Barbara Margaretha "Margaret" Herboldt

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100636970
• Name: Barbara Margaretha "Margaret" Lackner
• Name: Margaret Herboldt
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-77013
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; German Methodist
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesley Methodist
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Barbara married Johann George "George" Lackner 28 Dec 1824, Adersbach, , Adersbach, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Johann was born 29 Sep 1795, Endersbach, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany; died 19 Mar 1867, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Hillside United Cemetery, Wellesley Twp, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Conrad Lackner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-71725
• Occupation: 1842, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; weaver
• Occupation: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; German Methodist
• Residence: 1871, Bentinck Township, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1891, Brant Twp., Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada; labourer

Georg — Caroline Luesing. Caroline (daughter of Peter Henry Luesing and Louisa Schmidt) was born 1836, Holstein, Germany; died 20 Feb 1905, Elmwood, Normanby Twp., Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Elected Office: Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; councillor Wellesley Township
• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21996700
• Name: Wilhelm Lackner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-32306
• Immigration: 1839, , Canada
• Occupation: 1850, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; wagonmaker
• Occupation: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wagon Maker
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Naturalization: 1852
• Occupation: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Brethren
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farmer
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Gentleman
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer

Notes:

The death of Mr. William A. Lackner at Berlin last Friday removes one of the early settlers of Wellesley township. He was in business in Hawkesville many years ago, then went extensively into farming and thoroughbred stock raising. He was in the council five or six years, president of the Wellesley Agricultural Society and held other positions of trust. He is survived by a widow, four sons and two daughters, among the sons being Dr. Lackner, M. L A.

Wellesley Maple Leaf, November 8, 1906

Obituary is supplied by the Wellesley Township Heritage and Historical Society Click here to go to their website.

__________________

Mr. William A. Lacknor of this town, father of Dr. H. G. Lackner, M.P.P., died at his home on Queen street on Friday afternoon. The deceased was in splendid health almost up to the hour of his death, when he was stricken with apoplexy in the morning and he never regained consciousness.

The deceased was in his 80th year and was a pioneer of Wellesley township, where he resided the greater portion of his life, being one of its earliest settlers. He conducted a wagon business for some years, and then engaged. extensively in farming,owning 475acres at one time. He moved to Berlin about eight years ago.

The deceased is survived by a widow, four sons and two daughters.

Berlin Telegraph Newspaper

William — Christina Spies. Christina (daughter of Frederick Spies and Christina Bender) was born 4 Jul 1855, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 21 Jan 1923, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

William married Julianna Elisabeth Diefenbacher 31 Dec 1850, Greenbush (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Julianna was born CALC 20 Sep 1827, Rohrbach, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany; died 6 Apr 1893, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Catherine Lackner
• Name: Johanna Catharina "Catherine" Ziegler
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-72173
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Johanna married Heinrich "Henry" Ziegler 13 Jun 1848, Greenbush (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Heinrich was born 1 Jun 1827, Adelshofen, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany; died 11 Apr 1903, Elmira, Chemung, New York, United States; was buried , Saint James Lutheran Cemetery, Elmira, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47577971
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49700
• Birth: 25 Jan 1835, , Germany
• Immigration: 1841, , Canada
• Naturalization: 1854
• Residence: 1868, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Blacksmith
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farmer

Notes:

One of the pioneers of Hawkesville, Mr. F. G. Lackner, died last week, aged 70 years. He has lived there for 54 years. A fuller obituary will be published in the next issue in our Hawkesville letter, which is crowded out this week.

Wellesley Maple Leaf, December 3, 1903

HAWKESVILLE.

It is our sad duty to record the death of one of Hawkesville's pioneers, Mr. Frederick G. Lackner. Deceased was born in Baden, Germany, in 1833. In 1839 he came with his parents to Canada, settling near St. Jacobs, and later on in the virgin forest near Hawkesville. He afterwards learned the trade of blacksmithing and for 34 years he wielded the hammer, but was living retired at the time of his demise. He leaves a widow, four sons, two sisters and two brothers. The bereaved friends have the heartfelt sympathy of the community.

Wellesley Maple Leaf, December 10, 1903

Obituary is supplied by the Wellesley Township Heritage and Historical Society Click here to go to their website.

Frederick married Isabella Cecilia Alderson 1 Apr 1868, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Isabella (daughter of James Alderson and Elizabeth Land) was born 29 May 1842, Bridgeport (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was christened 7 Aug 1842, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 4 Aug 1923, Windsor, Essex Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Hillside United Cemetery, Wellesley Twp, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Margaret Diefenbacker
• Name: Margaretha "Margaret" Ladner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106942
• Birth: 8 Sep 1838, Adersbach, , Adersbach, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; German Methodist
• Residence: 1858, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Margaret married George Jakob M. Diefenbacker 3 Nov 1858, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. George (son of Henry Diefenbacker and M.) was born 31 Oct 1836, Adersbach, , Adersbach, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany; died 27 Jan 1910, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Hillside United Cemetery, Wellesley Twp, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Catherine Formhals
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49536
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; German Methodist
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesley Methodist
• Residence: 1899, Babylon, Fulton, Illinois, USA

Notes:

MRS. KATHERINE FORMHALS
On receipt of a telegram Mrs. C. J. Lutz and Mrs. E. S. Sapp went to Babylon, Ill., Friday last to be at the bedside of their mother, who was considered to be dangerously ill. She improved somewhat until Sunday evening, when she passed away from the effects of heart failure and asthma. Mrs. Formhals (nee Lachner) was about 58 years of age. She was born near Hawksville, Waterloo county, Ontario, and in 1866 she was married to William Formhals, being his second wife. They resided in Ottawa for a number of years and subsequently removed to a farm near Babylon. While here Mrs. Formhals was an active member of the German Evangelical church, her husband being one of the founders of that organization. She had maintained her Christian character until her death, and all who knew her held her in the highest esteem. Many of her friends here will regret to learn of her death. Besides her husband, two boys---Ulysses and Calvin --- and two step-daughters, Mesdames Lutz and Sapp--four brothers and two sisters survive her, all of the latter living in Canada, excepting one, a sister, at Portland, Oregon.


Ottawa Republican Times, 12 Jul 1899

Catherine married William Formhals 27 Jul 1866, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. William (son of Joseph Formhals and Elizabeth) was born 1829, , Germany; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Elizabeth Susan Andrews
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-109129
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; German Methodist
• Residence: 1868, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1883, Ashland, Jackson, Oregon, United States
• Residence: 1900, Corona, Riverside, California, United States

Elizabeth married Thomas Octavius Andrews 23 Feb 1868, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Thomas (son of Richard Andrews and Mary) was born 1844, , Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47798802
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49005
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; German Methodist
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesley Methodist
• Occupation: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Labourer
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Gammaliel — Otilda D. Dalke. Otilda (daughter of Dalke and Wilhelmina Greigen) was born 7 Jan 1857, , Germany; died 13 May 1918, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Hillside United Cemetery, Wellesley Twp, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-20001
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; German Methodist
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wesley Methodist

Other Events:

• Name: Catharine Senkbeil
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-246325
• Residence: 1871, Bentinck Township, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1876, Bentinck Township, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1876, Bentinck Township, Grey County, Ontario, Canada

Catharine married Henry Senkbeil 29 Feb 1876, Hanover, Bentinck Twp., Grey Co., Ontario, Canada. Henry was born 1849, , Germany; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Louise "Lucy" Stauffer
• Name: Lucy Lackner
• Eby ID Number: 00117-7442.1

Louise married Rev. Samuel Shelly Stauffer 23 Jan 1881, Elmwood, Bentinck Township, Grey Co., Ontario, Canada. Samuel (son of David H. Stauffer and Annie Maria "Mary" Shelly) was born 19 May 1857, Near Waterloo, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 16 Nov 1934, Alsask, , Saskatchewan, Canada; was buried , Alsask Cemetery, Alsask, , Saskatchewan, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00031-2601.1
• Occupation: 1893, Chesley, Elderslie Twp., Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada; butter maker
• Occupation: 1911, Chesley, Elderslie Twp., Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada; butter maker

John married Nancy Eby 30 Apr 1890, Arran Township, Bruce, Ontario, Canada. Nancy (daughter of Jacob E. Eby and Anna "Nancy" Bauman) was born 29 Jun 1867, St. Jacobs, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-32308
• Occupation: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Student
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Zion Church
• Occupation: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Carder, Felt Factory
• Residence: 1921, 5 Otto St., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelical

William married ? Bef 1921. ? was born Abt 1896; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-292776
• Residence: 1851, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Business: 46 Woodside Ave., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Berlin Table Company
• Interesting: business, medical, building, life story, politics
• Name: H. G. Lackner
• Name: Heinrich George Lackner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-28157P
• Historic Building: Abt 1860, 34 Queen St. N., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; The Shoemaker-Lackner House
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Teacher
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Brethren
• Occupation: 1880, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; physician
• House of Industry and Refuge: 1881; served as House Doctor
• Occupation: 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Physican
• Residence: 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Elected Office: 1886, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Mayor - Berlin
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Medical Doctor
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Committee Membership: 1897, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Berlin Public School Board
• Residence: 1897, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; physician
• Occupation: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Doctor
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Doctor, Physican
• Residence: 1921, 34 Queen St. N., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region: Bef 2012, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Doctor, mayor, sheriff and politician

Notes:

Dr. Henry George Lackner, whose father was a German pioneer farmer, was an early general practitioner who had the esteem and affection of countless patients throughout Western Ontario. He served two generations with immense ability, tireless energy, keen insight and understanding.

Born in Hawkesville in 1851, he graduated from the Toronto School of Medicine in 1876. On graduating from the University of Toronto he was awarded the Starr gold medal and the first silver medal - the only doctor in Ontario at that time to win both medals on graduation. He practiced in Berlin for almost half a century, was for many years Medical Officer of Health and physician to the House of Refuge.

He was a member of the town council and mayor for six years. A Conservative, he represented North Waterloo in the Ontario Legislature. He was sheriff of Waterloo County from 1912 until his death.

Four generations of Lackners have been outstanding members of the medical profession

Waterloo County Hall of Fame

______________________


Lackner, Dr. Henry of the town of Berlin, Ontario, was born on the 25th day of December, 1851, at Hawksville, in the township of Wellesley, Waterloo county, Ontario. His ancestors were very worthy German people, and his parents came from Baden, Germany, in 1839. Arriving in Canada they wended their way to the township of Wellesley, where William Lackner, the father of our subject undertook farming. But he did not farm in the plodding way, and upon a mediocre scale. In due time he became a thriving and leading agriculturist, and besides his success in this way, engaged himself largely in stock-raising. The old homestead now contains nearly four hundred acres of the finest agricultural land in Ontario. Our subject's father has been the holder of several municipal and other public offices in the township and county. His son, Henry George, attended the public school until the age of fourteen years, when he obtained a scholarship at matriculation examination at the Berlin Grammar School. He attended this institution for two years, when he commenced the profession of teaching. He taught two of the best public schools in the county, from 1868 to 1872 inclusive. Subsequently he attended the Toronto School of Medicine for four years, and in 1876 he obtained his license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Ont., by passing an honorary examination. He also graduated in medicine at the Toronto University. In the same year he obtained the degree of M.B. with honours, and took the Starr gold medal and the first University silver medal (1876). He at once commenced practice of his profession in the town of Berlin in 1876, and has been there ever since in practice. Every young practitioner finds difficulty in building up his practice, and in the beginning the same labour awaited our subject ; but he was persistent, and he had his heart in his work, and now he enjoys high repute for professional skill, and has established for himself a most valuable practice. He was appointed physician to the House of Industry and Refuge for the county of Waterloo (1881), and medical health officer for the town of Berlin in 1884. He holds both of these positions at this time. In religion he is a member of the Lutheran Church. He married in 1880 Helen A. Mackie, eldest daughter of John A. Mackie, J.P., who is at present the oldest established general merchant in the County of Waterloo.

A cyclopaedia of Canadian biography: being chiefly men of the time. A collection of persons distinguished in professional and political life; leaders in the commerce and industry of Canada, and successful pioneers by George McLean Rose Rose Pub. Co., 1886 - 807 pages

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Lackner, Dr. H. G., physician, surgeon, and coroner. Was born in the county, 1851.

Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo, H. Parsel & Co., Toronto - 1881

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H. G. Lackner, Mayor 1886-7.

Henry George Lackner, M. D. -M. P. P., was born in Hawkesville in 1851. He received his education in the Waterloo and Berlin Grammar Schools and taught school successfully from 1868 to 1872; subsequently attending the Toronto School of Medicine. He received his license to practice in 1876, graduating with honors. The doctor has always taken a deep interest in Berlin. He was elected mayor in 1886, having a plurality of votes over both his opponents. In the year following, he was elected by acclamation. He was also mayor in 1893. He contested North Waterloo in the Conservative interests and was elected in 1898 to the Ontario Legislature which position he still holds.

Official souvenir of the celebration of cityhood, July 17th 1912, Berlin, Ontario, The German Printing and Publishing Co

__________________________________

HENRY GEORGE LACKNER, M.D., Berlin, Ont., was born on the 25th of December, 1851, at Hawksville, County of Waterloo. His parents were William and Juliana (Diefenbacher) Lackner, who emigrated from Germany in 1839 and settled in Waterloo County, where his father became a very prosperous farmer, devoting much attention to stock raising. He was for five years a member of the Township Council, director of the County and Township Agricultural Societies, director and one of the originators of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Waterloo. Dr. Lacknerreceived his education at the public school of Waterloo and Berlin Grammar School, here he obtained a scholarship at matriculation examinations. He then taught school successfully in Waterloo County from 1868 until 1872. He subsequently attended the Toronto School of Medicine four years. By passing an honorary examination in 1876, he obtained his license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. The same year he carried off the Star Gold Medal and the First University Silver Medal. After graduating at the University of Toronto, he commenced his profession in Berlin, where lie has ever since grown in popularity as a most skillful physician, and has a large and growing practice. Dr. Lackner takes an active interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the town. He was appointed physician to the House of Industry for Waterloo County in. 1881, and Medical Health Officer for Berlin in 1884. He was elected mayor in 1886, having a plurality of votes over both opponents, and was in the following year elected by acclamation. In politics he is an Independent. He is an adherent of the Lutheran Church. He is a member of the C.O.F., I.O.F., A.O.U.W., K.O.T.M., and Royal Arcanum, and is medical examiner for each of these societies. Dr. Lackner was married June 17th, 1880, to Miss Helen A., eldest daughter of John. A. Mackie, J.P. The doctor's family consists of two children'97a son, Harry M., and a daughterr, May A.

William Cochrane Rev., The Canadian Album - Men of Canada or Success by Example (Brantford, Ontario, Canada: Bradley Garretson & Co., 1891), 455.

_______________________________


GEORGE LACKNER, M.P.P.

DR. Henry George Lackner, who has attained distinction in connection with the practice of his profession and is equally prominent and influential in political circles, having five times been chosen to represent his district in the Provincial Parliament, was born on the 25th of December, 1851, in Hawkesville, Waterloo County, Ontario, his parents being William and Julia (Diefenbaker) Lackner, both of whom were natives of Waterloo county. Their respective parents settled in that county about 1806 among the pioneer residents who pushed their way to the ever receding west and aided in extending the frontier, converting the hitherto wild district into a region of modern and advanced civilization. Both the Lackners and the Diefenbakers were farming people, who cleared bush farms in what was known as the Queen's Bush.

Dr. Lackner was reared amid the invigorating environment of the home farm and pursued his preliminary education in the common schools of Hawksville and the Berlin high school. He afterwards attended the Toronto University for the acquirement of professional knowledge and was graduated therefrom in 1876, with the degree of M.D. He was the Starr gold medalist and the first silver medalist. Since his graduation he has practised continuously in Berlin, and is now the oldest, active representative of the profession in this place. He was appointed the first medical health officer for Berlin and acted in that capacity for ten years, while since 1880 he has been physician and surgeon for the House of Refuge. During thirty-one years he has contributed to the alleviation of human suffering in his adopted city, keeping in touch with the trend of modern thought and investigation along scientific medical lines and by the consensus of public opinion has ever been accorded a foremost place in the ranks of the medical fraternity here.

He was elected a member of the Provincial legislature in 1908, as a representative of the Conservative party for North Waterloo. He was re-elected in 1902, 1905, 1908 and 1911, receiving good majorities in each contest. He is the only Conservative representative that has sat in the local legislature since the county was organized'97a fact which is indicative of his personal popularity, as well as the confidence reposed in his political integrity and his devotion to the general welfare.

In 1881 Dr. Lackner was married to Miss Helen A. Mackie, a daughter of the late John A. Mackie of Berlin, who for forty years was chief acting magistrate of the county. They have a daughter and son, May and Harry, the latter now a practising physician in Berlin. Dr. Lackner is a member of most of the leading fraternal societies and is also medical examiner thereof. He is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence, doing much to mold public thought and action. Opposed to misrule in political service, he stands for good government as well as for professional honor, and over the record of his public career and private life there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil.

From Berlin, Canada A Self-portait of Kitchener, Ontario before World War One

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HENRY GEORGE LACKNER, M.D., Berlin, Ont., was born on the 25th of December, 1851, at Hawksville, County of Waterloo. His parents were William and Juliana (Diefenbacher) Lackner, who emigrated from Germany in 1839 and settled in Waterloo County, where his father became a very prosperous farmer, devoting much attention to stock raising. He was for five years a member of the Township Council, director of the County and Township Agricultural Societies, director and one of the originators of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Waterloo. Dr. Lackner received his education at the public school of Waterloo and Berlin Grammar School, where he obtained a scholarship at matriculation examinations. He then taught school successfully in Waterloo County from 1868 until 1872. He subsequently attended the Toronto School of Medicine four years. By passing an honorary examination in 1876, he obtained his license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. The same year he carried off the Star Gold Medal and the First University Silver Medal. After graduating at the University of Toronto, he commenced his profession in Berlin, where he has ever since grown in popularity as a most skilful physician, and has a large and growing practice. Dr. Lackner takes an active interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the town. He was appointed physician to the House of Industry for Waterloo County in 1881, and Medical Health Officer for Berlin in 1884. He was elected mayor in 1886, having a plurality of votes over both opponents, and was in the following year elected by acclamation. In politics he is an Independent. He is an adherent of the Lutheran Church. He is a member of the C.O.F., I.O.F., A.O.U.W., K.O.T.M., and Royal Arcanum, and is medical examiner for each of these societies. Dr. Lackner was married June 17th, 1880, to Miss Helen A., eldest daughter of John A. Mackie, J.P. The doctor's family consists of two children--a son, Harry M., and a daughter, May A.

The Canadian Album - Men of Canada or Success by Example (Brantford, Ontario, Canada: Bradley Garretson & Co., 1891)

_____________________

BOUND TO DIE.
A Berlin Suicide Takes Paris Green.

Berlin, ON., June 21 - A curious case of suicide peculiar on account of the determination which characterised the act, took place here yesterday. The victim of his own rash act us a a young German named Joseph Herman, a bricklayer's and ma??'s laborer. He was very erratic In his habits and was thought not be be entirely responsible. He boarded at Siebert's boarding house, on Queen street, and when some of the other boarders, including his brother went to his room yesterday afternoon to see why he stayed so long they caught him In the art of administering a dose of Paris green to himself. A paper containing some more of the poison was lying on a table. A rush was made for Dr. Lackner's office across the street, the other men dragging Herman with them. The doctor ran to a back room for him stomach pump, and while the others were not looking the would-be suicide made a bolt for the street. Up Queen street he ran, followed shortly by the doctor and the others In a buggy He however, managed elude his pursuers. small delay being occasioned in hitching the horse, and ran for nearly a mile out towards the town limits, Finally, the doctor and the others came upon him sitting under tree groaning terribly. When he saw there, he jumped up again and dashed off in the direction of Bridgeport, but he was weakened by the drug, and fell before going far. When the doctor tried to use stomach pump Herman fought and kicked like madman. At last they got his mouth open by prying It with a broom handle, and the pump was applied. The man was then driven to the hospital. Everything possible was done to save his life, but he died at an early hour this morning In great agony. The suicide was single man, and It is believed the reason he took poison was because of a love affair. He had frequently threatened to take his life, once because the cook at a hotel where he was boarding refused to go to a dance with him. he belonged to No 6 Company 29th Battalion

Guelph Daily Mercury Mon. 22 June 1896 p. 1.

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Queen Street North, West Side

Gaukel's well at the corner of the hotel shed, the corner being later built up as the Bowman Block, now the Bank of Montreal.

A brick warehouse belonging to the corner store of the Bowman Block. First occupants of this store were Bowman and Heins, later H. S, Huber and then by Huber and Roy.

Opposite the Breithaupt leather store stood a one-story brick building, Dr. Pipe's surgery and later Dr. Wright's.

A two-storey brick house lengthwise with Queen Street and with veranda on two sides, the veranda a few steps above the ground, occupied by Henry Schaefer. In 1871 Dr. Pipe lived in this house. Among other things Dr. Pipe kept bees, although he was quite afraid of them. Dr. Pipe and Henry Stroh succeeded in bringing the first Italian queen bee to this part of the country.

A lane.

A handsome brick house, gable roof, lengthwise with the street, the corners faced with limestone from Guelph, erected by Joseph Hobson, the surveyer, in 1860. Hobson eventually was Chief Engineer of the Great Western Railway and when that was merged with the Grand Trunk he became Chief Engineer of the latter Company and was among other things Chief Engineer of the Sarnia tunnel. Alexander MacPherson, editor and publisher of the Berlin Telegraph, later lived in the house. The site is now occupied by the head office of the Economical Fire Insurance Company.

A two-story red frame building well back from the street built probably before 1850 by Peter Eby, identified with the "Deutsche Canadier" and with the early days of the "Telegraph". Dr. Eggert, homeopath, lived in the house 1859-1860 and later John Klippert, high constable and county bailiff.

One and a half story brick building at the corner of Duke and Queen Streets occupied by a Mr. Von Ebenau and wife and later for a number of years by Michael Jaehle, a blacksmith. The site is now occupied by the Daily Record building.

Duke Street.

A large handsome building trimmed with cut stone built in 1860 by David S. Shoemaker of Bridgeport who was county registrar, The building was intended for a bank and agent's residence and so used first by the Commercial Bank which failed and later by the Merchants Bank of which R. N, Rogers was agent for a number of years. Some time later Dr. H. S. Lackner acquired the property and used it as residence and surgery. After Dr. Lackner's death the property was sold to the present occupants, the Langleys of Toronto.

building, colonial style, with large posts at the front carrying the projecting roof, erected in 1848-49, the Waterloo Township Hall, the land for which was donated by Frederick Gaukel. General public meetings were held in this hall, among others meetings purposing to have Berlin named as county town. After consummation of this a banquet was held in the hall, which was occasionally used for such purpose. The occasion of this particular banquet was the laying of the corner stone of the new county buildings in 1852. 100 guests were present and there were a number of patriotic toasts. Later the building was used as a printing office, the "Deutsche Canadier" and the "Telegraph" being printed there for a time. Eventually the building was remodelled and enlarged and became the Methodist Church. In 1904 the St. Matthews Lutheran congregation purchased the property and later the First English Lutheran Church, which still continues in the building.

Behind the present Kitchener Public Library, occupying the site of his ornamental garden, and still standing is Dr. Scott's residence, built in 1855. Henry Rothaermel was the contractor. Dr. Scott was the first warden of the county and first reeve of Berlin. After his death the house was occupied by M. C. Schofield who married Dr. Scott's widow. Later Israel Bowman, for many years county clerk and town clerk of Berlin, acquired the property and lived there.

Weber Street.

On the corner the Presbyterian Church first built 1860-61 at a size of 36 ft. by 50 ft., cost $4,500 and seating 175 persons. Rev. John McMeekin was an early minister.

A two-story red brick building lengthwise with Queen Street, built 1855-56, the house of H. S. Huber.

Simon Roy's house, also red brick, one and one-half story high, both of these houses were set back from the street. Mr. Roy was nurseryman and florist.

A one-story double house lengthwise with Queen Street.

