street residence built for A.M. Ross when County Treasurer;
purchases) from Capt. A.1VI. Shepherd in 1913 by Charles Garrow a Goderich' barrister
later appointed to the High Court of Ontario. Remodelled into a duplex in 1959, it is.the
residence of Miss Esther Galrroiv and Mr. and Mrs. Austin "Young.
• '.
in
•
N
4,7:04.4$!.
,a:,,.
• THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14,1976
His children became wards of the
Official Guardian.
At this point, Gordon un ;ccoiintably
disappears froth the record: The Official.
Guardian has found nothing which would
be of assistance, and' inquiry of the Law
Society of Upper Canada, :facilitated by
J. M.. Donnelly, Q.C., '"brought in-
formation only up • to 1870. Gordon's
name appeared on the Barristers' Roll
at Trinity Term in 1863, but the latest
entry in available directories showed
hirn as practising in Goderich in 1870.
The Chief Librarian reported that there
Was no way. of following Gordon's career
further. The Huron 'Bar. Association had
not been organized in the 1870s, . and
search of the Huron Signal's legal notes
in 1877 turnedup no mention of Gordon.
Presumably, James T. Garrow and his
Hon. Charles Garrow, 'a grandson. of
Edward Garrow, Scottish settler in
McKillop, praetised law in Goderich 23
years; was appointed Master of the
Supreme Court of Ontario in 1923 and six
years later to the High Court of Ontario.
He died in 1.934.
growing family' moved in when the
Montreal Street house was completed. It
has notbeen learned where he 'lived~
previously. He acquired in May, 1880,
Lots 212, 213, 214 and •167 (the Ira Lewis
lot) for $4,000 and an agreement to pay
off a mortgage of $3,000 held by the Trust
& Loan Company. Mr. Garrow bought
adjoining lots afterward in the Garrow
Survey.
As originally •built, they house had 10
principal --rooms and five fireplaces-.
There was a verandah on the front and
SECAND SECTION.
rio
around on the sides .of the house.. A
graceful stair led from a 20 -foot hall to
the second floor, where there ;,was a
kitchen and two bedrooms. On the third
floor was one large room, with quite a
large hall. Rooms on the -ground floor
had 13 -foot ceilings.
* • APPOINTED JUDGE
Even before his 'appointment to the
Appeal Court, Hon. J: T. Garrow's
elevation had been- . rumored. The
Goderich Star (Conservative), on Sept.
27, 1901, expressed, regret that its
"nomination of Mr. J. T. Garrow for the
vacant Ontario judgeship has not been
approved _at Ottawa, Mr. Britton of
Kingston •getting the post."
Upon his appointment, the Huron
Signal said: "He was better adapted for
the judicial forum . than the
parliamentary arena. In the . first, his
logical acumen, legal lore, 'luminous
presentation of his findings, will . be
greatly missed. He enjoyed the esteem
of bdth?Berich and •Bar. '
Thus assured • of Mr. Gar4.ow's
qualifications for the Court of Appeal, it
remains a happy `'coincidence that a
Liberal government was in office at
Ottawa; willing and able to honor a party
standard-bearer,; who had won five hard -
knight battles in the provincial field.
Balfour l 11etcher, died in Toronto in 1933:
There were seven children.
SEVEN CHILDREN
Edward F., the eldest, secretary of the,
British • American Assurance Coriipany,• •
married Marjorie Cochrane, of Toronto..
"Edward died in 1928 in England, and was.
buried there.
Charles, Goderich barrister, married
Marion Shephard, of Goderich. He was •.
appointed to. the Ontario High Court in
1929. He died in Toronto in 1934..
- Eleanor :married J. G. Standard,
Detroit. She died in 1927. •
Beatrice . married (1) A. ' K.
McDougall, of Toronto, .and (2) F.
Boulton, of Newcastle She died in 1970.
James, with the Bank of Montreal,
married Aldyth Walcott of Quebec. He .. .
died in 1969. ,
Alan Balfour at the time of his father's
death . was serving with the 74th
Canadian' Infantry Battalion with rank
of captain. He died iii 1969.
