Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Jonathan Schofield

Male Cal 1829 - 1918  (~ 88 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Jonathan Schofield 
    Born CALC 27 Aug 1829  Rochdale, , Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Gender Male 
    Business Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Hespeler Custom Woollen Mills 
    Hespeler-Business-HespelerCustomWoollenMills-JonathanSchofield-001-davert.JPG
    Hespeler-Business-HespelerCustomWoollenMills-JonathanSchofield-001-davert.JPG
    Business Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    J. Schofield & Co. 
    Occupation 1867  Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    pedlar 
    Occupation 1871  Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Cloth Manufacturer 
    Elected Office 1875  Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    councillor of Hespeler 
    Honoured Schofield St., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Schofield Street was named to honor Jonathan Schofield.
    Name John Scofield 
    Occupation 1881  Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    woollen manufacturer 
    Occupation 1896  Oshawa, Ontario Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    manufacturer 
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-24732 
    Died 29 Apr 1918  Oshawa, Ontario Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 5
    Cause: senile degeneration with arteio sclerosis (one month) & heart failure (6 hours) 
    Buried New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 5
    Person ID I24732  Generations
    Last Modified 25 Apr 2024 

    Family 1 Anna Maria Graham,   b. 1851, Barrie, Simcoe Co., Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 17 Apr 1942  (Age 91 years) 
    Married 27 Jun 1896  Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Last Modified 26 Apr 2024 
    Family ID F6240  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Agnes Dent,   b. CALC 6 May 1839, , England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Mar 1877, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 37 years) 
    Children 
     1. William Edward Schofield,   b. CALC 6 Nov 1861,   d. 10 Dec 1863  (Age ~ 2 years)
     2. John Arthur Schoefield,   b. 1865, Liverpool, , Lancashire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     3. Mary A. Schofield,   b. 1867, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Apr 1901  (Age 34 years)
     4. Herbert Schofield,   b. CALC 6 Mar 1870, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Aug 1870  (Age ~ 0 years)
     5. Lilia Ida Schofield,   b. CALC 13 Sep 1872, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Mar 1878, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 5 years)
     6. Daisy Agnes Schofield,   b. CALC 29 Jan 1877, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Apr 1877, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 0 years)
    Last Modified 26 Apr 2024 
    Family ID F7208  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 3 Sarah Mackew,   b. 1847, Leicester, , Leicestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Jul 1894, Oshawa, Ontario Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 47 years) 
    Children 
     1. Melton James Schofield,   b. 19 Sep 1879, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 17 Dec 1903, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 24 years)
     2. Harry Gordon Schofield,   b. 4 Jul 1881, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 Aug 1881, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 0 years)
     3. Charles Edward Schofield,   b. 25 Aug 1882, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
    Last Modified 26 Apr 2024 
    Family ID F23935  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • During the twentieth century, perhaps the single most important employer in Hespeler was the Dominion Woollens and Worsteds. A later version of the R. Forbes Company, this enterprise was one of the largest woollen mills in the British Empire and it was probably the largest in Canada producing a high quality textile. It is estimated that approximately 1,200 people (40% of the population of the town) were employed there, which caused it to be known as "The Company of Neighbours" (McLaughlin 2006: 15, 63). Forbes continued the paternalistic role begun by Hespeler, and even with the sale of the company in 1928 to the Toronto-based syndicate who renamed it "Dominion Woollens and Worsteds", the benevolent dominance of the company in town affairs continued (McLaughlin and Fleuren 2006).

      The origins of this mill may be traced back to Jacob Hespeler's cotton mill which he sold in 1863, to a group of businessmen who renamed it Randall Farr & Co. The business was expanded during the 1860s, and sold to Jonathan Schofield and Robert Forbes in 1874. Forbes bought out the interest of Schofield in 1880, after which the firm was known as "R. Forbes & Co." During the late nineteenth century, textile workers from Scotland were enticed to settle in Hespeler with the promise of steady employment at the mills, and new subdivisions were developed in order to provide housing for the mill workers during the 1920s.


      Cambridge Heritage Master Plan Final Report, The Corporation of the City of Cambridge by Bray Heritage. Jun 2008

      _________________________


      In 1870 he [Robert Forbes] tore down the old tannery and stave mill in Hespeler and replaced it with a modern stone factory to manufacture woollen goods in partnership with Jonathan Schofield. The new company known as J. Schofield and Co. later changed its name to Star Woollens and manufactured flannels, tweeds and druggets (carpets) as well as cloth with large plaid designs. In 1871, the Forbes family moved again to an estate he named ‚Summerhill in Guelph. His new factory operated only until 1874 when the partners purchased the large woollen mill of Randall, Farr & Co. on Queen St. West (Len's Mill Outlet today). Following business and personal differences, Mr. Forbes bought out the interests of Mr. Schofield and the partnership was dissolved in 1880. The company operated as R. Forbes & Co. until 1888 when it was incorporated as R. Forbes Co. Ltd. with George Duthie Forbes as president and older brother James Hyde Forbes as a company director.


