Samuel D. Cruthers (abt. 1855 - 1913)

Ancestors Descendants

Biography

Samuel D. Cruthers, the son of William Cruthers and Margaret Culbert, was raised on a farm near Bond Head, Ontario. ^[1]As a young man, he was a teacher in Simcoe County before leaving that profession in 1878 ^[2] to enter banking. He moved to Fort Qu'Appelle, Northwest Territories, where he opened a bank, Cruthers & Co., and was appointed a justice of the peace in 1884 and again in 1886.

In 1888, Samuel married Lizzie Webster in London, Ontario. ^[3] They had four children: William Maurice (b. 1889), Robert Horace (1890-1890), Elizabeth Marjory (1893-1898) and Marion Louise (1898-1898).

Cruthers & Co. advertisement

In 1888, after selling his banking business in Fort Qu'Appelle, he opened another bank in Manitou, Manitoba. Samuel served on the Manitou Board of Trade, was Treasurer of Pembina Municipality in 1892 and President of the Manitou Conservatives. He became the village's first mayor in 1897, the same year he sold his bank to the Bank of Hamilton and became the manager of the Union Bank.^[4]

Manitou Mercury, March 30, 1889: Our good-looking Banker was walking briskly along Main Street this morning carrying something in a paper bag. It was not generally known what the bag contained until an accident happened and the sidewalk was painted with eggs. Some person hollered out, "eggs-actly," another said "eggs-cuse me." Mr. Cruthers himself remarked that it was "eggs-cruciating,"and after a laugh all round the fun subsided.

Lizzie died on December 26, 1899, following the deaths of her three youngest children. In 1901, Samuel married her sister Ettie. ^[5] On their honeymoon, they spent three months in Europe; four years later, they took a three-month vacation to Mexico. ^[6] In 1906 the couple left Manitou and moved to Hastings, Ontario, where Samuel was the manager of the Union Bank for a short time. They then relocated to Oakville, Ontario, where Samuel bought a 50-acre fruit farm (the former Fairbrother farm on Lakeshore East) ^[7] and became a "gentleman farmer." (See Space:The Oakville Orchard of Samuel Cruthers.)

Samuel in his Oakville orchard, 1910

The Cruthers were recorded in the Census of Canada, 1911, living in Oakville with William and three staff members, George and Ada Savage and May Biggadike.^[8]

After Samuel fell ill in 1913, he and Ettie travelled to Hot Springs, Arkansas, in the hope that treatment there would help.^[9] When it didn't, they returned home and Samuel died on March 25, 1913, following an operation at Wellesley Hospital in Toronto. It is possible that he had prostate cancer.^[10] He was buried at Woodland Cemetery, London.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ "Canada Census, 1871," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M47T-2RT : 19 March 2021), Samuel Cruthers in household of Margaret Cruthers, Tecumseth, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada; citing 1871; citing National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
2. ↑ Report of the Minister of Education, Ontario, 1880, p. 144
3. ↑ Webster Family Bible [1]
4. ↑ Various newspaper articles in family scrapbook in possession of L. Cruthers
5. ↑ "Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KZBX-TSL : accessed 24 Aug 2014), Samuel Cruthers and Esther Webster, 17 Apr 1901; citing registration , London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1871080.
6. ↑ The Canadian, November 30, 1905
7. ↑ Oakville Star, August 15, 1907; Sunday World, April 18, 1909
8. ↑ "Recensement du Canada de 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9T-ZPVS : 16 March 2018), Samuel Caruthers, 1911; citing Census, Halton Sub-Districts 1-32, Ontario, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,700.
9. ↑ Letter from Ettie to Maurice in possession of L. Cruthers
10. ↑ "Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JDDF-TVC : accessed 24 Aug 2014), Samuel Cruthers, 25 Mar 1913; citing Toronto, York, Ontario, yr 1913 cn 2591, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1854930.
11. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219980283/samuel-cruthers : accessed 16 February 2022), memorial page for Samuel Cruthers (17 Oct 1855–25 Mar 1913), Find a Grave Memorial ID 219980283, citing Woodland Cemetery, London, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada ; Maintained by jan (contributor 50119773) .

See also:

• "Canada Census, 1891," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWKH-F6X : 3 August 2016), Samuel Cruthers, Dufferin South, Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada; Public Archives, Ottawa, Ontario; Library and Archives Canada film number 30953_148097.
• Manitoba Historical Society
  
• Obituary in Apr. 17, 1913 edition of Canadian Champion
  
• Daily Free Press, Winnipeg, Apr. 16, 1888
  
• The Manitou Mercury, Oct. 15, 1892