Mary Smith of Toronto (1845- )

The Tohm Genealogy

The Foster Genealogy

Mary Smith, b. 1845 in Canada in Barrie, Ontario d. 1911

              Father: Thomas Smith, b. 1802
                 Mother: Eliza James 

 Mary Smith was the youngest child of Thomas and Eliza.   According to  the  1861 census  she was  "born in Barrie" but in subsequent years after here marriage she lived in East Toronto.  Her husband, John Russell, was a brick maker or stone cutter in 1881, however in 1857 at the age of 18 he was recorded as a labourer.  In 1892, John was living in Simcoe, Vespra near Barrie.  Their son, Joseph,  became a member of parliament for East Toronto.

    Spouse: John RUSSELL (1839 - )
    Married 1 December 1863 in Toronto by Rev. H.J. GRASETT.

Children and grandchildren:

  1 Martha Jane Russell (1864 - 1914)

  2 Elizabeth Russell (1866 - )

  3 Joseph Russell (1868 - 1926)
Joseph Russell (1868 - 1926)  was a Toronto businessman and politician. He was the oldest son of John Russell, a brick maker and stone cutter.  Joseph Russell was from brickmaking clan like the Prices and the Morleys., only the Russells were Irish Anglicans. He owned the brickworks at 1308 Queen Street East at Alton Avenue.

Russell was a candidate for the Ontario legislature in 1908 but was unsuccessful. Supporters then nominated him as an Independent candidate against incumbent Conservative MP Albert Edward Kemp, splitting the Conservative Party in Toronto East. Kemp's opponents accused him of neglecting constituents as well as hiring foreign workers (Macedonians and Italians) at poor pay to undercut Canadian workers. Russell won praise for offering rates of pay that allowed workers to "live in houses of their own, and not herd a dozen into a room."

Russell defeated Kemp by almost 800 votes in the 1908 federal election, but Kemp rebuilt the Conservative Party riding machine and defeated Russell three years later in the 1911 election.

  4 Emma Louise Russell (1869 - 1893)

  5 Anne Eleanor Nellie Russell (1871 - 1934)

  6 Maud May Russell (1874 - )

  7 Nellie Russell (1875 - )

  8 Gertrude Russell (1876 - 1920)

  9 Alexander Russell (1880)

10 Alexandra Russell (1880)

11 Mable Irene Russell (1888)

The Tohm Genealogy

The Foster Genealogy