Before Ahrens Street was continued westerly across Queen Street there was on the site a two-story unpainted weather-boarded building, the house of John Dopp.
frame building, similar to Dopp's, the house of Christina Bloch, a widow who lived there for many years.

A frame building, similar to Dopp's, but with gable facing Queen Street, the house of August Vetter, painter and paper-hanger.

A vacant lot later owned by Louis Breithaupt who built, on the corner of Margaret Avenue, a residence for Judge Lacourse.

Margaret Avenue.

On Margaret Avenue a short distance westerly from Queen Street was the Moxley farm with house and barn. The barn was later moved to Lexington by Henry Stroh who bought it to replace one that had been struck by lightning. On the corner of Ellen Street a brick house occupied in the early days by Rev. Mr. Savage, Methodist minister, and later by John Hoffman, Jr., a druggist.

Ellen Street.

REMINISCENCES OF BERLIN (NOW KITCHENER) By JACOB STROH Contributed by Joseph M. Snyder.

Part I. Settlement - Early Villagers and Buildings, Waterloo Historical Society Annual Volume 1930

_____________________

DEATH OF DR. H.G. LACKNER

Died Suddenly While Attending Patient at Kitchener. In His 74th Year.

Death removed one of Kitchener's best known and esteemed citizens in the person of Dr. Henry George Lackner, sheriff, when he was seized with a fainting spell while attending a patient on Friday noon and passed away in a few minutes. Heart failure was given as the cause of death. Dr. Lackner had enjoyed his usual good health and his sudden death came as a shock to his many friends.

The late Dr. Lackner was one of the best known public men in the county and always took a keen and active interest in the upbuilding of his home city and the county. He was a member of the Ontario Legislature for several terms, Mayor and aldermen of Kitchener for some years and a number of years ago was appointed Sheriff.

The late Dr. Lackner was born at Hawkesville, December 25, 1851. and was a direct descendant of German parents, the late Mr. and Mrs.. Wm. Lackner who came from Baden, Germany, in 1839. On their arrival in Canada they went to Wellesley township where they engaged in farming and were later numbered among the township's most successful agriculturists. Dr. Lackner's father also held public office in the township and county.

At the age of fourteen Dr. Lackner obtained a scholarship at the matriculation examination at the old Berlin Grammar school. Two years later he taught school which profession he followed for some years. He later entered the Toronto School of Medicine from which he graduated in 1876 and received a license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons by passing the honorary examination. He also graduated in medicine at Toronto University and obtained the degree M.B. with honors and won the Starr gold medal and the first university silver medal. The same year. he commenced practice of medicine and had one of the largest practices in the county. In 1881 he was appointed physician of the House of Refuge.


The late Dr. Lackner took an active interest in provincial and municipal affairs. He served as Mayor and councillor in Kitchener for a number of years He was an active worker in the Conservative ranks and represented North Waterloo in the provincial House for several terms. In 1912 he was appointed sheriff which office he held until his death. He was also medical officer of health for Kitchener for a number of years. Deceased was also identified with numerous business enterprizes.

The late Dr. Lackner was married in 1880 to Helen A. Mackie, eldest daughter of the late John A. A. Mackie. J.P., of Kitchener, a prominent merchant. There survive his widow, one son. Dr. Harry M. Lackner of Kitchener, and a daughter. Mrs. Mumford, of Winnipeg. Also two brothers, George F. Lackner of Kitchener and Dr. Frank Lackner and Miss Lovina Lackner, a sister. of Didsbury, Alta.

Funeral Largely Attended

Hundreds of citizens, including associates in business members of the medical profession of the county, officials of the court house and friends attended the funeral which was held from his late home on Monday afternoon. A short service was held at the house after which an impressive service was conducted at the St. Peter's Lutheran church. Rev. Dr. Sperling of St. Peter's church and Rev. H. M. Langford of St. John's Anglican church assisted in the service. The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr Sperling, who paid eloquent tribute to the worth of the deceased who he said had labored for nearly half a century administering to the needs of the sick. Interment was made in Mount Hope cemetery.

At the home the casket was banked with beautiful flowers sent by friends and organizations with which deceased was identified.

The pall bearers were W. G. Weichel, M.L.A., W. V. Uttley, C.. H. Doerr, W. H. Schmalz, Henry Knell, D. S. Bowlby, Oscar Rumpel, and Dr. Cline. Among the honorary pall bearers were Judge E. J. Hearn, J. R. Eden, and George C. H. Lang, H. L. Janzen. George Pattinson of Preston, P. S. Lautenschlager. H. Krug. L. J. Breithaupt, all associated with the deceased as directors of the Economical Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

Among those present from a distance were Mrs. Green of Oakville. Mrs. Von Pirch of Toronto, Mrs. Watt of Niagara on the Lake, Mrs. George Mumford, Winnipeg, danghter of the deceased, Mrs. Louis Weber and daughter of Hawkesville, Mr. Fred Lackner of Hawkesville, Mr. Diefenbecker, Hawkesville, Mr. George Lackner, Toronto, Mr. Graham Lackner, Windsor, Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Fleming. Hensall, Dr. T. MacRae, Brussels, Mr. John Ferguson, Brussels.

Waterloo Chronicle (Waterloo, On1868), 10 Dec 1925, p. 4

Historic Building:
House built by David Shoemaker in 1860 in the late Classic Revival Style with three bay windows on each side. Built of white brick. Later owned by Dr. H. G. Lackner and was used as office and residence. Demolished by the Economical Insurance Company.

Elected Office:
Years Served: 1886-87 1893 (Mayor)

Henry married Helen Allister "Nellie" MacKie 17 Jun 1880, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Helen (daughter of John Allister MacKie and Mary M. Burke) was born 9 May 1854, , Ontario, Canada; died 13 Feb 1935; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Matilda Weber
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49217
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Brethren
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Matilda married Ludwig Klinck "Louis" Weber 19 Mar 1879. Ludwig (son of Georg Ludwig "Louis" Weber and Phillipena Klinck) was born 12 May 1851, , Bavaria, Germany; died 19 Sep 1946, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Hillside United Cemetery, Wellesley Twp, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21996661
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49546
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Brethren
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farmer
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Occupation: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Agent, Insurance
• Residence: 1921, 170 Queen St. N., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Notes:

GEORGE F. LACKNER

George F. Lackner, 87, of 170 Queen Street North, Kitchener, died at his home early Friday morning after a few hours' illness. He was born in Hawkesville and received his education at Hawkesville and at the Free- port Academy United Brethren Church Boys' School. He farmed until 31 years ago.

The late Mr. Lackner was a director of the North Waterloo Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company for 30 years, during which time he served both as president and vice-president of the company. He was a member of Trinity United Church.

In 1878 he married Laura M. Woodward, who died in 1935. Surviving are one son, Dr. W. S. Lackner, of Tuscon, Ariz., four daughters, Mrs. R. H. More and Miss Laura M. Lackner of Kitchener, Mrs. E. H. Winn, of Niagara Falls and Mrs. J. H. Bone of Galt, and eight grandchildren. One sister, Miss Melvina A. Lackner, of The Pas, Man., also survives. A daughter, Miss Evelyn A. Lackner, who was a missionary to Japan, died 15 years ago.

The funeral was held from the res- idence on Monday with Rev. E. O. Seymour officiating. Burial was made in Mount Hope Cemetery.

George married Laura Mathilda Woodward 27 Mar 1878, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Laura (daughter of William Saxton Woodward and Ellen U. Webster) was born 22 Jul 1857, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 1 Aug 1935, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-68652

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-113841

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-28156
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Brethren
• Residence: 1893, Hamilton, Wentworth Co., Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; physician

Notes:

1901 Berlin Census lists Alfred as a lodger in the home of Dr. Henry and Mrs. Helen Lackner. No relationship is indicated.

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-337527
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Not Given
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-84279
• Residence: 1861, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Brethren
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; farm labourer
• Residence: 1893, Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1901, Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Dentist
• Occupation: 1911, Didsbury, Alberta, Canada; dentist

Notes:

Didsbury, Alberta. Branch Notes Vol. XXVI, No. 2, May 1998, pg. 32,

had a piece about the destruction of a large portion of the town of Didsbury, Alberta by fire on January 1, 1914. The town had been founded eight or ten years before by men from Waterloo County, particularly from Wilmot Township, such as the Hallmans, Weavers, Stauffers, Shantzs, and Dr. Lackner, brother of Sheriff Lackner of Berlin.

A History of Bethany Evangelical Missionary Church 1877-1997 gives more information about the founding of Didsbury:

A farewell service was held on April 10, 1894 "for thirty-four people moving to Alberta as part of the colonization drive that followed the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway to the west coast." Rev. J.B. Detwiler, pastor of Bethany Church from 1883-1885, went with the group. Others followed the first thirty-four people and, within a few years they founded the town of Didsbury, building a church there which was the first Mennonite Brethren in Christ church west of Ontario.

________________________________

Dr. Franklin Lackner was born near Berlin, Ontario. His father, William August Lackner, had been born in Heidelberg, Germany. He came to Waterloo County with his parents in 1842. In 1892, William Lackner moved west, and in company with Jacob Y. and Elias Shantz started the Didsbury District, the following year bringing in settlers from Waterloo County. Dr. Franklin Lackner was graduated from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons in Toronto and the Pennsylvania Dental College in Philadelphia. He practised his profession for a number of years in Preston, Ontario, before coming to Alberta in 1902 and practising dentistry in Wetaskiwin and Didsbury until 1910. In 1905 he ran unsuccessfully in the Alberta general election as an independent. He and his sister, Vina Adele Lackner, were very successful investors. Besides the town site of East Didsbury and a coalmine west of that town they had valuable holdings in the larger cities of Alberta and Saskatchewan and owned several ranches.

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-84302
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; United Brethren
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Name: Anna Maria Konig
• Name: Mary Ziegler
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-165784
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Residence: 1868, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Anna married John Konig 19 Nov 1868, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. John was born 1835, Niederofleiden, Hessen, Germany; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Julia Weigel
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-165785
• Residence: 1851, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Julia married Balthazar Weigel 29 Dec 1870, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Balthazar was born 1849, , Germany; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-114361
• Occupation: 1875, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1881, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1888, Hanover, Bentinck Twp., Grey Co., Ontario, Canada; sawyer

John married Louisa Beisel 14 Oct 1875, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Louisa (daughter of Peter Beisel and Elisabeth, daughter of Peter Beisel and Elizabeth Maier) was born 1857, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown; was buried , Saint James Lutheran Cemetery, Elmira, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

John married Mary Esch 19 Sep 1888, Maryborough Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada. Mary (daughter of Michael Esch and Maria W. "Polly" Horst) was born 1855, Howick Twp., Huron Co., Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-127521
• Occupation: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wool Factory
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-127522
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Henry — Elizabeth Brox. Elizabeth (daughter of Jakob "Jacob" Brox and Katharina "Catharine" Ziegler) was born 24 Sep 1853, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was christened 19 Nov 1854, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 1916; was buried , Saint James Lutheran Cemetery, Elmira, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-127523
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Name: Catherine Doering
• Name: Katie L. Ziegler
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-127524
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Residence: 1881, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Catherine married George Wilhelm "William" Doering 12 Jan 1881, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. George (son of George Christopher "Christopher" Doering and Catherine Rupp) was born 11 Dec 1857, Philipsburg, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was christened 1 Apr 1858, Church Of New Jerusalem, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-114244

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-51051

Other Events:

• Name: Emil Ziegler
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-127525
• Residence: 1871, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Notes:

Amiel moved to Saskatchewan.

Emil married Barbara Hodel 11 Feb 1890, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Barbara (daughter of George V. Hodel and Eva Haer) was born 6 Jan 1869, Grombach, , Baden-Württemberg, Germany; died 16 Mar 1917, Spruce Grove, , Alberta, Canada; was buried , Pioneer Cemetery, Spruce Grove, , Alberta, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100436650
• Name: Herb J. Lackner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49076
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Notes:

Herbert Lackner, who passed away on Sunday after an attack of pneumonia. The funeral took place on Wednesday afternoon according to the ritual of the Canadian Order of Forrester's. Service was held in the Presbyterian Church, Hawkesville, and the remains were interred in the Evangelical cemetery near Braendle's Corner. The deceased leaves a sorrowing widow and six children. Lastly there passed away on Friday - also from pneumonia….

