John Brown
Toronto Daily Star, February 1 1929
Normally, tracing somebody named John Brown in the Toronto city directories would be an exercise in futility - for example, the 1929 directory has 50 people with that name with no middle initial and another 46 with John plus an initial. But, fortunately, the John Brown from this photograph remained in one location.
The 1929 directory lists John Brown as a foreman at R. S. Williams and living at 696 Brock Avenue. The 1931 directory lists him as an engineer at R. S. Williams and at the same home address. This was the last year that he remained in employment, as the 1932 directory lists him at 696 Brock with no occupation. He appears in city directories up to 1939; the 1940 directory lists his widow, Mary Brown, at 696 Brock.
Since the caption of this photograph stated that Mr. Brown had been at the R.S. Williams firm for 45 years, I checked back in the 1885 directory. Sure enough, I found him: he was listed as working as a teamster at R. S. Williams and Son. So his was an old-time success story of starting at the bottom and working his way up.
Created October 15, 2025.