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Snapshots of the past

Photo: George Brown House

Photo: George Brown, founder of The Globe newspaper, champion of anti-slavery and a Father of Confederation

By

Gordon Pim

Buildings and architecture

Published Date: Feb 16, 2006

A flash of phosphorus. A whiff of smoke. And an image is captured. Photographs have chronicled our lives for over 150 years, remaining one of our most enduring testaments to the past.

There is something incredibly nostalgic, even wistful, about looking at a stack of old photographs – whether curling snapshots or mounted studio portraits. Even if we don’t know the people, there is a story told in their eyes . . . their stance . . . their attire. A wary or haughty look, a stiff or uncomfortable gesture, a blurred pose – every movement reveals something remarkable about the people from our past.

The Ontario Heritage Trust, through its extensive and varied collections, tells many stories of our province’s past. Photographic evidence, moreover, shows us people who, in some cases, have only ever lived for us in books. One such man was George Brown, founder of The Globe newspaper, champion of anti-slavery and a Father of Confederation.

George Brown (1818-1880) was born and raised in Scotland. Despite early academic achievements, he joined his father’s wholesale trade business. Early on, he exercised his family’s ardent Liberalism and showed a tendency toward reform and progress. Brown’s strong Presbyterian background, too, established in him an ambition to make a difference in the world. Coming from a large family, Brown quickly developed a strong voice and became keenly interested in public speaking. But a financial crisis in London, coupled with personal business losses, brought hard times to the Brown family. And they chose to emigrate to America.

George and his father sailed to New York in April 1837 when George was just 18 years old, leaving his mother and siblings behind in Edinburgh until the following year. It was here that George and his father started writing for a local newspaper, eventually launching a successful journal of their own. With an eye on the recent union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841, as well as events in the Church of Scotland back in Edinburgh, the Browns were soon persuaded to re-establish themselves in Canada. In 1843, the Browns moved to Toronto.

After establishing The Globe in 1844, with financial support from Reformer friends, Brown found himself becoming more entrenched in the politics of the day. He entered parliament in 1851 and quickly rose to the leadership of the powerful Reform or Liberal party of Upper Canada. He also played a central role in the Abolitionist movement, co-founding the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada in 1851.

During this hectic time, Brown’s health suffered and he decided, in 1862, to take a much-needed convalescent holiday in Britain. It was during this holiday that Brown met Anne Nelson – an intelligent and refined woman with whom he fell deeply in love. The couple was married in November after a brief courtship.

After returning to Toronto, Brown was ready for the increased political pressures and consultations that resulted in the Confederation of Canada. The British North America Act was passed in March 1867 in London, England – with many resolutions drafted by Brown himself. Political changes and competing business interests – as well as devotion to his growing family – took Brown out of the political spotlight. Yet he remained an active Liberal party supporter, personally and through his newspaper. In 1874, Brown was appointed as a senator.

From 1875, Brown spent increasing time between his house on Baldwin Street in Toronto and his estate at Bow Park near Brantford. There, a neighbour’s son – Alexander Graham Bell – invited Brown to become a partner in the “sound telegraphy” system Bell had invented. Brown, however, was dissuaded from joining this business venture.

On March 25, 1880 at The Globe offices, an employee dismissed for drunken behaviour shot Brown in the leg. The wound became infected and ultimately took Brown’s life on May 9. He died, surrounded by family, at his Toronto home (Lambton Lodge) at the age of 61.

Despite his many accomplishments, Brown remained humble and devoted to his family. His refusal of the lieutenant-governorship in 1874 and a knighthood in 1879 added to his distinction. Following his death, Anne Brown and their children returned to Scotland. Lambton Lodge had various lives over the years – from private dwelling to school for the blind – and was declared a National Historic Site in 1976. In 1989, the Ontario Heritage Trust restored George Brown House and reopened it as a conference facility and offices. The Victorian Library was recreated in the House by Parks Canada – complete with 2,000 books from George Brown’s personal collection.

Many of George Brown’s accomplishments survive. Fortunately, too, a photographic trail exists. And as he confidently addresses the camera lens, you get a better sense of the measure of the man.

The Ontario Heritage Trust holds over 20,000 cultural artifacts in its collections – including photographs, furniture and porcelain. These photographs of George Brown and his wife are part of our rich photographic heritage. From prints and albumens to tintypes and daguerreotypes, glimpses of Ontario’s past have been captured and preserved for us all to enjoy.

It was during a holiday in England that Brown met Anne Nelson – an intelligent and refined woman with whom he fell deeply in love. The couple was married in November after a brief courtship.

Photo: It was during a holiday in England that Brown met Anne Nelson – an intelligent and refined woman with whom he fell deeply in love. The couple was married in November after a brief courtship.