William Rennie 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 ...

farmer who became a successful seed merchant, educator, and writer on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. Rennie's parents were farmers. Rennie started farming his own 120 acre section (Concession II Lot 14 in then Markham Township and now eastside of Bayview Avenue south of 16th Avenue of Richmond Hill) in 1860. But in 1867 he rented out his farm, moved to Toronto, and opened a seed company that sold both vegetable and floral seeds. Most of his customers purchased their seeds through a colorful mail order catalogue. Rennie retired in 1889, turning over management of his business to three of his four sons,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, John and

Thomas Rennie ''Thomas Rennie'' is a -year-old Toronto Island ferry operated by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division of the City of Toronto government. She entered service in 1951, the most recent of the three ferries that bring visitors to the Toro ...

. (His fourth son, William Jr, became a Presbyterian missionary.) After his retirement Rennie became the first official farm manager of the model farm at the Faculty of Agriculture at the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, where he authored two books on farm management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rennie, William Canadian farmers Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian horticulturists 1835 births 1910 deaths 19th-century farmers