Matthew James Boylen (August 10, 1907 – July 7, 1970) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
businessman and
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
racehorse owner.
Jim Boylen was born in
Weston
Weston may refer to:
Places Australia
* Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Weston, New South Wales
* Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra
* Weston Park, Canberra, a park
Canada
* Weston, Nova Scotia
* ...
,
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 ...
and raised in Alberta. In his early teens he left home and returned to
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...
where he and elder brother Fred eventually operated a
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
. By the time he was twenty years old, Boylen had become a full-time
prospector
Prospector may refer to:
Space exploration
* Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962
* '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft
Trains
* Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...
and in 1934 established business offices in the city of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
. He would be the founder of
Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corp. Ltd in
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst ( 2021 population; UA 12,157 ) is the largest City in Northern New Brunswick, it overlooks the Nepisiguit Bay, part of Chaleur Bay and is at the estuary of the Nepisiguit River. As part of the New Brunswick local governance reform , ...
, an operation later acquired by
Noranda which is now known as
Xstrata
Xstrata plc was an Anglo-Swiss multinational mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It was a major producer of coal (and the world's largest exporter of thermal coal), copper, ...
.
An
art collector
A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...
, in 1959 Boylen was a founding donor to the
Beaverbrook Art Gallery
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a public art gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is named after William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, who funded the building of the gallery and assembled the original collection. It opened i ...
in
Fredericton, New Brunswick, donating twenty-two paintings by
Cornelius Krieghoff.
time.com: "Art: Beaver's Greatest Landmark"
28 Sep 1958
Boylen died at his Toronto home in 1970 and was buried in that city's Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Lanson Farm
During the 1950s and 1960s, Jim Boylen operated Lanson Farm in Malton, Ontario
Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto.
Malton is bounded by Highway 427 to the east, the Brampton city limits (a Canadian National Railway (CN) rail l ...
, a large Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
racehorse operation. He and brother Phil both were involved in the sport and famously passed on the opportunity to buy the great Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...
when he was part of the E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadians, Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing, race ...
annual yearling sale.
Lanson Farm won a number of important races in Canada as well as in the United States. Of their many successful horses, Anita's Son was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
The ...
.
References
Matthew James Boylen at the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boylen, Matthew James
1907 births
1970 deaths
Businesspeople from Toronto
Canadian racehorse owners and breeders
Canadian art collectors
Canadian philanthropists
Canadian mining businesspeople
Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto