Joseph Goodwin King
| Joseph Goodwin King | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1844-02-29 Stowmarket, England |
| Died | 1910-06-30 Port Arthur, Ontario |
| Occupation | Grain elevator operator, businessman, municipal politician |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
Joseph Goodwin King (29 February 1844 – 30 June 1910 (aged 66)) was a grain elevator operator, businessman, and municipal politician in Port Arthur.
Early life
King was born on 29 February 1844 in Stowmarket in Suffolk, England, the son of Benjamin Owen King and Emma Archer. His family emigrated to Ontario during the 1860s, settling in the Lake Counties. He was Anglican. On 11 June 1871 he married Emma Julia Holdsworth at St John's Anglican Church in Port Hope, and they had five daughters.[1]
Career
Port Hope milling and grain trade
From roughly 1868 to 1877, King operated King's (Beamish) Flouring Mills at Port Hope, after which the venture failed. He then turned to grain warehousing and the elevator trade, specializing in barley exports to the United States. He served on Port Hope town council from 1880 to 1886.[1]
In 1885 he applied for a federal grain inspector appointment at Port Arthur, where his brother Richard Norman King was then managing the Ontario Bank. The post went instead to Frank Egerton Gibbs. King subsequently took employment with John Mather at the Lake of the Woods Milling Company in Keewatin beginning 15 May 1888, but by 1890 had returned to Port Hope following a dispute with the company's managing director, Alexander Mitchell.[1][2][3][4]
Port Arthur elevator operations
On 19 October 1891, King leased the Canadian Pacific Railway's 200,000-bushel wooden grain elevator at Port Arthur, becoming the first private operator of a western terminal elevator. In March 1892 he formed Marks, King and Company in partnership with Thomas Marks and Marks's nephews; King continued independently from 1897.[1][5][6]
As elevator proprietor, King pioneered techniques for treating wet and smutty wheat, installing innovative cleaning and drying equipment. In January 1903, the CPR contracted for a nine-bin concrete storage annex—the first use of concrete bins in Canada for grain storage.[1][7][8]
Civic life in Port Arthur
King served on Port Arthur town council from 1900 to 1910, concentrating on public works and parks. He created King's Gardens on his property along McVicar Creek, and images of the gardens circulated on picture postcards.[1] He was a commissioner for Port Arthur's electric railway and electric light service, actively pursuing development of the Current River for hydroelectric power.[1]
In 1896 King erected the Victoria Block on the north side of Victoria Avenue. He also built and leased properties in Port Arthur during his later years.[1][9]
Political career
A Conservative, King contested the 1895 Algoma West by-election Ontario by-election and was defeated by James Conmee. He ran again in 1902 in the Port Arthur and Rainy River riding but was again unsuccessful. He was described by contemporaries as clean, fearless, and honest.[1][10][11][12]
Death
King died on 30 June 1910 in Port Arthur. Obituaries appeared across the regional press.[13][14][15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 F. Brent Scollie."F. Brent Scollie, "King, Joseph Goodwin," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1994.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ "AO, F 256."[record].15 May 1888.Archives of Ontario.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "AO, RG 21, Port Hope, Ont., council minutes."[record].Archives of Ontario.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Ogilvie Flour Mills Company Limited (Montreal), Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited."[record].Archives of Ontario (microfilm).(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Lakehead University Library Archives, MG 5, no. 51 (Flatt collection), agreement of 16 March 1892."[record].Lakehead University Library Archives, Thunder Bay, Ontario.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Canadian Pacific Railway Archives, files 10622, 11039, 12371, 18205, 23904, 34216, 93928."[record].Canadian Pacific Archives, Montreal.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "The Canadian Pacific grain elevator at Port Arthur, Ontario."[book].Engineering Record (New York), vol. 49 (1903–4).pp. 448–51.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Nor'West Farmer."[newspaper].Nor'West Farmer (Winnipeg).February 1892: 43–44; March 1892: 69; October 1894: 252–53.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "NA, MG 26, A: 17591–97."[record].Library and Archives Canada.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Daily Journal (Fort William)."[newspaper].Daily Journal, Fort William.1895-01-17.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Weekly Sentinel (Port Arthur)."[newspaper].Weekly Sentinel, Port Arthur.16 Nov. 1894; 17 Jan., 15 March 1895.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Weekly Herald and Algoma Miner (Port Arthur)."[newspaper].Weekly Herald and Algoma Miner, Port Arthur.12 May, 2 June 1894.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Daily News (Port Arthur)."[newspaper].Daily News, Port Arthur.1910-08-01.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Daily Times-Journal (Fort William)."[newspaper].Daily Times-Journal, Fort William.1910-08-01.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Morning Herald (Fort William)."[newspaper].Morning Herald, Fort William.1910-08-01.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)