I’ve been doing some more research on historical breweries in Ontario and I’ve found something interesting. Both “The Art and Mystery of Brewing in Ontario” by Ian Bowering [D06545] and “The Directory of Canadian Breweries Past and Present” by Richard L. Sweet [D06546] mention a Douglas and Williams brewery operating in Amherstberg, Essex County out near Windsor, Ontario.
The first source (Bowering) lists:
Douglas and Williams, brewers 1851 [D06545]and the second one (Sweet) lists:
Douglass & Williams; brewers 1851-1853 [D06546]I came across the attached record for Amherstberg from an 1851 directory of Canada West. This is presumably where Bowering got his information from.
So, the big question is, are these two brewers in Amherstburg the John Douglas and Thomas Williams who were operating a brewery in Guelph around the same time?
On the one hand, the names could be a coincidence, as Douglas and Williams are both very common names. On the other hand, perhaps this ties in with the fact that John Douglas’ marriage notice says that he was from Detroit. Perhaps they operated out of multiple locations? Perhaps Douglas was working as an agent for the Guelph operations?
The 1851 census would likely give some indication, but unfortunately that portion of the census has not survived for Amherstburg. I've checked the 1861 census for Amherstburg and there doesn't appear to be anyone with the surname of Douglas living there at the time. Nor is there anyone with the surname Williams with an occupation of brewer.
Next step: Check other resources to see if I can find out the first names of the Douglas and Williams of Amherstberg.
Sources: [D06545] Bowering, Ian, The Art and Mystery of Brewing in Ontario. Burnstown, Ontario, 1988.
[D06546] Sweet, Richard L., Directory of Canadian Breweries (Past and Present); Second Edition. Saskatoon, 1996.
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