George Randall (April 16, 1832 – December 23, 1908) was an American-born business owner and politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. He served as reeve of Waterloo from 1870 to 1872 and as mayor in 1878. He was born in

Chesterfield, New Hampshire Chesterfield is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,552 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Spofford and West Chesterfield. Chesterfield is home to Spofford Lake, Chesterfield Gorge Natu ...

and came to Canada in 1854, working on construction contracts for the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rail ...

. With

William Hespeler William Hespeler (December 29, 1830 – April 18, 1921), born ''Wilhelm'', was a German-Canadian businessman, immigration agent, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. He served as Speaker of the Legislature and as honorary co ...

, he established the Granite Mills in 1857. Surplus grain from the

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

was used to manufacture

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

Joseph E. Seagram Joseph Emm Seagram (April 15, 1841 – August 18, 1919) was a Canadians, Canadian Distilled beverage, distillery founder, politician, philanthropist, and major owner of thoroughbred racehorses. Early life Joseph Seagram was born April 15, 1841 at ...

joined the company in 1870 and, by 1883, had become sole owner of the business, which eventually became the

Seagram's The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the la ...

distillery. In 1863, Randall purchased a sawmill in Hespeler and built a

woollen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

mill there. In 1884, he and William Roos (1842-1922) established Randall and Roos Wholesale Groceries and Liquours, a wholesale grocery and liquor business in downtown Berlin (at 9 Queen Street North and 66 Queen Street South both later Kitchener). He married Caroline Roos (1834-1913), sister of partner William Roos, and the couple had four children (Clara, Emma, George Jr, Albert). Randall was a director of the Waterloo Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and served 18 years as its president. He also served as first president of the Berlin-Waterloo Hospital Board and served on the first local Board of Health, formed in 1866. The site of his former home became the office of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, now

Sun Life Sun Life Financial Inc. is a Canadian financial services company. It is primarily known as a life insurance company. Sun Life has a presence in investment management with over CAD$1.3 trillion in assets under management operating in a number ...

References

1832 births 1908 deaths Mayors of Waterloo, Ontario Businesspeople from Ontario Drink distillers 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Canadian food industry businesspeople {{Ontario-mayor-stub