Certainly one of the foremost citizens of Acton in it’s early years would be that of William Heslop Storey. Born in England in 1837, Mr. Story came to Acton as a young man. He was the only child of parents who both died when he was just fifteen. He was an industrious sort and became a partner with J. F. Taylor after he finished his apprenticeship in 1856. That firm dissolved in 1859 upon the removal of Mr. Taylor to Georgetown, and Mr. Storey continued on his own in Acton. William Heslop Storey married Hannah Jane Smith in July of 1857 and together they had seven children over the next twenty-two years. Storey was active in his civic responsibility and became the first Reeve of Acton in 1873. He only remained there until the end of 1874 when her resigned, but he remained as a councillor for eighteen years. He was also a Justice of the Peace for over twenty-five years. In 1868, one year after the birth of the son who would take over his business in later years, he extablished Canada Glove Works. This after realizing the need for quality gloves not available by other manufacturers at the time. Storey was active in his civic responsibility and became the first Reeve of Acton in 1873. He only remained there until the end of 1874 when he resigned, but he remained as a councillor for eighteen years. He was also a Justice of the Peace for over twenty-five years. In 1875 Storey erected the first tannery for glove leather. The tannery sat on Bower Street near the Millpond and was the first building in Acton to have an electric sign atop the factory. Active in the Methodist church, Storey was apparently generous and was said to never have refused a man a job. At one point his business had upwards of 200 employees and became the largest of its kind in Canada.
He lived in a fine residence “Sundervilla” at the corner of John and Mill Streets, built in the late 1800’s. Another first was that this house was the first in Acton to be heated by steam. Well liked by the community it is said that over 1000 people attended the funeral of Mr. Storey in 1898. The town closed its businesses for a day in respect for William Storey. They buried him in Fairview Cemetery, a cemetery, he helped fight to establish. William Albert Storey, his youngest living son took over the business after his death. He remained a bachelor and in later years he was actively associated with Ryder & Mowat Glove Co. until his retirement. Active in local baseball as were the Ryder boys this is most likely where they formed a bond, and went into business together. The Ryders were also members of the same congregation. There was an extensive write up in the local paper. For anyone interested download the adobe file above: Edward Ryder and John Mowatt were active in the glove manufacture after that of Storey was no more. Many of the citizens of Acton were employed by the Glove Factory. In fact, both my great-grandmother and several of my great aunts, and my grandmother were glove makers. Some of this work they were able to do at home. This week I have posted about bios my great aunt Ida May Ryder and Alice Maude Ryder, my grandmother. Both daughters of James Ryder and Frances Sophia Martin. I know that my grandmother was a glove maker when she was young. This most likely accounts for her fine handwork.
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Stephanie Bell-Boissonneault"When researching Family never leave a stone unturned, not even a pebble." Archives
July 2023
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