Update on X00298 - John Williams Brewing History Part 1

I have posted previously about John Williams and researching his work as a brewer. There are a few questions that I have been trying to piece together:

1. The 1861 Census lists his as a brewer living in Brampton [D03739]. Which brewery could he have been working for?
2. There was a John Williams who supposedly opened a brewery in 1864 in Flesherton (From Whiskey and Wickedness) [D05727]. Is that the same John Williams?
3. His death record lists him as a brewer living in Owen Sound in 1889 [D03737]. Which brewery could he have been working for?

To address the first question, I recently visited the Peel Archives to look at some of their records and also to the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library to look through the Directory of Canadian Breweries [D06546]. I've found a few breweries that were in operation in Brampton close to 1861, but none that appear to be in operation in 1861:

• Fletcher, E. & R.; brewers 1853-1857
• Fewson, John; brewer and maltster 1865-1874

There are some others who came later in the 1870s as well.

So, it would appear that there are no clear obvious choices as to where he could have been working in 1861. But there are some other possibilities:

• Brain's Brewery, located one mile east of Hornby was in operation from 1832 to 1916 [D06545].
• Richard Church was brewing at the time and moved his operations between Cooksville in Peel region and Caledon [D06546]. Perhaps he also had operations in Brampton?

Nothing clear, but there are some definite avenues to pursue.

Next week, I'll provide updates the second and third questions.

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Sources:
[D03737] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935 Reel 54: 395, 5588, 1; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca (6 May 2018). Rec. Date: 3 Sep 2017. Cit. Date: 6 May 2018.

[D03739] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Peel, sub-district Brampton, Brampton, p. 15; RG 31; digital images, Ancestry.ca (accessed 13 May 2018). Rec. Date: 5 Feb 2018. Cit. Date: 13 May 2018.

[D05727] Cotton, Larry D., Whiskey and Wickedness Volume V - Wellington and Grey Counties, Ontario. Self-published, 2017.

[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.