Fonds F1719 - Darling family fonds

Thomas Darling (1814-1883) was born in Berwick, Scotland and came to Canada in the 1830s. In 1845 he established a business as a merchant in Lansdowne, Ontario and supplying wood to steamers at Darlingside, on the St.Lawrence River. A second store was established in 1871, staffed by Darling's oldest son, John. In 1883 Thomas Darling died and was survived by three sons - John David William, Thomas John and George Henry - who carried on the family business with some diversification. Thomas and John continued in the store while George specialized in imported teas he sold through travelling agents. There are no records of the sale of wood after 1883. Beside their commerce, the family owned and managed considerable property in the St. Lawrence and in the early twentieth century purchased and mortgaged property in Alberta.