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Mills, David
Person · 1831 - 1903

David Mills was born 18 March 1831 in Orford Township, Upper Canada, to Nathaniel Mills and Mary Guggerty. David received his early education at the local school in Palmyra Corners. He became a teacher and from April 1856 to April 1865 he served as a school superintendent in Kent. He married Mary Jane Brown on 17 December 1860 in Chatham, Upper Canada, and had three sons and four daughters. During this time spent as superintendent he also farmed on his inherited part of the family farm at Palmyra. By 1864 he seems to have become active politically in the Reform party in Kent.

In 1865 he enrolled at the University of Michigan Law School from which he graduated in March of 1867. Mills attained his degree but made no formal application to the law society until 1878, and he was not called to bar until 1883. He first practiced law in the firm of Ephraim Jones Parke in London, Ontario and later practiced with one of his sons. In 1885 he was on the faculty of the newly opened London Law School as professor of international law and the rise of representative government. Five years later he became a Queen's Council lawyer.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1867, Mills returned to Canada and secured the Reform nomination for the federal constituency of Bothwell, which covered parts of Kent and Lambton counties. He would hold the seat until 1882 and again from 1884 to 1896. He introduced a motion to do away with the practice of dual representation at the federal level on 20 November 1867 and had it completely abolished in 1873. In 1872 he suggested that senators be properly elected or chosen directly by the provincial legislatures, and remained an advocate for the Senate to be rendered a better guardian of provincial interests. Mills told parliament in June 1869 that if ever it was "a question whether Federal or Local Legislatures should be destroyed," his view was that "the country would suffer far less by the destruction of the Federal power."

In 1872 he asked Oliver Mowat, the Liberal premier of Ontario from 1872 to 1896, to prepare a written defense of the province's placement of its disputed western and northern boundaries. The report was published in early 1873 and made Mills a key player in the boundary dispute. Mills was asked in January 1876 to chair the select committee established to investigate the economic depression and was appointed minister of the interior in October.

The defeat of the Mackenzie government in the election of 1878 put an end to Mills' ministerial duties and administrative ambitions. He retained Bothwell, however, making him one of the senior Ontario Liberals in the caucus. He was one of the leaders of the movement in 1880 to oust Mackenzie from the leadership position. Mills became one of Edward Blake's chief lieutenants when he became leader and coordinated the Liberal filibuster in 1885. He considered his speech of 1 April 1885 to be one of the finest speeches of his parliamentary career.

As editor-in-chief of the London Advertiser from 1882 to 1887, Mills built a case against the Macdonald government's administration of national affairs in a series of unsigned, but distinctive, editorials. He seems to have been particularly active as a journalist in 1883, when he was defeated in the election of 20 June 1882 and was forced to sit out a session of parliament while his case was considered by the courts. He won in February 1884 and returned to the commons. In 1886 he followed Blake in condemning the execution of Louis Riel and in 1889 he delivered a strong speech opposing disallowance, arguing that parliament had no business interfering with legislation that was clearly within provincial jurisdiction. In the 1890 debate over the use of French in legislature, Mills delivered an eloquent speech in defense of linguistic rights.

Mills lost Bothwell in the general election of 23 June 1896. Although summoned to the Senate in November 1896, he was not invited to join the cabinet. He consequently devoted more time to his law practice in London, continued his work at the University of Toronto, where he had been appointed in 1888 to teach constitutional and international law, and wrote and lectured on a wide variety of religious and political subjects. Laurier asked Mills to fill the vacancy left by Sir Oliver Mowat in 1897 and on 18 November he was sworn in as minister of justice and became government leader in the Senate.

In 1902 Mills arranged his own appointment as a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, a move that was widely criticized. On 8 May 1903, Mills died suddenly of an internal haemorrhage, leaving behind his wife and six of his children.

Becher Family
Family · 1835 -

Henry Corry Rowley Becher immigrated to London in 1835. The Becher family was prominent in the legal profession, political and community activities, and military service. Henry C.R. Becher was a prominent attorney and active in politics. Henry Becher was a lawyer and active in London politics. Katharine Becher was active in community affairs. Henry Campbell Becher was a lawyer and stockbroker who served in World War I. Archibald Valancey Becher, a physician, also served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Thornwood, the Becher family home, was designated as a heritage building by the City of London in 1992.

Southey, Jim
Person · 1926-2016

The Honourable James 'Jim' Bonham Strange Southey was born in 1926 in Bowmanville, Ontario. He attended Trinity College School from 1941-1944. Following TCS he attended Queen's University and Osgoode Hall, where he was a silver medalist in 1953. Jim was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1975. He served as president of the Canadian Judges' Conference, the Ontario Superior Court Judges' Association, and the Lawyers' Club of Ontario. He was also Chair of the Board at Trinity College School and was an early advocate of Co-education at the School. Jim died on July 29, 2016 in his 90th year.

Becher, Henry C.R.
Person · 1817 - 1885

Henry Corry Rowley Becher was born June 5, 1817 in London, England, the youngest son of Captain Alexander Becher, Royal Navy, and Frances Scott Becher. He immigrated to London, Ontario in 1835.