      Hespeler Happenings, The Company of Neighbours Spring 2011

      _____________________

      JONATHAN SCHOFIELD.

      Jonathan Schofield, senior partner of the Schofield Woollen Mills Company of Oshawa, was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, in August, 1829, a son of Edmond and Alice (Wolfenden) Schofield. At a very early age entered business life, securing employment in a cotton mill, where he remained for several years. Thinking to enjoy better business opportunities in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1854. Soon afterward, however, he returned to England, but came again in 1860 and from the States made his way to Canada in 1863, locating at Hespeler, where he was employed for some time in the woollen mills. When economy and industry had brought him a reputation he was assisted in starting a mill on his own account by Mr. Robert Forbes and Goldie & McCulloch of Galt, Ontario, in 1867 and in 1870 he admitted Robert Forbes to a partnership under the firm style of J. Schofield & Company. In 1880 he sold his interest to Mr. Forbes and removed to Paris, where he became connected with a knitted goods factory, this association being maintained until 1892, when the mill was destroyed by fire. He then came to Oshawa and purchased the property formerly occupied by the Mason Manufacturing Company. Again he embarked in the knitting business, employing from thirty to forty workmen. The trade has steadily grown and now gives employment to one hundred and fifty people in the manufacture of men's knitted top shirts and underwear. The company turns out only high grade goods, the principal brand being Woolnap unshrinkable underwear. They sell exclusively to the wholesale trade and there is no wholesale warehouse in the Dominion handing men's goods where the output of the Schofield knitting mills is not represented. The company are importers of wool, fully seven-eighths of their output being manufactured from foreign grown material.

      Mr. Schofield has two sons, John Arthur and Charles Edgar, who are associated with him in the business and assume a large share of its management. Although the father is now seventy-eight years of age he is still a most active and energetic business man and his advice and counsel are an important element in the conduct of the business, which under his guidance has grown to extensive and profitable proportions. In religious faith he is an Anglican and in political affiliation a Conservative.

      A History of Ontario: its resources and development

  • Sources 
    1. [S508] Census - ON, Waterloo, Hespeler - 1871, Page 18.

    2. [S713] Vit - ON - Death Registration, death certificate 29463 (1918), Jonathan Schofield, accessed 3 Jul 2010.
      Jonathan Schofield, d. 29 Apr 1918 Oshawa, aged 88y, 8m, 2d, b. England, buried Hespeler, informant Chas. Schofield of Osahwa, cause: senile degeneration with arteio sclerosis (one month) & heart failure (6 hours)

    3. [S721] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, marriage certificate 15061 (1896), Schofield-Graham.
      Name: Jonathan Schofield Birth Place: Lancashire, England Age: 66 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1830 manufacturer of Oshawa, Father Name: Edmund Schofield Mother Name: Alice Schofield Spouse Name: Anna Maria Graham, residence Toronto, Spouse's Age: 42 Spouse Birth Year: abt 1854 Spouse Birth Place: Barrie, Ontario Spouse Father Name: William Graham Spouse Mother Name: Marianne Graham Marriage Date: 27 Jun 1896 , All Saints Church, Toronto.

    4. [S1668] Directory - ON, Waterloo - 1867 - Gazetteer and directory of the County of Waterloo. 1867.
      Schofield, Jonathan Place: Hespeler, Street: Queen, Occ. or Comments: pedlar, Pg: 123

    5. [S237] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - New Hope CC#4498 Internet Link .
      Mary Schofield/ Beloved Wife Of/ John Irwin/ Died April 7,1901/ Aged/ 33 Years/ Melton James Schofield/ Died Dec. 17,1903/ Aged/ 23 Years/ Johnathan Schofield/ Beloved Husband Of Anna Schofield/ Died In Oshawa Apr. 29,1918/ In His 89th Year/ Anna Beloved Wife Of/ John Schofield/ Died April 17,1942/ Aged 89 Years

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - CALC 27 Aug 1829 - Rochdale, , Lancashire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBusiness - Hespeler Custom Woollen Mills - - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBusiness - J. Schofield & Co. - - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - pedlar - 1867 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Cloth Manufacturer - 1871 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsElected Office - councillor of Hespeler - 1875 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsHonoured - - Schofield St., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - woollen manufacturer - 1881 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - manufacturer - 1896 - Oshawa, Ontario Co., Ontario Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 27 Jun 1896 - Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - Cause: senile degeneration with arteio sclerosis (one month) & heart failure (6 hours) - 29 Apr 1918 - Oshawa, Ontario Co., Ontario Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - New Hope Cemetery, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth