Thomas Marks (June 21, 1834 – July 9, 1900) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born

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 who served as the first mayor of

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been the district seat of ...

(later part of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

). He was born in

Kilfinane Kilfinnane or Kilfinane () ( or , ) is a small market town in County Limerick, Ireland. The town's name comes from the Irish (church) and (Finnian), making its meaning "Church of Saint Finnian". Kilfinnane is located approximately 40 ...

, the son of Samuel Marks, and came with his family to

Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a Grou ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

in the 1840s. In 1857, he opened a general store with his brother George at

Bruce Mines Bruce Mines is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on the north shore of Lake Huron in the Algoma District along Highway 17. The town of Bruce Mines had a population of 582 residents in 2016. The current mayor of Bruce Mines is L ...

. In 1868, they opened a branch at the Landing (later Prince Arthur's Landing and then Port Arthur) and, in 1871, at Sault Ste Marie. Marks became a resident of Prince Arthur's Landing and lobbied for the establishment of a railway station there on the proposed transcontinental railway; however, nearby Fort William was favoured by the government as the site of the station. He then led the push for the construction of the Prince Arthur's Landing and Kaministiquia Railway which connected to the railway which later became 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 ...

. He supplied contractors working on the railway and also established warehouses and docks on the waterfront. Marks married Agnes Jane Buchanan in 1875. He was reeve of

Shuniah Shuniah () is a municipal township bordering the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada on the east. Shuniah was incorporated by an act of the Ontario legislature in 1873, and at that time included much of present-day Thunder Bay and its predecesso ...

from 1875 to 1884 and became mayor of the newly incorporated town of Port Arthur in 1884. He also owned the Northern Hotel Company and the steamship ''Algonquin'' and was president of the Thunder Bay Colonization Railway (later the

Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway The Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway (PADW) was a Canadian railway that operated in Northwestern Ontario. The PADW was built in 1889 by investors interested in extracting the mineral and timber wealth of the Whitefish River Valley, Silver ...

). He died in Toronto of kidney failure at the age of 66. His nephew

George Thomas Marks George Thomas Marks (August 31, 1856 – May 21, 1907) was a businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada. He was mayor of Port Arthur, Ontario (later Thunder Bay) from 1893 to 1899. He was born in Bruce Mines, Canada West, the son of George ...

also served as mayor of Port Arthur.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Thomas 1834 births 1900 deaths Mayors of Port Arthur, Ontario Irish emigrants to Canada (before 1923)