Becher began his legal career by articling with John Wilson and was admitted a law student at Osgoode Hall in 1836. He was appointed Registrar of the Surrogate Court of Middlesex County in 1839. Admitted as an attorney in 1840 and called to the bar in 1841, Becher was elected a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1853 and called to the bar at the Inner Temple, London, England in 1882. Becher was partner with Samuel Barker and William Purvis Rochfort Street in the law firm of Becher, Barker and Street. The firm became Becher, Street & Becher, when his son, Henry Becher, was admitted to a partnership in 1872. He served as solicitor for Colonel Thomas Talbot in the 1850s, drawing up the will that bequeathed the bulk of Talbot's estate to George Macbeth and settling a dispute between Talbot and his nephew Richard Airey; was involved in the settlement of the estate of George Jarvis Goodhue in the 1870s; and served as municipal solicitor for London from 1849 to 1853. In April and May of 1855, he alone handled the crown business at the assizes at St. Thomas, London, and Chatham, and submitted civil briefs at St. Tomas and London. Becher completed the transaction in which the Huron Diocese acquired Rough Park, the estate of Lionel Ridout which became the first site of Huron College in 1863. In 1856, Becher was appointed Queen's Counsel and lectured for a tern at Osgoode Hall. He became solicitor for the Gore Bank and a director of the Great Western Railway in 1857.

Becher served on the London town council from 1850 to 1854. Attempting to enter provincial politics, he failed obtain the Conservative nomination for London in 1857. He won the nomination in 1860, but lost the by-election. In 1861, he again vied for the nomination, but withdrew, after the intervention of John A. MacDonald, to stand for the Legislative Council for Malahide. Defeated, Becher did not run again for public office; however, he remained an active party organizer.

Becher built Thornwood on 13 acres in London, and took up residence there in 1845. He rebuilt the house after it was destroyed by fire in 1852. Becher travelled extensively in Europe, visited the Middle Ease, made several trips to Florida, and wrote A Trip to Mexico after travelling there 1878. In 1880, Becher became a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society. His diary has been published in the London Advertiser in 1926 and in Papers and Records of the Ontario Historical Society in 1939.

Becher married Sarah Evanson Leonard, daughter of Richard Leonard, the sheriff of the Niagara District, on October 27, 1841. Together, they had seven children: Frances Anna Maria (born 1842), Alexander (1844), Henry (1846), Richard Leonard (1848), twins Florence Mary and Constantia Ann (1850) and Alice Ethel Jane (1857), who died in infancy. Sara Becher died in 1864. On August 20, 1874, Becher married Mrs. Caroline Robertson, daughter of Samuel Street of Niagara Falls.

Henry Corry Rowley Becher died on July 6, 1885 in Sidcup, England.

Becher, Henry Campbell
Person · 1874 -1915

The eldest son of Henry and Katharine Campbell Becher, Henry Campbell Becher was born at Thornwood on January 20, 1874. He was educated privately and at Trinity College School in Port Hope. He articled with the firm of Blackburn and Cox before being admitted to the Bar and entering into partnership with Andrew Greenlees. Becher retired from legal practice in the early 1900s to open a brokerage business. Becher was a member of the London Hunt and Country Club and served as its honourary secretary. A member of the London Dramatic Club, he appeared with the company in London, Toronto and Winnipeg. Active in the 7th Regiment, Becher assumed command of the unit, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, in May, 1914. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September, 1914 as a Major in the 1st (Western Ontario) Battalion. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, second in command of the battalion, in 1915. Henry Campbell Becher was killed in action at Givenchy, France on June 15, 1915.

Becher, Henry
Person · 1846 - 1889

The second son of Henry Corry Rowley Becher and Sarah Evanson Leaonard Becher, Henry Becher was born at Thornwood on July 5, 1846. He studied law with his father's firm of Becher, Barker and Street, joined the firm after being called to the bar in 1867, and was admitted as a partner in the firm of Becher, Street and Becher in 1872. After his father's death, he remained in partnership with Street, as the firm Street and Becher. When Street was elevated to the bench in 1887, Becher was associated with Henry Stephen Blackburn in the firm of Becher and Blackburn. Henry Becher was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1885. He served as solicitor for the Bank of Montreal, served as a London alderman for several years and was mayor of the city in 1886. He was active in the London Hunt and served as the organization's president.

On September 19, 1872, Becher married Katherine Moore Campbell, eldest daughter of Duncan Campbell of Simcoe. The couple had three children: Henry Campbell (born 1874), Alexander Lorne (1875) and Archibald Valancey (1877).

Henry Becher died at Thornwood on January 15, 1889.

Ball, Robert Notman
Person · 6 April 1861 - 7 October 1935

Robert Notman Ball was born on April 6th 1861 in Port Dover, Ontario and was a Woodstock, Ontario lawyer, Crown Attorney, and Clerk of the Peace in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was married in Toronto on September 4th 1889 to Margaret King Harvey and would have four children: Mildred, Robert N. Jr., William and Margaret. He lived at 419 Drew Street.

His father, Francis Ramsay Ball, was also a lawyer and Crown Attorney, beginning practice at an early age in 1850. Within a few years he went into partnership with a Mr. Carroll. The Firm would later be known as Ball & Beard, Ball & Matheson, and then Ball & Ball, with A.S. Ball becoming junior partner. After dissolution of this partnership, the firm name stood the same, with his son R.N. Ball, becoming junior partner. Francis R. Ball is also known for being the prosecuting attorney at the Reginal Birchall trial in 1890. Robert N. Ball’s son, Robert N. Jr. was mill manager at Oxford Knitting Co. Ltd.

Robert N. Ball was also a trustee of L.B. Denton and Company and would provide management of the Company in 1914, as part of an Estate Settlement. He passed away on October 7th, 1935 at the age of 74 and is buried in the Woodstock Presbyterian Cemetery.