Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Butchart, Robert Pim |
Othernames |
R. P. Butchart |
Born |
March 30, 1856 |
Birthplace |
Owen Sound, Canada West |
Places of residence |
Owen Sound, Canada West / Ontario (until 1904). Then resided at Victoria, British Columbia |
Father |
George McLauchlan Butchart (G. M. Butcha |
Mother |
Mary Butchart (nee Chatwin) |
Nationality |
Canadian |
Notes |
In the 19th-century, George M. Butchart moved from the Forfar area of Scotland, eventually settling in Owen Sound, Canada West. He and his wife (nee Mary Chatwin?) had eleven children, one of which was Robert Pim Butchart. G.M. Butchart was one of the sons of James Butchart Sr. (b. Dundee, Scotland), who with his wife Mary (the former Mary McLauchlan) came to Canada in 1845, first settling in Montreal before they came to Owen Sound. James Butchart (d. Sept. 1886) was 81 years old when he passed away. James Butchart's sons included George (a tinsmith), David (a tailor), and James (a carpenter). James Butchart Sr. also had a temperance house (hotel?) along Poulett St. circa 1852. In March of 1890, the Butchart Block (and the R. P. Butchart & Brother store) caught on fire. The fire location was near the corner of Baker Street (now 9th St. East) and Poulett St. (main street). The Butchart business was rebuilt. R. P. Butchart had learned the hardware store and stove business from his father George. He also became interested in the Portland Cement industry, as he and his wife Jennie, had honeymooned after their wedding in 1884 in England, where the Portland Cement industry was started. He and others recognized the potential for manufacturing Portland Cement in Grey County. Robert and his brother David Martins Butchart were involved in this endeavour, and also worked in the hardware store business. Robert Pim Butchart's mother, Mrs. G. M. Butchart, was formerly Miss Mary Chatwin of Birmingham, England. Her father was an architect, who came to Owen Sound in the early 1840s, and who was the architect in charge of the Grey County county buildings project in the early 1850s. Mrs. Butchart was Methodist. She was married to George for about 67 years. One of their daughters drowned as a result of the wreck of the C.P.R. ship ALGOMA. Mrs. G. M. Butchart lived at 9th St. East when she passed away age 90. There is a photograph of Butchart's Hardware store at Owen Sound (see 1955.011.008). There is also an image of Owen Sound businessmen that includes R. P. Butchart (see 1980.381.001). In the 1892 Rutherford's Directory, this store was located at 88 Poulett St. (now a 2nd Ave. East location). In 1903, R. P. Butchart and his wife relocated to Victoria, British Columbia. He started a Portland Cement company there. The book SIRENS ACROSS THE SOUND mentions an April, 1905 fire that involved the R. Butchart & Bro. warehouse. R. P. Butchart eventually had interests in several cement mills in Canada, including mills at Calgary and Montréal, and in the United States as well. During the First World War, he directed the Shipbuilding Department of the Imperial Munitions Board in British Columbia. R. P. Butchart died in 1943. His wife, Jennie, died in 1950. They had two daughters, Jennie Butchart and Mary Butchart. A grand-son, Robert Ian Ross, was born in 19__. |
Occupation |
Owen Sound Businessman Hardware Store owner R. P. Butchart & Brother Owen Sound Portland Cement (1888+) Industrialist Masonic Lodge (Free Mason) |
Publications |
"Last Big Fire On Main Street 30 Years Ago Butchart Fire Will Be Remembered By All Of The Older Residents of the Town, OWEN SOUND DAILY SUN-TIMES, (clipping in one of Izetta Frazer's binders), c. 1920 Christie, John, SIRENS ACROSS THE SOUND: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE OWEN SOUND FIRE DEPARTMENT, p. 17. |
Relationships |
Grandson: Robert Ian Ross Brother: David Martins Butchart (D. M. Butchart) R. P. Butchart was a Free Mason. |
Role |
Business person |
Spouse |
Miss Jennie Foster Kennedy of Toronto (married in 1884) |
Children |
Jennie Butchart Mary Butchart |