Elmira Signet Dec 11 1913 pg 3

Herbert married Mary Jane Stauffer 29 Mar 1899, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Mary (daughter of Levi Stauffer and Esther Snyder) was born 2 Sep 1872, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 4 Sep 1935, Windsor, Essex Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100438916
• Name: Charley Lackner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162482
• Residence: 1871, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Teacher
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Elected Office: 1917, , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Waterloo County Council
• Occupation: 1921, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1921, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyteran
• Residence: 1923, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

FUNERAL OF FORMER TOWNSHIP COUNCILLOR FRED C. LACKNER

Taught in County Schools Twelve Years. - Farmed at Hawkesville. Former Deputy Reeve.

Friends in Hawkesville and district attended the funeral on Thursday, Nov. 16th, of the late Fred C. Lackner, who died Nov. 13th in his 62nd year. Interment was made in Sandhill cemetery, near Heidelberg.

Deceased was well known in Wellesley township where he farmed many years.

The late Frederick Charles Lackner was born in Hawkesville in 1873. After completing his public school education he continued his studies at the Berlin High School, then Collingwood, Owen Sound and Ottawa. He taught school twelve years at Josephsburg, St. Agatha, Woolwich and Hawkesville. He conducted a farm near Hawkesville until about 1928, when he moved to Kitchener and for a time was employed at the Dominion Tire factory. He was a member of the Wellesley township council for nine years, six as councillor and three as deputy reeve.

Waterloo Chronicle 23 Nov 1933, p. 1

Frederick — Henrietta Margarethe Seip. Henrietta (daughter of John S. Seip and Elizabeth Wahl) was born 16 Dec 1873, St. Agatha, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 7 Jun 1926, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, St. Agatha, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150674099
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-68651
• Residence: 1910, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1923, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada

George married Caroline Christina Wagner 25 Dec 1902, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Caroline (daughter of Jonas F. Wagner and Magdalena "Lena" Unger) was born 28 Apr 1876, Floradale, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 20 Dec 1947, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Prospect Cemetery, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49703
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer Son
• Residence: 1923, Windsor, Essex Co., Ontario, Canada

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106943
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Milliner

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-32266
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Waggon Maker
• Occupation: 1901, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Glove Cutter
• Occupation: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; ?, Factory
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelical

Robert married Matilda Niehaus 16 Jun 1892, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Matilda (daughter of William Niehaus and Caroline Zander) was born 31 Jan 1864, , Ontario, Canada; died 4 Aug 1932, Ottawa, Carleton Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106946
• Occupation: 1881, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Carder
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Wagon Maker

Notes:

THE LATE GEORGE F. DIEFENBACHER

At Hawkesville, on Sunday evening, April 9th, 1911, there passed away, George F. Diefenbacher, 47 years, 10 months and 27 days. Two weeks ago he contracted erysipelas and later a severe cold settled on his lungs which developed into pneumonia, the latter disease being the direct cause of his death. Deceased was born at Hawkesville and lived here all his life. He was a wagonmaker by trade and for many years carried on the business with his father who predeceased him little over a year.

He was a hardworking and industrious resident of sterling worth. A large number of friends will greatly miss hin.. He was a member of the Methodist Church. He was also a member of the local court of the Canadian Order of Foresters and in politics he was a Liberal. Thres sisters survive him, viz.: Catharine of Waterloo, Robert of Berlin, Helen of Hawkesville, William and Edward of Saskatoon, Henry of Wankeje, Ill., Ulysses of Alberta and Ada? of Waterloo.

The Chronicle Telegraph 20 Apr 1911, p. 1

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106948
• Occupation: 1895, Neustadt, Normanby Twp., Grey Co., Ontario, Canada; teacher

Notes:

William was a teacher who lived in Hague and Borden, Saskatchewan before settling in Saskatoon in 1910.

William — Mary Florence Bannerman. Mary was born 26 Oct 1872, , Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada; died 20 Feb 1961; was buried , Woodlawn Cemetery, Saskatoon, , Saskatchewan, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Helena Kinzie
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106947

Helena married William Albert Kinzie 1912. William (son of William Kinzie and Hannah Mitchell) was born 24 May 1866, Elora, Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada; died 1 Feb 1960, Brantford, Brant Co., Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mt. Hope Cemetery, Brantford, Brant County, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106949

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106950

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-80994
• Occupation: 1901, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Teacher

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-106952

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-121426

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-69316

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-78501

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49007
• Immigration: 1880
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; School Teacher
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Teacher in Public School
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/219085745
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49008
• Immigration: 1880
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer Son
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer Laborer
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Occupation: 1921, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1921, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyerian

Emanuel married Fanny Maude "Maude" Peterson 24 Oct 1914, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Fanny (daughter of Alexander S. Peterson and Elizabeth Snider) was born 28 Apr 1881, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 1969; was buried , Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Military: WW1
• Eby ID Number: 00117-7442.2

Notes:

David Lackner Stauffer, Service Number 2020166, was a private in the Canadian Infantry, Central Ontario Regiment, assigned to the 102nd Battalion.

He was killed in action at Passchendaele on the 17th of November, 1917.

He is buried at the Passchendaele British Cemetery in Belgium. His grave reference is XII.C.21.

Cemetery, A., America, N., Division, K., & Cemetery, A. (1881). David Lackner Stauffer (1881-1917) - Find A Grave.... Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2 August 2018, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153361398

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00117-7442.3

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00117-7442.4

Notes:

Victor Stauffer 57, of 177 East Hastings Street, died Friday.

Born in Ontario, Mr, Stauffer lived in British. Columbia for 30 years. He was an electrician for the electrical firm of Hume & Rumble. He is survived by two sisters, Mrs. P. Egbert, Calgary, Alta., and Mrs. Roy Lougheed, Cremona, Alta,; four brothers, Lee, Fairview, Alta.; Stanley, Edmonton, Alta.; Clyde, Evarts, Alta., and Dr. Melvin Stauffer, Pittsburg, California.

Funeral services will be held today at 2 p.m. in. Armstrong & Co.'s chapel with Rev. J. R. Spital officiating; interment, Ocean View Burial Park.

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00117-7442.5

Notes:

EGBERT--February 19, 1981, Mrs. Lily Pearl Egbert, aged 94 years, Brentwood Nursing Home, widow of the late Dr. James H. Egbert, who predeceased her in 1952.

Surviving are a son, Jack of Edmonton, and a daughter, Marjorie of Calgary; three grandsons and six granddaughters, all of Edmonton.

Born in Grey County, Ontario, Mrs. Egbert resided in Calgary since 1920.

The Calgary Herald, Friday, February 20, 1981, page A18

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00117-7442.6
• Immigration: 1895, , Ontario, Canada

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: 00117-7442.7
• Immigration: 1895, , Ontario, Canada

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-182009

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-75629

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-184931

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-14470

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-14389

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-329496
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

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• Name: Agnes May Lackner
• Name: Mary Agnes Lackner
• Name: May Agnes Mumford
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-92445
• Occupation: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1891, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican

May — George Torrance Mumford. George was born 21 Aug 1878, of, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died 14 Feb 1939; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-92458
• Occupation: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Doctor
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Anglican
• Occupation: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Doctor, Medical
• Residence: 1921, 19 Weber St. W. Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Church of England

Harry — Margaret Anne Nelson. Margaret was born 1885, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada; died 1915, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Harry — Matilda. Matilda was born 1885, , Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Della Weber
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49218
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Housework
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1921, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Notes:

MISS ADELA WEBER

After a lingering illness, Miss Adela Weber, 76, died Monday at the Elmira Private Hospital.

She was born on a farm near Hawkesville, attending Wesley United Church, Elmira. She is a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Louis Weber.

Surviving are three nephews, Al- vin Miller, Toronto; Roland Miller, Saskatchewan, and Ronald Weber, Kitchener.
The body was at the Dreisinger Funeral Home, Elmira where the funeral was held Wednesday at 2 p.m. Rev. W. M. B. Metcalfe officiated. in Hillside Cemetery, Burial was in Hillside Heidelberg.

Other Events:

• Name: Melvina Corene "Vina" Miller
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49219
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; School Teacher

Melvina — Evered James Miller. Evered was born 9 Jul 1885, Dalhousie, Lanark Co., Ontario; died 4 Jun 1945, Moose Jaw, , Saskatchewan, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Willie Weber
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49220
• Occupation: 1901, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer Son

Notes:

Died in Saskatchewan.

The sad news reached Hawkesville last week of the death of Mr. William Weber of Mower, Sask., son of Mr. Louis Weber of this place. Mr. Weber was born here and lived here practically all his life. He leaves to mourn his loss, his father, and sister Della, his wife, and infant son.

Mr. Louis Weber and daughter Della and Messrs. Alvin Ottman, George Hufner and Fred Lackner attended the funeral held in Milverton on Saturday.

Waterloo Chronicle 30 Jan 1930, p. 7

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-181957

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49221
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Student
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Notes:

Death of Miss Elva Weber

On Saturday forenoon, Miss Elva Weber passed quietly away. She has been ailing for a couple of years, but throughout her illness was always pat- ient and cheerful and unselfish. - - We extend our deepest sympathy to the bereaved family who have suffered the loss of three of their circle within fifteen months.

The Chronicle Telegraph, 12 Jul 1917, p. 6

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49222
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Student
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49223

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• Name: Rosemond Weber
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162510
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

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• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218771710
• Name: Nellie Edna More
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49548
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1921, 18 Ellen St. E. Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Nellie married Robert Hall More 30 Sep 1903, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. Robert (son of James MacKenzie More and Elizabeth Dymond) was born 9 Jul 1876, Saint Marys, Blanshard Twp., Perth Co., Ontario, Canada; died 1956; was buried , Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49549

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-325128
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Housework
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Occupation: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Clerk, Bank
• Residence: 1921, 170 Queen St. N., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Residence: 1921, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

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• Name: Willie Lackner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162277
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Student
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

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• Name: Gussie Lackner
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49552
• Occupation: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Teacher
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Name: Lillian Elsie May Bone
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49553
• Occupation: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Servant
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Notes:

BONE, Mrs. Lillian May

Passed away on Sunday, January 2, 1977 at the South Waterloo Memorial Hospital, Cambridge, Lillian May Lackner of 17 Pollock Avenue, Cambridge, in her 83rd year. Beloved wife of the late John Henry Bone; dear mother of Keith of Cambridge, also survived by two grandchildren. Mrs. Bone was predeceased by one brother and four sisters. Resting at Coutts and Son Funeral Home, 96 St. Andrew Street, where the family will receive friends, Tuesday, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9. Private family services will be held on Wednesday, January 5. Interment, Mount View cemetery.

Kitchener-Waterloo Record 3 Jan 1977 pg 23

Lillian married John Henry Bone 30 Jul 1919, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. John was born 20 Apr 1892, Belleville, Hastings Co., Ontario, Canada; died 26 Apr 1951; was buried , Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Fredrick J. Weigel
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-167982
• Residence: 1910, Woolwich Township German Company Tract 106, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
• Occupation: 1911, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer
• Residence: 1911, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran
• Occupation: 1921, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Farmer, Farm
• Residence: 1921, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Friedrich married Amelia Kaufman Nov 1895, Carrick Twp., Bruce Co., Ontario, Canada. Amelia was born 12 Aug 1869, , Ontario, Canada; died 9 Jul 1936, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; was buried , Saint James Lutheran Cemetery, Elmira, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Margaret Weber
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-129731

Margaret — John Arthur "Arthur" Weber. John (son of Isaac Enoch Weber and Amelia Alles) was born 4 Nov 1887, Bloomingdale, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-114363

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-114364

Other Events:

• Name: Edward Ziegler
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-114365

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• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-49078
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Residence: 1926, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162145
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162146
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100440246
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162147
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162149
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162150
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162484
• Residence: 1911, Hawkesville, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Presbyterian
• Occupation: 1921, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Business Course
• Residence: 1921, Wellesley Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Lutheran

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-155169

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-162133

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-32488
• Residence: 1911, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada; Evangelical

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-66854

Other Events:

• Interesting: story, politics, public service
• Military: WW1
• Occupation: lawyer
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-101727P

Notes:

DIEFENBAKER, JOHN GEORGE, lawyer and politician; b. 18 Sept. 1895 in Neustadt, Ont., elder son of William Thomas Diefenbaker and Mary Florence Bannerman; m. first 29 June 1929 Edna Mae Brower (d. 1951) in Toronto; m. there secondly 8 Dec. 1953 Olive Evangeline Palmer, née Freeman (d. 1976); no children were born of either marriage; d. 16 Aug. 1979 in Ottawa.

