John McMartin (September 2, 1858 – April 12, 1918) was a businessman, mining executive and political figure 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 Ca ...

, Canada. He represented

Glengarry and Stormont Glengarry and Stormont was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1914 from parts of Glengarry and Stormont ridings. It ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1917 until his death in 1918, as a Unionist Party member.

Early life

McMartin was born at Apple Hill, then part of

Charlottenburgh Township, Ontario South Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. South Glengarry borders Quebec. Communities The township of South Glengarry comprises a number of vill ...

, and now part of

North Glengarry, Ontario North Glengarry is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. It is a predominantly elderly invaded rural area located between Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal and Cornwall. Communities The township ...

, to Allan McMartin and Mary Catherine McDougald (later styled McDonald) (1869 - 1941), daughter of John Angus McDougald (1838-1923), who was Local Registrar of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

, and a son of Major Angus McDougald, a member of the 4th Battalion Glengarry militia on active service during the

Rebellions of 1837–1838 The Rebellions of 1837–1838 (french: Les rébellions de 1837), were two armed uprisings that took place in Lower and Upper Canada in 1837 and 1838. Both rebellions were motivated by frustrations with lack of political reform. A key shared g ...

, and his wife, Annie Chisholm (1843-1917), whose parents were Ranald Chisholm and Catherine McPhee. He was educated in Glengarry area public schools.

Career

In 1883, before entering politics, McMartin was superintendent of construction on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

where, in 1903, he had allowed the contractor Alfred "Fred" La Rose, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, to prospect, along with his railroad work, on the condition that he split any find 50-50 with McMartin who, in turn, would partner with his brother, Duncan (1868 - 1914). La Rose, while working on construction of the

Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario. Originally built to develop the Lake Timiskaming and Lake Nipissing area ...

(T&NO) at Mile 103 from

North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...

– where he had built a small cabin – there chanced upon

Erythrite Erythrite or red cobalt is a secondary hydrated cobalt arsenate mineral with the formula . Erythrite and annabergite, chemical formula , or nickel arsenate form a complete series with the general formula . Erythrite crystallizes in the monoclin ...

, often an indication of associated

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...

and native

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. (A fanciful story later developed that La Rose discovered the vein when he threw a hammer at a pesky fox.) La Rose sold his share to the brothers

Noah Timmins Noah Anthony Timmins (March 31, 1867 – January 22, 1936) was a Canadian mining financier and developer who is now counted among the founding fathers of Canada's mining industry. Early life and family Timmins was born Noé-Antoine, in Mattawa, ...

and

Henry Timmins Henry Timmins (born c. 1858) was a Canadian shopkeeper who, with his younger brother, Noah, became an influential mining financier. The brothers are considered to be among the most significant founding fathers of the Canadian mining industry. Earl ...

, effectively creating a ''de facto'' partnership between the McMartin and Timmins brothers. In 1909, the foursome purchased another claim from

Benny Hollinger Benjamin Hollinger (1885–1919) was a Canadian barber turned prospector from Haileybury, Ontario, now considered one of the Founding Fathers of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. He was born April 10, 1885 in Point Alexander, Ontario, the youngest son of s ...

,Sheppard, George
"HOLLINGER, BENJAMIN", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003. Retrieved November 12, 2017. incorporating

Hollinger Mines The Hollinger Gold Mine was discovered on October 9, 1909, by Benny Hollinger, who found the gold-bearing quartz dike that later became known as Hollinger Mines. With his friend, professional prospector Alex Gillies, Hollinger had travelled to the ...

in 1910, with the addition of a fifth partner, Timmins' ally, the

Mattawa, Ontario Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada on Algonquin Nation land at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in the Algonquin language. The first Europeans to pass th ...

, lawyer David A. Dunlap, for whom the

David Dunlap Observatory The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) is an astronomical observatory site in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1935, it was owned and operated by the University of Toronto until 2008. It was then acquired by the city of Richmond Hill, ...

is named, after he had shown great value to the enterprise by successfully defending their claim in court. In 1903, McMartin established himself in

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York (state), New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Unit ...

, where he was president of the Labrador Pulp and Paper Company and of the Motherlode Sheep Creek Mining Company, and vice-president of Hollinger Consolidated Mines. In 1917, McMartin moved to Canada's financial center,

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, where he died in office at the age of 59.

References

Sources

* Prince, Lorenzo
''Montreal: old, new, entertaining, convincing, fascinating''
Montréal International Press Syndicate, Montréal, Québec, Canada, 1915, pages 208-209. * Kerry M. Abel
''Changing Places: History, Community, and Identity in Northeastern Ontario''
McGill-Queen's Press, 2006, page 147. Retrieved October 28, 2017. * Doug Mackey

Past Forward Heritage Limited, October 31, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2017. *

External links

Ontario Heritage Trust plaque at Timmins

Porcupine Prospectors and Developers Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMartin, John Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Unionist Party (Canada) MPs Defunct mining companies of Canada Mines in Timmins Canadian miners Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian company founders Canadian mining businesspeople History of Timmins United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Franco-Ontarian people 1858 births 1918 deaths

Early life

Career

See also

References

Sources

External links