Daniel Francis Burk
| Daniel Francis Burk | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1848-12-25 Darlington Township, Upper Canada |
| Died | 1917-09-29 Port Arthur, Ontario |
| Occupation | Business promoter, financier, politician |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
Daniel Francis Burk (25 December 1848 – 29 September 1917 (aged 68)) was a business promoter, financier, and politician who was a central figure in the development of Port Arthur during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[1]
Early life
Burk was born on 25 December 1848 in Darlington Township, Upper Canada, the eldest son of William Knowles Burk, who served as reeve of Bowmanville, and Clara Coryell.[1] He received his early education locally before embarking on a banking career.[1]
Banking career
In 1867, Burk joined the Ontario Bank branch in Whitby, Ontario.[1] He advanced through the institution and by 1875 had been appointed manager of its Port Arthur branch, then known as Prince Arthur's Landing. That branch remained the town's sole chartered bank until 1890.[1] In 1884, Burk resigned from the bank to manage finances for his brother Marvin, who was a contractor for the Canadian Pacific Railway.[1]
Business ventures and railway promotion
Burk became one of Port Arthur's most active business promoters, backing several railway and colonization schemes.[1] He was involved in the promotion of the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway (incorporated 1883, constructed 1889–92) and the Ontario and Rainy River Railway (incorporated 1886). Both railways were eventually acquired by William Mackenzie and Donald Mann in 1897.[1]
Other ventures did not succeed. Burk backed the British Canadian Bank in 1886 and promoted the Thunder Bay, Nipigon and St Joe Railway, incorporated in 1899, neither of which reached fruition.[1]
Together with fellow Liberal politician James Conmee, the MLA for Algoma West, Burk lobbied for government subsidies and invested in the Port Arthur Water, Light and Power Company and the Port Arthur Herald Printing Company, which he acquired in 1892. In 1895, he also seized the plant of the Thunder Bay Sentinel.[1]
Agriculture, colonization, and regional promotion
Burk founded the West Algoma Agricultural Society around 1886 and organized the New Ontario Industrial Exhibition.[1] Serving as general manager of the New Ontario Colonization Association in the late 1890s, he is credited with coining the term "New Ontario" to describe the northern expansion of Ontario's settled territory, though the Toronto Evening Star greeted his vision of northward provincial growth with scepticism.[1]
Political career
A Liberal and advocate of unrestricted reciprocity with the United States, Burk contested the federal riding of Algoma on two occasions. He was defeated by incumbent Simon James Dawson in 1887 and by George Hugh Macdonell in 1891.[1] At the municipal level, Burk served as a Port Arthur town councillor for a total of ten years, sitting in 1894–1901 and again in 1909–10.[1]
Personal life
On 23 October 1873, Burk married Annabella Ida Gerrie in Whitby, Ontario. They had two sons and six daughters.[1] On 11 April 1917, a few months before his death, Burk entered into a second marriage with Evangeline Medora Anderson in St Augustine, Florida. The validity of that marriage was not recognized by Ontario's Supreme Court.[1]
Contemporaries acknowledged Burk's energy and drive but often characterized him as impractical, blunt, opinionated, and increasingly eccentric in his later years.[1]
Death
Burk died on 29 September 1917 in Port Arthur from Bright's disease.[2][3] His will favoured his second wife, Evangeline, and a prolonged family dispute over the estate was not settled until 1920.[4] He had accumulated considerable real estate in Port Arthur; property he owned became the Mariday and Ray Park subdivisions.[1] Two civic projects he had promoted ultimately came to fruition: the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition and Lakehead University on Oliver Road.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 F. Brent Scollie."F. Brent Scollie, "Burk, Daniel Francis," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1998.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ Fort William Daily Times-Journal, 1 October 1917, p. 1
- ↑ "Death notice."[newspaper].News-Chronicle (Port Arthur).1917-10-01.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Estate of Daniel Francis Burk, probate file no. 1078."[record].1920.Archives of Ontario, RG 22-398.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)