In his memoirs John Diefenbaker describes his ancestors as "dispossessed Scottish Highlanders and discontented Palatine Germans." His paternal grandfather, George M. Diefenbacker (Diefenbach or Diefenbacher), was born in the Grand Duchy of Baden (Germany). In the 1850s he immigrated to Upper Canada, where he married and worked as a wagon maker. His son William, one of seven children, was born in April 1868, attended school in Hawkesville and Berlin (Kitchener), Ont., and received a teaching certification from the Model School in Ottawa in 1891. In May 1894 he married Mary Bannerman, whose grandparents had lost their Scottish tenancies during the land clearances of 1811-12 in Sutherland. They had been members of the third party of immigrants that Lord Selkirk [Douglas*] brought to the Red River settlement (Man.), arriving via Hudson Bay in June 1814. After one harsh winter they travelled by canoe brigade to Upper Canada and finally settled in what would become Bruce County, where their granddaughter Mary was born in 1872.

William and Mary Diefenbaker were living an itinerant life when their first son, John, was born in 1895. A brother, Elmer Clive, arrived in 1897. During John's early years, the family followed William from one low-paying teaching job to another, first in Neustadt, then in Greenwood, then in Todmorden. Young John began his schooling at age four in his father's classroom. In 1903, suffering from debt and ill health, William sought a teaching post in the North-West Territories and was offered work in the Tiefengrund Public School District near the site of Fort Carlton (Sask.), halfway on the wagon route between Winnipeg and Edmonton. For two winters the Diefenbakers lived in primitive quarters attached to the rural schoolroom, supplementing their income with gifts of vegetables, sausages, and firewood from their farming neighbours. In December 1904, on payment of a $10 registration fee, William took possession of a quarter-section homestead in nearby Borden, but a lack of capital prevented him from occupying the land until the summer of 1906. In the interim, the family moved once more, to Hague for the winter of 1905-6, where William taught school and served as village secretary.

In the summer of 1906 the Diefenbakers took up their property, built a three-room frame house, a barn, and a shack, planted a garden, broke ten acres of grassland for crops, and welcomed William's bachelor brother Edward Lackner to a neighbouring homestead. The two brothers found teaching jobs at local one-room schools - William at Hoffnungsfeld and Edward at Halcyonia - and that autumn John entered grade 7 at his uncle's school. For three harsh winters the family survived on the homestead, but in 1910, after satisfying the minimal residence requirement for full title to the land, the Diefenbakers departed for Saskatoon, where William found work as a clerk in the provincial public service. In 1911 he became an inspector in the customs office, where he remained until his retirement in 1937.

John attended the Saskatoon Collegiate Institute for two years. With his mother's encouragement he entered the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in the autumn of 1912 to study arts and law. His early university record was undistinguished. He already had a political career in mind; in later years his family recalled that his ambition to be prime minister had been expressed before he was ten. In the spring of 1914 he took up a contract teaching primary school in the Wheat Heart Public School District. In October, after teaching for five months of the seven-month contract, he made an unusual arrangement to delegate completion of the school term to his uncle Edward in order to return to university. Subsequently Diefenbaker sought payment of what he claimed was a deficiency in his salary, a claim rejected by the school board and the Department of Education.

In the spring of 1915 Diefenbaker received his ba and that autumn he returned to university for an ma in political science and economics. Meanwhile, World War I had become a contest of steady slaughter on the Western Front. In March 1916 he enlisted for officers' training and was commissioned a lieutenant in the infantry. He received his ma in absentia and, after a month of lectures and drill, he undertook three months of articling in a Saskatoon law office before requesting an overseas posting in August. He sailed for England in September as a member of the 196th (Western Universities) Battalion and spent the autumn at camps in Shorncliffe and Crowborough. After a few months he was found medically unfit for service at the front and in February 1917 he returned to Canada. He was demobilized in December and denied a pension sought on grounds of disability. The military records and his own account of this episode are contradictory and were never reconciled during his lifetime; the official records suggest that he was judged unfit because of "general weakness" without demonstration of any physical disability, while he claimed to have been injured by a falling pickaxe. During the 1920s he showed gastric symptoms consistent with a possible diagnosis of psychosomatic illness in 1916-17. Similar cases of neurasthenia, more or less intense, would be common in both world wars.

After returning to Saskatoon, Diefenbaker articled in three law firms during 1918-19 and attended classes in law at the university. He received one year's credit in law school for his undergraduate courses in law and an additional year's credit as a veteran. In May 1919 he obtained his llb. At his request, the Law Society of Saskatchewan granted him two years' exemption from articling and in June 1919 he was called to the bar. He opened his first office in Wakaw, 40 miles north of Saskatoon. Wakaw was a thriving market town of 400 in a farming district settled by immigrants from central and eastern Europe. It was on the district court circuit and had easy access by rail and road to high court sessions in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Humboldt. The tall, thin young man with deep blue eyes and wavy black hair, dressed soberly in a dark three-piece suit, made an immediate and striking impression in the small town.

Diefenbaker's first court case involved the defence of a client accused of careless wounding with a rifle. The assailant had immediately offered first aid and turned himself in to the police. Diefenbaker argued successfully in October 1919 that the shooting was an error committed in the fading evening light. He was soon busy with other cases and within a year he was able to move to larger offices and buy a Maxwell touring car. In the fall of 1920 he was elected to the Wakaw village council for a three-year term. In his first widely noticed case, he acted on appeal for clients from the French-speaking community in the Ethier Public School District, defending two school trustees against a charge that they had violated the province's School Act by permitting teaching in French. Although the court found that the act had indeed been violated, he won the appeal in May 1922 on the technical ground that trustees could not be held responsible for the internal operations of the school. He became known as a defender of minorities and his legal fees in the case were paid by the Association Catholique Franco-Canadienne de la Saskatchewan.

Although Diefenbaker's civil case list grew, his reputation would be founded on his record as a criminal defence lawyer. In the courtroom he discovered and honed his dramatic genius. He mastered juries with his powerful and edgy voice, his penetrating stare, his waving arm and accusatory finger, his ridicule and sarcasm, and his command of evidence and the law. He identified naturally with the dispossessed and the poor, with all those who lacked the wealth, power, and confidence of the British Canadian mainstream; and he argued his cases with passion. Saskatchewan was fertile ground for these talents. In 1924 he took on a partner, Alexander Ehman, in his Wakaw office and moved his own practice to Prince Albert. Two other partners succeeded Ehman before Diefenbaker closed the Wakaw branch in 1929.

The young lawyer's father had been a supporter of Liberal prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier*. As a repatriated soldier, Diefenbaker had supported the Union government of Sir Robert Laird Borden* in the election of 1917, although he was opposed to the War-time Elections Act, which deprived recently naturalized Canadians of the vote. In 1921 his political affiliation was uncertain. He admired Andrew Knox, the mp for Prince Albert who had successfully shifted his candidacy from the Unionists to the Progressive Party, but he kept his own political views private. He would later say that the Liberal Party, which dominated Saskatchewan politics in the 1920s, hoped to recruit him, but claimed that "I was never keen." In 1925 his name was proposed and rejected for nomination as a Liberal in the June provincial election, but on 6 August he was acclaimed as the Conservative candidate for Prince Albert in the forthcoming federal election. "I haven't spent a lifetime with this party," he would reflect in 1969. "I chose it because of certain basic principles and those . . . were the empire relationship of the time, the monarchy and the preservation of an independent Canada." But he distrusted the Ontario-centred policies of the party and disagreed publicly with its leader, Arthur Meighen*, who opposed completion of the Hudson Bay Railway and threatened to change the railway freight rates benefiting the movement of the prairie grain crop. On the hustings Diefenbaker campaigned feverishly and responded angrily to the insult that he was a "Hun." Despite Conservative gains elsewhere in the election of 29 October, the party won no seats in Saskatchewan. In Prince Albert, Diefenbaker ran third and lost his deposit.

The Liberal victor in Prince Albert, Charles McDonald, almost immediately resigned his seat to make way for Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King*, who had lost his own seat in York North. The Conservative Party did not nominate against him, although Diefenbaker privately encouraged the entry of an independent candidate. King won easily. In late June 1926 his government resigned in what became known as the King-Byng affair and was replaced by Meighen's Conservatives, who were defeated at once in the House of Commons. The house was dissolved for a September election. Diefenbaker stood again in Prince Albert, facing the former prime minister in a two-way contest. Once again he was at odds with his own leader, who opposed King's recently established old-age pension scheme and maintained his unpopular views on freight rates and the Hudson Bay Railway. King's Liberal Party was returned to power with an absolute majority, while the Conservatives lost all but one seat in the three prairie provinces.

Despite his electoral losses Diefenbaker was beginning to attract attention elsewhere in the country. When he made his first political journey out of Saskatchewan in 1926 to address a Conservative convention in British Columbia, he was described by the journalist William Bruce Hutchison* as "tall, lean, almost skeletal, his bodily motions jerky and spasmodic, his face pinched and white, his pallor emphasized by metallic black curls and sunken, hypnotic eyes." Yet from this "frail, wraithlike person," continued Hutchison, "a voice of vehement power and rude health blared like a trombone.".

Diefenbaker attended the 1927 federal leadership convention in Winnipeg that chose Calgary millionaire Richard Bedford Bennett* to replace Meighen and became Bennett's admirer as he rebuilt the national party. In Saskatchewan the Conservatives prepared to confront the entrenched provincial Liberal government, whose strength lay in its good relations with the grain growers' associations and the large, mostly Catholic, immigrant communities. The Conservatives turned elsewhere for support. From 1926 to 1928 a ragtag Canadian offshoot of the Ku Klux Klan created more than 100 local branches in the province, appealing to anti-Catholic, anti-French, and anti-immigrant sentiments. Although Diefenbaker was never a member, his party was caught up in this bigoted wave of nativism, reflecting or tolerating support for extremist views at its 1928 convention in Saskatoon and during a by-election in Arm River later that year. During the by-election campaign Diefenbaker shared the platform several times with one of the Klan's promoters, James Fraser Bryant, and at one campaign meeting he challenged Premier James Garfield Gardiner* over the "sectarian influences . . . pervading the entire education system." The Liberal Party won by a narrow margin, but Conservatives drew the lesson that extreme claims could win votes. They carried their anti-Catholic message into the provincial election of 6 June 1929, emphasizing the issues of race, religion, language, and immigration. Diefenbaker was the Conservative candidate in Prince Albert and was promised the attorney generalship in the event of victory. He lost the contest to the sitting Liberal, Thomas Clayton Davis, but Gardiner's Liberals were replaced by a Conservative minority government dependent on Progressive support. The Klan soon disappeared from Saskatchewan.

In the summer of 1928 Diefenbaker had become engaged to Edna Brower, a vivacious Saskatoon schoolteacher. They were married three weeks after the provincial election. Edna was an immediate asset to the aspiring politician, offsetting his dour presence with her warmth and spontaneity. She was resented by Diefenbaker's mother, however, who insisted that she remain first in her son's affections. John maintained close ties with his parents, making frequent visits to Saskatoon at their call. He also played a protective and dominating role towards his brother, Elmer, who now occupied part of the Diefenbaker law office in Prince Albert as an insurance broker and minor entrepreneur. Edna was closely involved in Diefenbaker's legal life, watching and commenting on his courtroom behaviour, observing the reactions of judges and juries, and offering support and reassurance to his clients.

