Wellington County, Ontario GenWeb - Pioneer

Wellington County, Ontario GenWeb - Pioneer - MacKENZIE, William F

Wellington County GenWeb

return

Pioneer - MacKENZIE, William F.

Biographical Sketches of
Early Settlers of Wellington County

Information from: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario.
Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906

MacKENZIE, William F . The subject of this sketch was b. at Tormisdale, Isle of Islay, Scot., in 1844. He was educated in the public schools at Port Charlotte and Foreland, Scot. In 1862 he came to Canada and in 1863 commenced teaching school in Grey Co., where he taught for three years. After this he taught school for 38 years in Wellington Co. He was Principal of the Harriston public school for seven years of this time and was located in Marden for 19 years.

Few men are better known in educational circles in the county of Wellington than in Mr. MacKenzie, and very few have attained so great a success as a teacher. During his professional experience he paid particular attention to the teaching of nature study, and his pupils were very successful in taking prizes for the above as well as in drawing, for some years at the Central Exhibition at Guelph. He has always been connected with both North and South Wellington Teachers' Associations, and was at one time President of the latter. He has on several occasions been a delegate for South Wellington to the Ontario Educational Association at Toronto.

Mr. MacKenzie has also been active in church matters, He taught the Bible class at Marden for 19 years and has been Elder of Chalmers' Presbyterian Church, Guelph for the past 12 years. In politics he is a Liberal. In 1905 he resigned his school at Marden, since which time he has been engaged in literary work, and is at present writing a very interesting history of Wellington county, which appears from time to time in the Mercury. He m. Mary Ann Turner, of Arthur Township, in 1871, and they have had the following issue: Alexander F., in the Department of the Interior at Ottawa; Mrs. (Rev.) Arthur H. Crosby, Mrs. Alexander Pearson, B.A., whose husband is a Science Master in the Ingersol Collegiate Institute, and Kate, in charge of the millinery department of the Dowler Company store in Guelph City.

From: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto:Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906