John McLaurin
| John McLaurin | |
|---|---|
| John Roy McLaurin | |
| Born | 1833-03-09 Vankleek Hill, Ontario |
| Died | 1912-03-05 Fort William, Ontario |
| Occupation | General store operator and fur buyer |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
| Children | |
| Siblings | |
John McLaurin (9 March 1833 – 5 March 1912 (aged 78)), also recorded as John Roy McLaurin, was a general store operator and fur buyer in Fort William, Ontario.[1][2][3]
McLaurin operated a general store at 321 Front Street, Fort William, dealing in dry goods, clothing, boots, shoes, and groceries. He also acted as a fur buyer, advertising that he paid the highest cash prices for furs. His store was advertised in the Port Arthur section of the directory as well.[1]
Early life
- Born 9 March 1833 in Vankleek Hill, in what is now eastern Ontario.[2][3]
- Son of Peter Roy McLaurin and Susanna Brownlie.[3]
Pioneer and Historical Society
McLaurin was an early settler of Fort William, dating his own pioneer days in the district to 1864.[4] A founding member of the Thunder Bay Historical Society, he served as its second vice-president[5] and contributed the paper "Early Pioneer Days" to its first annual.[6] He was also among those active in the 1879 effort to establish a Fort William newspaper.[7]
McLaurin General Store building
- McLaurin's store has been described as the first independent general store at the Lakehead — the first not run by the Hudson's Bay Company or the North West Company.[8]
- The 19th-century brick store building stands on New Vickers Street beside the Kam River, on a site made a commercial hub by the adjacent railway.[8]
- It is regarded as one of the oldest commercial buildings in Thunder Bay, and possibly the city's oldest brick structure.[8]
- The building was later used as offices for the Ogilvie grain elevator and survived a 2001 fire that destroyed the adjacent mill, by then operating as Riverside Grain Products.[8]
- In May 2019 Infrastructure Ontario, the provincial agency that owns the property, agreed to exempt the former store from a planned demolition after the city's Heritage Advisory Committee recommended its preservation.[8]
Family
- Married Mary French, also recorded under the Ojibwe name Wa-mee-to-goo-shik, on 29 April 1886 in Fort William.[3]
Children:[3]
- George A. McLaurin (George Artemus, 1863–1930)
- Peter McLaurin (1866–1930)
- Susan McLaurin (born 1868)
- Mary Jane McLaurin (1871–1962)
- Kate McLaurin (born 1874, died before her father died in 1912)
- Daisy Maria McLaurin (1877–1929)
- William McLaurin (born 1888)
- William Alexander McLaurin (born 1889)
- Donald McLaurin
Death
McLaurin died on 5 March 1912 in Fort William.[3] He died testate, and his estate was probated in the Thunder Bay District surrogate court and inventoried at $109,905.85 (equivalent to $2,850,684 in 2025). He was survived by four children.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Case's Directory of Fort William, Port Arthur and the District of Thunder Bay, May 1894, pp. 51, 57, 160.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "John McLaurin (McLaurin-279)."[website].WikiTree.Link.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "John Roy McLaurin (L6QJ-7PW)."[website].FamilySearch Family Tree.Link.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society (Manuscripts of Articles in Annuals)."[book].Thunder Bay Historical Society.1913.p. 403.Link.(Rights: public_domain | Access: open)
- ↑ "Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society."[book].Thunder Bay Historical Society.1908–1909.p. 7 (officers).Link.(Rights: public_domain | Access: open)
- ↑ John McLaurin."Early Pioneer Days."[book].Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society.1908–1909.p. 18.Link.(Rights: public_domain | Access: open)
- ↑ P. McKellar."Fort William's Early Newspapers."[book].Papers of the Thunder Bay Historical Society.1913.pp. 215–217.Link.(Rights: public_domain | Access: open)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Historic McLaurin General Store to be saved from demolition."[website].TBNewsWatch.com.2019-05-22.Link.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Probate record of J. McLaurin, Gentleman, Fort William (1912), surrogate court probate file no. 583. Canadian Regional Historical Wealth Micro-Data Collection, compiled by Livio Di Matteo, Lakehead University.