In the late 1920s Diefenbaker defended four men on charges of murder. In the first case, The King v. Bourdon in 1927, he appeared as junior counsel, but afterwards always acted as lead. The defendant was found not guilty. The following year, in The King v. Olson, Diefenbaker requested on appeal that a conviction for murder be quashed on the ground that the trial judge had improperly directed the jury. The judgement was sustained, but on the court's recommendation Diefenbaker petitioned for mercy, claiming that the defendant had been mentally incapable of standing trial. The federal cabinet commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. He was similarly successful in The King v. Pasowesty in having a death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. In The King v. Wysochan he defended his client by arguing that the murder had been committed by the victim's husband. The defendant was convicted, the appeal was dismissed, the federal cabinet denied a reprieve, and Alex Wysochan was hanged in the Prince Albert jail in June 1930.

During this trial, Diefenbaker suffered a recurrence of his gastric illness and afterwards took leave from his law practice to recuperate. He was not a candidate in the federal election of 28 July 1930 which resulted in a Conservative majority government under Bennett and eight seats for the party in Saskatchewan. As a result of the provincial Conservative victory of 1929, however, he had been named a kc on 1 Jan. 1930. Later in 1930 he served as junior counsel to the provincial royal commission known as the Bryant charges commission, investigating Conservative claims that the previous government had interfered with the operations of the provincial police force for partisan advantage. The commission wound up inconclusively in early 1931.

As the great depression deepened on the prairies into a descending spiral of drought, crop failure, debt, and unemployment, the new provincial government lost its revenues and its sense of direction. Diefenbaker's law practice in Prince Albert contracted modestly, but he was able to maintain a comfortable income throughout the 1930s. In 1932 his law partner, William G. Elder, departed in conflict, he claimed, over finances and ethics. The following year Diefenbaker recruited John Marcel Cuelenaere as an articling student. Cuelenaere would stay on as his partner until 1957 and, as a Liberal partisan, would later serve as mayor of Prince Albert, an mla, and a provincial cabinet minister.

In October 1933 Diefenbaker was elected vice-president of the Saskatchewan Conservative Party and in November he put himself forward as a last-minute candidate for mayor of Prince Albert on a platform of interest reduction on the civic debt. He lost by only 48 votes in a record poll. Diefenbaker was not a candidate in the June 1934 provincial election, but he campaigned for the Conservatives in a hopeless cause. The party lost all its seats to the Liberals under Gardiner, who faced a small Farmer-Labour opposition.

Meanwhile, Diefenbaker continued to admire Bennett's leadership. After the prime minister announced his New Deal in January 1935, Diefenbaker wrote that Bennett's radical proposals "have given our rank and file something to enthuse over - a new hope and a new spirit." But the federal government was divided and demoralized by the continuing depression. In July 1935 Diefenbaker turned down an offer of the federal nomination in Prince Albert. He campaigned for the party during the October election, only to see its prospects shattered once more in a national Liberal landslide. In Saskatchewan the Conservatives elected only one member in the province's 21 seats. Bennett led the opposition for another three years while King returned to the prime ministership.

After its electoral defeat in 1934, the Saskatchewan Conservative Party had led a ghostly existence with no more than a handful of activists. In August 1935 Diefenbaker inherited the post of acting president of the provincial party. He hesitated in calling a leadership convention until October 1936. One week before the convention he presented his candidacy and on 28 October he was acclaimed party leader, promising a platform that would be "radical in the sense that the reform program of the Honourable R. B. Bennett was radical." The Leader-Post (Regina) commented that he "thunders forth his convictions and ideas in resonant tones of purposeful youth." For 18 months Diefenbaker ran the party from his law office while Cuelenaere carried the firm's legal work. Diefenbaker appealed fruitlessly to the national party for financial aid and travelled the province seeking potential candidates. When a general election was called for June 1938 he was nominated in Arm River and took a personal loan to pay the nomination deposits for 21 other candidates. The party's moderately progressive program called for refinancing the provincial debt, an adjustment of farm debts, a study of crop insurance or acreage payments, and a commitment in principle to public health insurance. The Conservatives were barely visible in a campaign dominated by the incumbent Liberals, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and the Social Credit. The Liberal government was re-elected with 38 seats against 14 opponents, none of them Conservative. The Conservative Party's vote fell to 12 per cent, but no one blamed the leader for the result. When the party met in convention four months later, Diefenbaker's resignation was unanimously refused and he remained leader by default for two more years.

During the 1930s Diefenbaker served as defence counsel in four well-publicized murder trials. In The King v. Bajer his client, a destitute young woman with two children, was found not guilty of suffocating her newborn child. He was unsuccessful in The King v. Bohun, his client being found guilty of murdering a storekeeper. The jury's recommendation for clemency was rejected and Steve Bohun was hanged in the Prince Albert jail in March 1934. After a raucous preliminary hearing in The King v. Fouquette, the crown stayed charges through lack of evidence and the murder remained unsolved. In The King v. Harms Diefenbaker called for a verdict of manslaughter in an unwitnessed alcoholic killing. John Harms was convicted of murder, but Diefenbaker successfully appealed on the ground of an improper charge to the jury. At the second trial he presented meticulous evidence of Harms's intoxication and won conviction on the reduced charge. Harms was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years.

Diefenbaker's political ambitions remained focused on national rather than provincial politics. By the spring of 1939 he was making tentative plans for a nomination in Lake Centre, the federal counterpart of his provincial constituency. On 15 June he was acclaimed the Conservative candidate and began intensive preparations for an election the following year. When Germany invaded Poland in September, the Conservative Party declared its solidarity with the King government's declaration of war. Arrangements for the election campaign were suspended, and commenced again only when the house was dissolved in January 1940. King campaigned confidently as a wartime incumbent, while the Conservatives under Robert James Manion* were divided and disorganized. In Lake Centre, Diefenbaker called for a statutory floor price for wheat, asserted his own loyal service in World War I, and attacked the King government for its "marked tendency towards dictatorship." The Liberal Party won an overwhelming majority on 26 March. Manion was defeated, but Diefenbaker gained a narrow victory as one of two successful Conservatives from Saskatchewan. After five successive electoral defeats, he would never suffer another.

As one of 40 Conservatives in the new house, Diefenbaker was appointed to the house committee on the defence of Canada regulations, reviewing wartime emergency measures. He made his maiden speech on this subject with a strong declaration of patriotism, supporting wartime restriction of liberty and calling for national registration of adult males. Under the War Measures Act, the cabinet governed for the next five years by decree, while the role of the house was reduced to approval of the annual budget and spending estimates and modest questioning of the war effort within the self-imposed limits of general loyalty. Diefenbaker quickly established himself as one of the opposition's most effective critics, emphasizing the need for conscription for overseas military service and criticizing the cabinet's contempt for the role of parliament.

In the autumn of 1941 a meeting of the national party association chose the former leader, Senator Arthur Meighen, as Conservative chief. Meighen declared that he would pursue a program of coalition and resigned his senatorship to run in York South. The Liberal Party did not contest the by-election, but covertly aided the CCF candidate, who emerged victorious. This defeat - and the Liberal government's political shrewdness - left the Conservatives in confusion. While Meighen pondered a leadership convention, a group of party activists met in Port Hope, Ont., in September 1942 to draft a progressive and internationalist program that might counter the growing challenge of the CCF. The conference reaffirmed the party's belief in private enterprise and individual initiative, but also called for a wide range of social benefits and limited state intervention. When the leadership convention was scheduled for December, the chief organizers of the Port Hope conference were given prominent roles. Meanwhile, Meighen set out to arrange the draft of the Liberal-Progressive premier of Manitoba, John Bracken*, as party leader. When the convention opened in Winnipeg, four western candidates, including Diefenbaker, had declared themselves. Bracken joined the race at the last possible moment and won easily on the second ballot. Diefenbaker ran a respectable third. His nomination speech had incorporated the progressive vision of the Port Hope resolutions, together with a plea for the "preservation of Canada within the British Empire" and "the security of the common man." He came out of the meeting with his reputation and friendships enhanced. The party had adopted a socially progressive platform satisfying to him and, at Bracken's insistence, it would henceforth be known as the Progressive Conservative Party.

Since Bracken decided not to enter the commons, the Conservative caucus met to elect a new parliamentary leader when the house reconvened. Diefenbaker remained in the contest against Ontario mp Gordon Graydon through several ballots; but on the final one Diefenbaker announced that he would support Graydon, who won by a single vote.

The King government began its preparations for the post-war period when it declared in January 1944 that it was committed to a national program aimed at full employment, price stability, and a range of welfare measures. The first of these, a family allowance plan, was introduced in legislation that summer. Diefenbaker took the lead in persuading a reluctant Conservative caucus to support the proposal and led the party in debate on the bill, which was adopted unanimously in July. In the autumn the Liberal government confronted a crisis over the reinforcement of Canadian troops in Europe, reversing its policy and committing 16,000 home service conscripts for duty overseas. Diefenbaker and the Conservatives risked the loss of votes in Quebec by arguing unsuccessfully for full overseas conscription.

While King fought the general election of June 1945 on a forward-looking platform of welfare, national unity, and international cooperation, the Conservative Party under Bracken looked backwards in criticism of the Liberal war effort. As in 1940, Diefenbaker campaigned in Lake Centre on a personal platform. King lost seats to the Conservatives in Ontario and to the CCF in the west, returning to power with a bare majority of 125 seats. In Saskatchewan the only survivors of the CCF sweep were Gardiner for the Liberals, one independent Liberal, and Diefenbaker for the Tories.

Bracken led the party listlessly for three more years. Meanwhile, Diefenbaker solidified his reputation as an mp, supporting progressive causes and criticizing the government for maintaining wartime regulations in peacetime and ignoring the rights of individuals. In 1946 he proposed a bill of rights "under which freedom of religion, of speech, of association . . . freedom from capricious arrest and freedom under the rule of law" would be guaranteed. He told the house that his goal was to see "an unhyphenated nation" in which citizens of many origins and religions would be regarded and treated equally. The call for a Canadian bill of rights became his leitmotif.

Despite (and partly because of) his growing public reputation, Diefenbaker remained an outsider in the Conservative caucus, regarded by other members as aloof, temperamental, and too much the showman. In Ontario, party barons viewed him as erratic and unreliable. When he contested the leadership for the second time at the convention in the autumn of 1948, it was no surprise that he lost on the first ballot to the premier of Ontario, George Alexander Drew. On 27 June 1949 the Liberal government went to the polls under its new prime minister, Louis-Stephen St-Laurent, who campaigned on a bland program of prosperity and growth. The government's majority increased and Conservative seats fell from 67 to 41, but in Saskatchewan Diefenbaker added almost 2,000 votes to his majority and remained the sole Conservative member.

During 1945-46 Edna Diefenbaker had suffered several months of illness, identified as severe depression, but she returned to good health in 1947. In the fall of 1950, however, she was diagnosed with acute leukaemia and she died in February 1951. In the House of Commons, three mps - Arthur Laing, Howard Charles Green*, and Gardiner - offered unprecedented eulogies to a colleague's wife. For months Diefenbaker was overwhelmed by this loss. Two years later he married a childhood friend, the widowed Olive Freeman Palmer, a senior civil servant in Ontario's Department of Education. For the rest of his political career, Olive gave John her loyal support, discreetly encouraging his ambitions and reinforcing his beliefs. Her regal presence on platforms at his side gave him strength and reassurance.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s Diefenbaker was uncertain about continuing his political career in the opposition. But his combative instincts were challenged by a brazenly partisan redistribution of parliamentary seats in 1952, which added potential Liberal and CCF voters to his Lake Centre constituency. With his private cooperation, an all-party committee arranged for his nomination in Prince Albert for the federal election of 10 Aug. 1953. In that campaign he made appearances for the Conservatives in four other provinces, but in Prince Albert he stood without party identification. He was returned again as the sole Conservative from Saskatchewan, while the party made slim inroads into what seemed to be a perpetual Liberal majority.

Public dissatisfaction over the long Liberal incumbency was gradually demonstrated over the next few years as Conservatives took power in New Brunswick under Hugh John Flemming* in 1952 and in Nova Scotia under Robert Lorne Stanfield* in 1956. In the summer of 1955 the St-Laurent government had stumbled and retreated in face of a Conservative filibuster over its attempted extension of emergency powers under the Defence Production Act, and in 1956 it confronted combined Conservative-CCF opposition in five weeks of parliamentary tumult over public financial assistance for construction of a natural gas pipeline. Diefenbaker, who was doubtful about the tactics of the filibuster, played a curiously low-key role in this struggle. In September 1956 Drew was unexpectedly forced by illness to resign from the party leadership. A convention was called for early December 1956.

Diefenbaker's candidacy was taken for granted. It was boosted by support from vigorous provincial parties in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba. Despite brief efforts to create a "Stop Diefenbaker" campaign in Ontario, he was the instant favourite over his opponents, Donald Methuen Fleming* and Edmund Davie Fulton*. In his nomination speech Diefenbaker called on the party to banish a sense of defeatism. According to his Quebec supporter Pierre Sévigny*, "As he proceeded, the magnetism of the man, the hypnotic qualities which were to entrance a whole nation came to the fore. He spoke with an obvious sincerity and an inspired fervour." Diefenbaker won a decisive victory on the first ballot.

The Liberal government remained complacent as it prepared for an early summer election in 1957. By contrast, Diefenbaker, despite his 61 years, injected energy and ideas into his reviving party with the assistance of his policy adviser, Merril Warren Menzies. Inspired by Menzies, and in his own visionary language, Diefenbaker put forward a program of national economic development aimed primarily at growth in the Atlantic provinces, the north, and the west. For three months he led a feverish national campaign with the assistance of campaign manager Allister Grosart, advertising director Dalton Kingsley Camp*, and the efficient organization of Leslie Miscampbell Frost's Ontario Conservative Party. In Quebec the party received discreet assistance from the Union Nationale machine of Premier Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis*. With freshly enhanced funding the party was able to contribute generously to local campaigns in all provinces. Diefenbaker's message to voters was positive, even utopian, recalling the party's role in the country's foundation under Sir John A. Macdonald*. "We intend to launch a National Policy of development in the Northern areas which may be called the New Frontier Policy," he promised. "Macdonald was concerned with the opening of the West. We are concerned with developments in the Provinces . . . and in our Northern Frontier in particular. . . . The North, with all its vast resources and hidden wealth - the wonder and the challenge of the North must become our national consciousness." The party campaigned on a personalized slogan, "It's time for a Diefenbaker government," and the country awoke on 10 June to a surprise Conservative victory of 112 seats to the Liberals' 105; the CCF (with 25 seats) and Social Credit (with 19) held the balance of power. Diefenbaker took office on 17 June 1957 as leader of a minority government.

With over 60 new members in his caucus, Diefenbaker chose his cabinet entirely from sitting mps. These included D. M. Fleming in Finance, Fulton in Justice, Gordon Minto Churchill* in Trade and Commerce, Howard Green in Public Works, Douglas Scott Harkness* in Northern Affairs and National Resources, George Harris Hees* in Transport, George Randolph Pearkes in National Defence, George Clyde Nowlan in National Revenue, Michael Starr in Labour, Léon Balcer as solicitor general, and Ellen Louks Fairclough, née Cook*, as secretary of state (the first woman to become a federal minister in Canada). In August Francis Alvin George Hamilton assumed the Northern Affairs portfolio and Harkness moved to Agriculture. The following month Diefenbaker drew his first minister from outside the house when Sidney Earle Smith*, then president of the University of Toronto, became minister of external affairs. Drew became the Canadian high commissioner in London. The cabinet seemed competent and workmanlike, but it noticeably lacked French-speaking ministers in major portfolios. This failing Diefenbaker never corrected.

In his administration's early days Diefenbaker made a public commitment to divert 15 per cent of Canada's foreign trade from the United States to the United Kingdom. The promise would remain unfulfilled despite his government's continuing efforts to lessen dependence on the American market and to promote trade with the British Commonwealth. Beyond this initial misstep, the new government proceeded boldly with an ambitious legislative program of farm price supports, housing loans, aid for development projects across the country, tax reductions, and increases in old-age pensions and civil service salaries. Public opinion polls showed strong support for the new government. When the Liberal leader, Lester Bowles Pearson, moved a motion of no-confidence proposing that the Conservatives hand power back to the Liberals, Diefenbaker seized the occasion to request a dissolution of parliament for an election in March 1958.

Diefenbaker's 1958 platform was a simplified and more exuberant version of the party's 1957 program, involving a new vision of the nation both economic and spiritual. He preached a populist, secular faith. "Everywhere I go," he declared, "I see that uplift in people's eyes that comes from raising their sights to see the Vision of Canada in days ahead." Diefenbaker's rhetoric caught the public mood. His campaign swept the country in a wave of euphoric enthusiasm. The posters called for voters to "Follow John" and the electorate responded by granting the Conservatives an astonishing 208 of 265 seats, including 50 in Quebec. In his victory speech Diefenbaker declared that "the Conservative Party has become a truly national party composed of all the people of Canada of all races united in the concept of one Canada." His "Vision" had raised public expectations beyond the possibility of satisfaction. He would need rare skill and good fortune to avoid a crashing descent from those heights.

Diefenbaker was soon accused of running a one-man government. This charge was true in the sense that his election victories and the political system focused public attention on his leadership, but untrue as a description of the governing process. In opposition he had been a loner in the Conservative caucus and in power he took pride in his dominating presence. He tended to distrust close advisers and was not at ease with his intellectual superiors - although he relied heavily on his clerk of the Privy Council, Robert Broughton Bryce. His cabinets contained few ministers of brilliance and he had no inclination to bring along potential successors. Throughout his term of office he held endless cabinet meetings in search of consensus, delayed decisions out of uncertainty, and (in the absence of crisis) left his ministers to manage their own departments with unusual freedom of action. Diefenbaker was neither an imaginative policy maker nor a skilled compromiser, preferring the stimulation of the hustings and debate in the house to any long-term promotion and brokering of his ideas. As he came under increasing attack, his suspicions, his tenacious fighting instincts, and his talent for the dramatic overwhelmed his capacity for calm judgement and his ability to lead a united political team.

The prime minister's initial decisions in foreign and defence policy, however, were taken confidently and decisively. They involved Canada's defence relationship with the United States, and were made in an atmosphere of cordiality with the American administration of President Dwight David Eisenhower - whose view of the threat from the Soviet Union during the Cold War was fully shared by Diefenbaker. The decisions grew naturally out of cooperation between the previous Liberal government and the United States and intensified Canadian absorption into the American military system. In July 1957 Diefenbaker and defence minister Pearkes - acting without consultation in cabinet - committed Canada to participation in the integrated North American Air Defence Agreement, known as NORAD. In 1958 Diefenbaker agreed with the United States to locate two short-range Bomarc anti-aircraft missile bases in northern Ontario and Quebec and to arm the missiles, once installed, with nuclear warheads. This decision at first caused little controversy.

In February 1959 (after ambiguous warnings had been delivered to the manufacturers in previous months) Diefenbaker announced the immediate cancellation of development of the Avro Arrow (CF-105), a Canadian-designed, advanced interceptor aircraft being built in Toronto. The Arrow decision raised questions about the government's style and judgement and eventually weakened Diefenbaker's confidence in his own political intuitions. In subsequent years the Arrow would become a cult symbol of mistakenly abandoned Canadian industrial and military opportunities, although in the cooler light of financial and military prudence the decision could easily be justified.

In opposition Diefenbaker had been a renowned champion of civil liberties. In 1958, as prime minister, he promised to protect rights "defined and guaranteed in precise and practical terms to all men by the law of the land." After two years of intense discussion on the merits of a constitutional amendment binding on all levels of government versus the passage of declaratory federal legislation, he opted for an ordinary act of parliament which would not become lost in controversy over amending the constitution. The bill, he declared, would serve to educate citizens on their existing rights and would act as a restraint and a guide for federal lawmakers. Diefenbaker acknowledged - in the absence of a constitutional amendment - that his bill was only a first step for Canada, but it was nevertheless a pledge to all citizens that their rights would henceforth be respected. He told the house what this change would mean for him: "I know something of what it has meant in the past for some to regard those with names of other than British or French origin as not being that kind of Canadian that those of British or French origin could claim to be." The bill was adopted unanimously in August 1960, and in retrospect Diefenbaker regarded it as his outstanding achievement. It contained two escape clauses, one permitting parliament to override the guarantees contained in the act, providing legislation specified that it had been adopted "notwithstanding the Canadian Bill of Rights," and a second exemption for actions taken under the War Measures Act. The act was interpreted cautiously by the courts, but had an exemplary political importance. Under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau*, it would be transmuted into the more comprehensive Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, containing the same exemptions. In 1960 as well, parliament extended the federal franchise to Canada's aboriginal population.

The following year the Diefenbaker cabinet dealt with another issue of conscience long troubling to the prime minister. For three years after assuming power, cabinet had reviewed every criminal conviction involving the death penalty in time-consuming and anguishing detail, confirming some sentences and commuting others. Their task was eased after passage of justice minister Fulton's amendments to the Criminal Code, which created two categories of murder and limited the death penalty to a narrow range of deliberate offences.

The Diefenbaker government's first budget, in 1958, had held the line on further spending in the face of an economic slowdown, but the prime minister's preference for aid to prairie farmers and an uncoordinated program of development projects in the Atlantic provinces and the west progressively undermined the highly conservative instincts of finance minister Fleming. Annual budgets fell into deficit. Beyond his conviction that fairness required a new concern for the poor, the unemployed, the ill, and the elderly, Diefenbaker lacked any coherent economic strategy. As unemployment continued to grow in 1959, 1960, and 1961 despite infusions of fresh public spending, he was troubled by Liberal claims that "Tory times are hard times" and haunted by memories of Bennett's loss of power in 1935. Under relentless pressure from the cabinet for expansionary policies, Fleming came to share Diefenbaker's belief that the restoration of prosperity was hindered by the Bank of Canada's restrictive interest rate policy and the outspokenness of its governor, James Elliott Coyne. For five months in 1961 Diefenbaker and Fleming engaged in an unseemly public battle with the governor, as they sought his resignation. Coyne's refusal prompted the government to introduce legislation dismissing him, but that was frustrated by a Liberal majority in the Senate. On 14 July, once Coyne was allowed to make his case before a Senate committee, he offered the resignation he had previously refused. The conflict resulted in agreements between the bank and the government to avoid similar disputes in the future, but the immediate political effect was to undermine popular faith in the competence of the Diefenbaker regime.

As prime minister, Diefenbaker was eager to make an impact on the international scene equalling that of his political rival Pearson. In the summer of 1958 he had welcomed both the British prime minister, Maurice Harold Macmillan, and the American president, Eisenhower, to Ottawa and in the autumn of that year he toured Europe and the Asian Commonwealth. In Europe he gained the respect of President Charles de Gaulle of France, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of the German Federal Republic, and Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani of Italy. In Asia he admired the anti-communism of the new Pakistani dictator General Mohammad Ayub Khan and the political realism of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India, while warning against the neutralism of Prime Minister Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He made a major speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations on 26 Sept. 1960, denouncing the Soviet Union for its domestic tyranny, its crude colonialism in eastern and central Europe, and its threats to the western alliance. The speech evoked praise from other western leaders.

Despite his vehement rejection of the South African policy of apartheid, Diefenbaker was hesitant to consider exclusion of South Africa from membership in the British Commonwealth on the ground that the association should not interfere in the domestic affairs of its members. Political pressure for action intensified after disorders and a police massacre of peaceful demonstrators in Sharpeville in March 1960. At a meeting of Commonwealth prime ministers in May Diefenbaker worked with Prime Minister Macmillan to avoid a split among the leaders along racial lines. They found their escape in convenient delay. The conference offered South Africa time to revise its policies by agreeing that in the event it chose to become a republic, it would have to request consent from other Commonwealth members for readmission to the association. When South Africa's whites voted that October in favour of a republic, Prime Minister Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd announced that he would seek continuing Commonwealth membership at the meeting in March 1961. Diefenbaker arrived at that meeting carrying divided counsels on South Africa, some calling for its exclusion, some for renewal of its membership coupled with a Commonwealth statement on racial equality, and others for further delay. As the conference opened he was undecided, but at the suggestion of Bryce he advocated a declaration of principles to be adopted before a decision on South Africa's readmission. The effect would be to force a choice on South Africa rather than on the other members. When Verwoerd called for additional wording which would exclude his country's practices from blame, Diefenbaker sided with the non-white leaders in rejecting the proposal. Verwoerd withdrew the South African application and left the meeting. Following South Africa's departure, the conference dropped the effort to adopt a declaration of principles, but Diefenbaker told reporters that non-discrimination was an "unwritten principle" of the association and that it was "in keeping with the course of my life." He accepted the outcome as the least divisive one possible and received wide praise at home and abroad for his defence of the principle of non-discrimination.

