James Bain (1842 - 1908)

Born 2 Aug 1842 in London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Jessie Mary (Paterson) Bain — married 1 Jan 1875 in Edinburgh, Scotland

Descendants

Died 22 May 1908 at age 65 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Biography

James Bain is Notable.

James Bain is/was a significant Ontarian .

Born in 1842 in London, England, he was the son of James Bain, a bookseller, and Joanna Watson .^[2] In 1846 the Bains emigrated to Toronto, Canada West (Ontario), where James was educated until the age of 14 when he began working in his father's bookstore. In 1866 he became a travelling salesman with a Toronto publisher and headed up their agency in London, England, in 1875. That year he married Jessie Mary Paterson, his second cousin, in Edinburgh.^[3] They had four children; only one son survived childhood.

After briefly running his own publishing company,^[4] James returned to Toronto in 1881 to manage the Canada Publishing Company. In 1883 the city established a public library and James was appointed its chief librarian. In 1903 he secured a grant from Andrew Carnegie to build a new central library and three branches.

In 1899 he was a founder of the Canadian Society of Authors, served as president of the Ontario Library Association in 1901–2, and helped found the Champlain Society in 1905. He was president of the Canadian Institute in 1900–2 and the St Andrew’s Society of Toronto in 1905–7.

He died in 1908^[5] and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Edith G. Firth, “BAIN, JAMES,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed April 7, 2020, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bain_james_13E.html.
2. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NPF2-G3J : 19 March 2020), James Bain, 1842.
3. ↑ "Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYM5-8JZ : 11 February 2020), James Bain, 1875.
4. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27Q-GKXP : 11 December 2017), James Bain, Lambeth, London,Surrey, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 25, Piece/Folio 626/99, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,313.
5. ↑ "Canada, Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDBV-66G: 2 March 2021), James Bain, 22 May 1908; citing Toronto, York, Ontario, yr 1908 cn 2997, Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,854,464.
6. ↑ "Canada, Ontario, Toronto Trust Cemeteries, 1826-1989", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:276S-HVQ: 19 February 2021), James Bain, 1908.

See also:

• Wikipedia:James_Bain_(librarian)
• Wikidata: Item Q3160927
• Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8161213/james-watson-bain: accessed 31 December 2023), memorial page for Dr James Watson Bain (2 Aug 1842–22 May 1908), Find A Grave: Memorial #8161213, citing Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada; Maintained by marylinusca (contributor 46571623).