The Gregory family

I was recently asked by a real estate agent to pull together the history of a cottage that was on the market for the purchaser.  This research introduced me to the Gregory family of Lindsay, Ontario, who were the first owners of Lots 10 & 11 on Lake Avenue.

On September 1, 1884, Edmund Gregory and his wife, Mary, purchased the Lot 11 and part of Lot 10 from Thomas Stewart for $50.  On the 8th of July 1889, he purchased the remainder of Lot 10 from Martin Luther Calvert for $200. The family notes indicate that Edmund borrowed money from his second oldest son Herbert Gregory to finance the second purchase.  Herbert was 17 years old at the time...

Wedding Portrait of Edmund Gregory & Mary Wight
Married 4 Jun 1867, Lindsay ON by Rev. A. Edwards
Portrait by G. Martin of Montreal while on their honeymoon.

They built their cottage on Lot 10.

The Gregory Cottage, early 1890s

Edmund was a druggist in Lindsay. He and Mary had five sons and a daughter - Ethelwynn (1868-1951), Alfred Edmund (1869-1950), William Herbert (1872-1950), Frank Wright (1873-1962), Henry Glyde (1874-1951) and Arthur Keele (1880-1956).  The family appears in the 1891 Census with two of the boys working with their father.


Five sons of Edmund & Mary Gregory - taken at Alfred's Wedding, 30 Jun 1897
Top: Henry Glyde Gregory (1874-1951) and Frank Wright Gregory (1873-1962)
Middle: the groom, Alfred Edmund Gregory (1869-1950)
Bottom: William Herbert Gregory (1872-1950) and Arthur Keele Gregory (1880-1956)

Sadly Edmund Gregory passed away in February 1892.  His widow and the children continued to use their cottage until the fall of 1893 when Lot 10 was sold to Adam Fordyce Barr and Lot 11 sold to Ernest McGaffey both of Lindsay.  Lot 10 remains in the Barr family.  Lot 11 later passed to Ernest's sister, Emma McGaffey before being sold to Marjorie Jones, then to Col. Eric Phillips, then to Fred Connell and passing down through his family, until its sale this spring.

The Gregory family continued to come to Sturgeon Point as illustrated by this picture taken in 1896.

Henry Glyde Gregory, Lillie Pearson, Willie Dundas,
Mrs. Sam Hughes with daughter Tweet, and Ethelwynne Gregory
The photo was taken by Joe Keele, a maternal cousin of the Gregory's, circa 1896

In 1911, Adam Fordyce Barr completed renovations to the original cottage to accommodate his growing family. The Gregory cottage still stands today as the western portion of Tolka Lodge.

The Gregory family would continue to cottage.  In September 1917, Henry Glyde Gregory purchased the point of land on Cameron Lake that had previously been owned by Sit Sam Hughes.

I would like to thank Gregory descendant, Bruce Gregory of North Carolina for sharing his family's pictures with us.