X00305: John Douglas in Amherstburg

Just a quick update on X00305 where I've been trying to find out more about the Douglas and Williams brewers in Amherestburg, Ontario around 1850 and if they were connected to the Douglas and Williams brewers in Guelph from around the same time.

It's not much of a discovery, but going through past issues of the Amherstburg Echo and came across a number of ads like this one posted towards the end of 1849:

It's not much, but it does mean that there was a brewery for sale in the area in 1849. It's certainly not proof of anything, but it's a lead.

X00305 Update

I have posted previously about X00305 and how I found listings for a Douglas and Williams brewery in Amherstberg, Essex, Ontario and was wondering if it was the same John Douglas and Thomas Williams who were operating a brewery in Guelph around the same time.

I have since contacted the Essex Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society to see if they had any more history about a brewery operation in Amherstburg operating aroun 1851. They weren't able to find anything in their collections or in the Marsh Collection about a Douglas and Williams Brewery in Amherstburg.

Recently, however, I was looking at the death registration for Mary Sophia Douglas, John Douglas' first daughter [D01451]. It states that she was born in 1851 in Amherstburg:

If this is the case, it definitely puts John Douglas living in the area at the time. Unfortunately the 1851 census for Amherstburg didn't survive, so it can't be verified that way. And to make things difficult, different documents give different birth years and locations for Mary Sophia Douglas, including Detroit and Guelph. So more further analysis is needed before I can definitely conclude anything.

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Sources:
[D01451] Ontario Archives of Ontario, Ontario, Canada Deaths, MS935, Reel 336: 815, 15873, 14; digital image, Ancestry.ca, "Ontario, Canada Deaths," Ancestry.ca.

[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.

X00305: Douglass & Williams Brewers in Amhertsberg?

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.

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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.