•J,ohfi Ure, lieutenant in. the Canadian �, • •.
army, was killed inaction in 1916..
Charles, second son of Hon. J. T,
Garrow, was born '.Tune 12, '1875,
received his early education in •
Goderich, attended Woodstock "College,
then the • University of Toronto, ,:
gradtdating LL.B. in 1896. Completing his
• Mr. Justice Garrow-was appointed. in-law • course at Osgoode Hall; he..was
1906 by the Whitney' (Cons.) government
to a commission for revision of the..
statutes of Ontario..In 1910 he was ap-
pointed Local Judge in Admiralty of the
Exchequer Court qf 'Canada..Judg.e and
Mrs. Garrow ` visited Europe several
times, first in the summer of 1888. They
left early in the winter of 1912-13 on a
Mediterranean 'trip, for the benefit of the
Judge's health. He was' then 70. In
London, England,- he underwent minor
surgery; "a successful operation per-
formed by Dr. Armour." -
Judge Garrow,died August 31, 191.6, on
a train at Allandale. Hehad started for
Toronto from his summer 'home at
called to the Bar in 1900.... • r
'While a partner in his father's firm, hc: -t,
married in. 1901 Marion .Elizabeth .-,, 4"
Shephard, -eldest daughter of Capt. A. M.
Shephard, in what the Signal described
as "one of the prettiest weddings ever
celebrated : in Goderich." Rev... Mark.
Turnbull of St. George's, officiated;
bridesmaids were Beatrice. Qarrow and
•Einily Shephard; 'the bridegroom was
assisted by his brother, E. F., Toronto,
and Helen, -youngest sister of the bride,
was maid of honor. Ushers -were" Philip
Horton,Charles Shephard and Fred
Shephard...
Minne cog, ' where- he' had ''spent -two; The..4bride,. was • given .away .#.Y bei ::
g,
mo "Captain` Shephard, :lia�iiztg
months.
failed. to connect with.'the train.at
A, funeral service' was held in the Cleveland," 'the. newspaper explained,
residence, 40 St. George Street, Toronto, - ped.
conducted by . the Rev. :Dr. :Thomas adding that the newlyweds "left on the
Eakins of :S t. Andrew's -Presbyterian i
2:30 train for a fi.oneyrnoon trip which
Church, and Rev. T. Crawford Brown. ide .to' include ,leading cities on both
sides of the line."
Pallbearers were Sir William Meredith, In the coloredglassof the frot door of
Mr. Justice Magee, Featherstone •Osler, the North Street house there is visible .a
letter "R" for A'. M..Ross, who built the
house in 1871.- When . he became ---
Rrowincial • Treasurer (late• York
Registrar) and removed to Toronto he. •
gave the property to his daughteir Agnes
on her emarriage .to Dr. J. R. Shannon..
"Doctor Reg," as he was affectt!onately
known to many, diedthere in.January,
1901, at •35, and, the house was sold to -
Capt. A. M. Shephard, a master mariner
•(continued on page 11A
Angus. McMurchy, J. G. Standard,.. W.
McDougall, Mr. Justice Britton. and
'Senator Allen.Aylesworth.
The funeral in Goderich took place
from the residence of Charles 'Garrow,
North. Street, the :service beingcon-
ducted. by Rev. Dr'. Eakins. Bearers
were Judge. Dickson, D. McDonald,
Sheriff. R. G., Reynolds, William,.
Proudfoot, M:L.A., Dr.. W. J. R. Holmes
and Dr. A. Taylor. • ' '
Mrs. Garrow, the -former Mary
•
•
Pictured at the bottom is the cottage in McKillop, north of Seaforth, built
for. Edward Garrow, from Scotland, when he: settled in Huron in 1854.
From this farm in Concession. 1 came James Garrow as G.C.I. student,
Goderich .barrister, Justice of 'Ontario Appeal Court. His son Charles
practised law in Goderich for 23 years_and then was appointed tothe .High
Court of Ontario. Top left, OsgoodaHall, seat of .Ontario courts of law;
Top right, University avenue building in which is the office of Justice
Charles Garrow's son,. James T. Garrow; Q.C. •
•