Charles Hurdman is the patriarch of the family for whom the Transitway station and nearby park are named. He came to Hull Township from Ireland, by way of New York, in 1818.[1]
Hurdman, Charles, came in 1818, and after stopping a while in Hull Village, he, with his brother Henry, also took up lots 21, 22 and 27 in range 5. He located on lot 15, R. 2, on the Aylmer Road, north of Deschenes. His sons were Wm. H., who married Sarah Smith; Charles, who married Sally Wright, daughter of John; John, who married Eliza Fraser; George, who married Agnes Fraser; and Robert, who married Grace Fraser. He had one daughter, Mrs. Robert Fraser, of Cumberland, the only survivor of the family.[2]
In 1841 his sons William, Charles and Robert formed "W. Hurdman and Brothers", which went on to become a major lumber firm. William and Robert later moved to the Township of Gloucester to expand the company.[1] The jumble of roads, ramps and bridges next to RCMP Headquarters on the Vanier Parkway was once the thriving village of Hurdman's Bridge.[3]
Later descendants founded Hurdman Paving Ltd, which had the contract in the 1950s and 1960s to tear up streetcar tracks all over the city.[1]
He died in 1847 and was buried alongside many of his family members in Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario.[4]
Hurdman was an early settlement family in the Ottawa area and contributed to the industrial and agricultural development along the Rideau River. Charles Hurdman came to the Ottawa Valley from County Cavan, Ireland, in the first part of the 1800s. Charles and Margaret Graham had a family of five sons and one daughter. Three of their sons, William, Robert and Charles Jr. established a lumber business in 1841 with mills located at Chaudière Falls. Operating under the name of Hurdman Brothers, the company went on to become one of the largest timber operations in Quebec. Charles Jr. remained in the family home on Alymer Road while William and Robert moved to the Junction Gore of Gloucester Township in the early 1870s. William settled on Lot 13, Junction Gore and Robert acquired Lot 14. William became director of the two district agricultural societies and organized the Dominion Exhibition of 1879. Both won international awards for their horse breeding at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. William’s property as “Waterford Farm” and Robert’s as “Victoria Cottage”.[5][6]
HENRY HURDMAN, OF EARDLEY, a brother of Charles pioneer went to Eardley. He was Henry, whose son Henry is one of the prominent farmers of that township. He is in his nintieth year (circa 1906), hale and active. He married Martha, daughter of Thomas Josey pioneer who married Rosina, daughter of the first settler of the township the noted Nathan Merrifield.[2]
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Charles is 26 degrees from Herbert Adair, 24 degrees from Richard Adams, 22 degrees from Mel Blanc, 26 degrees from Dick Bruna, 22 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 31 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 23 degrees from Sam Edwards, 22 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 25 degrees from Marty Krofft, 17 degrees from Junius Matthews, 17 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 21 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Categories: Hull, Lower Canada | Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario