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Pioneer - MCMULLEN, HON. James
Biographical Sketches of
Early Settlers of Wellington County
Information from: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario.
Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906
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MCMULLEN, HON. James
. One of the most striking personalities in North Wellington is Senator James
McMullen of Mount Forest.
He was b. in Co. Monaghan, Ire., Nov. 29th, 1833, came to Canada with his father, Arch. McMullen, in 1843, who set. on a farm near Fergus, and was one of the pioneers of that district. The Senator was educated at the Public School in Fergus, afterwards served as an apprentice in a general store in Dundas, started store in Mount Forest on the 6th of Sept., 1856, and continued as a general merchant until 1882. He then retired in order to pay his personal attention to the construction of the Georgian Bay & Wellington Railway, which ran from Palmerston to Durham. He was Councillor and Reeve of Mount Forest for several years. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1882, and when in opposition, was regarded as one of the keenest financial critics on his side of the House; was continuously a member of Parliament until 1900, and in 1896, was appointed Chairman of the Standing Committee on public accounts. He was a Director and Vice-President of the above named railway, and was afterwards a Director of the Grand Trunk, Georgian Bay & Lake Erie Railway. He is at present a Director and Vice-President of the Dominion Life Assurance Co. He has one brother the Rev. Dr. McMullen, Pastor of Knox Church Woodstock, who has been there nearly fifty years, in the one charge. He had three sisters, the eldest, Margaret Jane was m. to Thomas Rogers, now in Toronto; the second, was m. to Thos. Bowie, now in Kingston; and the third sister was m. to Rev. Dr. Grant of Orillia. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the general election of 1900, and was appointed to the Senate on the 11th Feb. 1902. He was an active energetic, business man, and came through all the crises of '57-'58 and '63-'66. Never suspended payment, and always paid 100 cents on the dollar. He was m. to Mary Ann, youngest dau. of Robt. Dunbar of Guelph, on Sept. 28, 1858. He has three sons: the eldest son, William, a general merchant in Mount Forest; the second son, James A., barrister, and does a law business in the same town; his youngest son, Robert T., is a clerk in his office, where he does a real estate and money loaning business. He has one daughter, m. to W. S. Dickey, who is a native of Toronto, and a son of Nathaniel Dickie, (for may years an Alderman of Toronto) of Kansas City, Mo. From: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto:Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906 |
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