As president of the United States, Eisenhower had showed constant respect and consideration toward his northern colleague. Potential points of friction in joint defence policy and other matters were handled from Washington with amicable deference or delay. As his last official act before departing office, Eisenhower invited Diefenbaker to the White House for a ceremonial signing of the contentious Columbia River Treaty on 17 Jan. 1961. The easy political relationship died when John Fitzgerald Kennedy became president. Kennedy was young, brash, wealthy, and an eastern sophisticate whose manner grated on the prime minister. To Diefenbaker's intense annoyance, Kennedy called him "Diefenbawker" when he first became president. Although their initial meeting in Washington on 20 February was superficially cordial, Kennedy told his brother Robert Francis that "I don't want to see that boring son of a bitch again," and the American administration began almost at once to show impatience over Canada's hesitation to negotiate agreements on dual control of the nuclear warheads intended for Canadian Bomarc missiles. When Kennedy visited Ottawa in May 1961 tensions intensified. Diefenbaker explained his political difficulty in accepting possession of nuclear warheads in the face of growing anti-nuclear sentiment across the country; Kennedy responded that failure to arm the new weapons would turn Canada into a neutralist in the Cold War. When Diefenbaker accidentally discovered a confidential White House memorandum advising Kennedy "to push" Canada on a number of issues, the prime minister chose to ignore the advice of his staff to return it, instead filing it away for potential future use against the president. (It would be leaked during the 1963 election campaign.) Formal negotiations for an agreement on the warheads made no progress in this atmosphere of distrust - although at the time Kennedy made no public complaint over Canada's hesitation.

Meanwhile, the Diefenbaker government's good relations with the British government were fading. Macmillan's initial respect cooled as Diefenbaker took an unexpectedly strong and decisive position on the subject of South African membership in the Commonwealth, and effectively disappeared when Canada criticized the British application for entry into the European Economic Community, or Common Market. Diefenbaker and his high commissioner, Drew, regarded the application as a betrayal of Canada's sentiments and economic interests and acted to subvert its success in the absence of firm trading guarantees for Commonwealth members. Diefenbaker made frequent complaints about Britain's lack of consultation with its Commonwealth partners on the subject and privately took satisfaction at hints of French intransigence. (The British application would be vetoed by President de Gaulle in January 1963.) Canadian opinion on the matter was divided, but the Canadian government's reputation was undermined by comments in the press that it had been overbearing and obstructive in its reaction to British policy.

In Quebec the Quiet Revolution was transforming the province and elsewhere appeals were mounting for fairer treatment of the country's French-speaking minority. Diefenbaker, who had neglected the French-speaking members of his own caucus, was indifferent to the signs of change. He refused to consider proposals for a royal commission on French-English relations. In Ottawa the formerly admiring press gallery had grown disillusioned and hostile as the government's record revealed an ineptitude frequently traceable to the prime minister's character. Diefenbaker's disorganization and growing indecisiveness had discouraged and divided his cabinet. When the commons was dissolved for a general election to be held on 18 June 1962, reporter James Stewart of the Montreal Star described the entire parliamentary term as "sometimes aimless, often ill-tempered, and always potentially explosive." As the election campaign began, the government faced a major monetary crisis. A lingering recession, a series of budget deficits, an unfavourable balance in the current trade account, and general uncertainty about government policy provoked a loss of confidence in the exchange market. For weeks the Bank of Canada sold foreign reserves to maintain the value of the floating Canadian dollar and in May the cabinet was forced to devalue and peg the dollar at 92.5 cents (U.S.) in order to prevent a cascading collapse of the currency. The devaluation was cruelly caricatured by the press and the opposition during the election campaign; phoney Diefendollars or Diefenbucks passed from hand to hand.

Diefenbaker campaigned defiantly in the face of vigorous opposition from the refreshed Liberal Party, from the newly formed New Democratic Party, and in rural Quebec from the Ralliement des Créditistes, which under its charismatic leader, Réal Caouette, had been allied with the Social Credit Party since 1961. The Conservative program offered no novelty. The Toronto Globe and Mail reported that "the Conservative campaign has been essentially a one-man show with Mr. Diefenbaker the man. If they fail to win, he must take the blame; if they do win he can claim the victory, no matter how many seats they lose, for his own." For Diefenbaker, the election results were devastating. He kept his hold on the prairies, but in the Atlantic provinces, rural Quebec, urban Ontario, and British Columbia the Conservatives lost their dominance. Five ministers were defeated. Diefenbaker held 116 seats against 100 Liberals, 30 Social Crediters/Créditistes, and 19 New Democrats. Following the campaign, a new run on the dollar required the imposition of tariff surcharges, reduced government spending, and emergency borrowing from the International Monetary Fund, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Diefenbaker retreated into weeks of seclusion before reconstructing his cabinet and reconvening parliament in the autumn.

The cabinet was directionless. Up to a third of Diefenbaker's ministers speculated openly but indecisively on the prime minister's removal. In October 1962 the Cuban missile crisis diverted everyone's attention and Diefenbaker deepened his cabinet's divisions by responding hesitantly to President Kennedy's appeal for allied solidarity. In the aftermath, ministers insisted that negotiations with the United States on the acceptance of nuclear warheads should be reopened. The sudden impact of the international crisis and the prime minister's demonstrated inability to make decisions under pressure suggested that an agreement with the United States to supply the warheads had become a matter of urgency. Negotiations quickly foundered and Washington raised the stakes by accusing the Diefenbaker government of lying and neglecting its military obligations. Diefenbaker's minister of defence, Douglas Harkness, resigned. The opposition united to condemn Diefenbaker's indecision and on 5 Feb. 1963 his government was defeated in the house.

Diefenbaker entered the 1963 election campaign with a disintegrating cabinet. Harkness, Hees, Sévigny, Fleming, Fulton, and others had resigned or retired. His supporting newspapers, the Toronto Telegram, the Globe and Mail, and all but four other papers across the country, had abandoned him. The party organization had collapsed - although his chief campaigners, Grosart and Camp, maintained their loyalty. Diefenbaker set out on the campaign trail fighting "the Bay Street and St. James Street Tories," the American government, and his Liberal challengers. As he crossed the country in a whistle-stop campaign, greeting voters at little railway stations in the bitter cold, he was inspired by American president Harry S. Truman's "Give 'em hell!" election of 1948. His rural, prairie, and small town public responded enthusiastically as he derided the Liberal Party and the American Department of State. Throughout the campaign Conservative support held steady while that of the Liberals declined until, on 8 April, Diefenbaker left Pearson five seats short of a majority. Diefenbaker resigned office and Pearson took power on 22 April, once he had received an assurance of support from six Créditiste mps. In 1963 the journalist Peter Charles Newman published his vivid, best-selling account of Diefenbaker's career, Renegade in power, the first of a new Canadian genre of popular contemporary history, which romanticized the prime minister's dramatic rise and fall.

For three and a half years Diefenbaker carried on as leader of the opposition under siege from elements of his own party, but aggressive and menacing towards his Liberal opponents in the house. He ferreted out one embarrassing scandal after another - all of them involving Quebec ministers. The majority of his mps, dependent on him for their success in politics, remained faithful. For eight months in 1964 Diefenbaker and his loyalists delayed approval of a new Canadian maple leaf flag because they said it lacked any historic symbols. The resolution was eventually adopted in mid December after closure was used to cut off debate. Most of Diefenbaker's Quebec mps voted with the government. Pearson, harassed and distracted by Diefenbaker's relentless attacks in the house, called an election for 8 Nov. 1965, hoping to deliver a fatal blow to his nemesis. Old Conservative foes (including Hees and Fulton) returned to the fold in the hope of a political life after Diefenbaker, while the party leader himself dreamed of returning to power. At age 70 he conducted another vigorous national campaign. Pearson could find no clear theme beyond his call for a majority government and the final destruction of his foe, but he appeared to have little taste for the battle. Once more Diefenbaker's Conservatives deprived the Liberal Party of its desired majority. The Conservatives, with 97 seats, held two more than previously, as did the Liberals with 131. The NDP, at 21 seats, gained four, while the Créditistes and Social Crediters (now separate) suffered losses.

By this time, the political conflict between Diefenbaker and Pearson had become malignant. The 1966 parliamentary year began with Diefenbaker's renewed attacks on the government's integrity, prompting countercharges against his own administration for having failed to act on a matter of security. A judicial inquiry under Mr Justice Wishart Flett Spence, appointed to examine what became known as the Munsinger affair, was in effect an ex post facto investigation of the political discretion exercised by the Diefenbaker government. Diefenbaker, Fulton, and their lawyers withdrew in protest from the inquiry midway through the hearings. The final report found no breach of security, but censured Diefenbaker for having failed to dismiss his associate minister of defence, Pierre Sévigny, six years earlier when he had learned of his extramarital liaison with Gerda Munsinger, who had apparently been a low-level Soviet agent. The Globe and Mail called the inquiry's terms of reference "vague, vengeful, prosecutory . . . setting a precedent for endless witch-hunts as government succeeds government in Canada.".

Diefenbaker's second battle of the year was fought within his party, where he struggled to control the party office and the national association and to hold onto his own leadership. Eruptions of discontent multiplied, but in the absence of any formal system of leadership review he took for granted that his term was unlimited. Once convinced that the leader would not take voluntary retirement, the party president, Dalton Camp, proposed a reform in the party constitution to require an automatic vote on whether to hold a leadership convention subsequent to the loss of a general election. Diefenbaker met Camp's challenge with charges of back stabbing, but failed to carry the annual meeting. It agreed on a leadership convention, to be held in 1967.

As planning for the convention proceeded, Diefenbaker refused to confirm his candidacy. Finally, he stood for re-election in opposition to a convention resolution emerging from the party's policy conference at Montmorency falls, Que., that spoke of Canada's "two founding peoples" or "deux nations." (The draft resolution actually described a country "composed of the original inhabitants of this land and the two founding peoples [deux nations] with historic rights, who have been and continue to be joined by people from many lands.") "That proposition," he told reporters, "will place all Canadians who are of other racial origins than English and French in a secondary position. All through my life, one of the things I've tried to do is to bring about in this nation citizenship not dependent on race or colour, blood counts or origin." Diefenbaker's vision of "One Canada" meant equality for individuals and regions, but he could not accept the notion of "founding peoples" or "nations" which seemed to include some communities while excluding others. His familiar appeal to equality - always drawing on his personal experience - did not work in a period when the country had grown more complex. On the first ballot, he ran fifth behind Stanfield, Dufferin Roblin, Fulton, and Hees. He remained on the ballot through three votes. Stanfield was chosen leader on the fourth.

Through 12 more years and four more general elections, 1968, 1972, 1974, and 1979, Diefenbaker remained in the House of Commons. For a few years his prominent claque on the Conservative backbenches made life awkward for the new leader and for the rest of his life he could rivet the house's attention and embarrass ministers with his pungent and sarcastic questions. On his 30th anniversary as an mp, in 1970, he joked that he would live as long as Moses. Six years later he was named a ch in the queen's New Year's honours list and he travelled proudly to England for the presentation ceremony at Windsor Castle. In the mid 1970s he published three volumes of ghost-written memoirs. He conducted his last election campaign in ill health during the spring of 1979, returned to Ottawa, and died at home on 16 August.

Diefenbaker's state funeral was the most elaborate in Canadian history. He had planned it meticulously in consultation with the secretary of state's department. For three days the open casket lay in the parliamentary hall of honour before it was moved in a ceremonial parade to Christ Church Cathedral for an interfaith service. From Ottawa, an eight-car funeral train carried the coffin and more than 100 passengers westwards to Prince Albert and Saskatoon, with stops both scheduled and unscheduled for crowds along the way. On the high bluffs of the South Saskatchewan River, the old chief was buried beside the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker Centre, which had been constructed on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan to house his papers and relics. The new Conservative prime minister, Charles Joseph (Joe) Clark, delivered the graveside eulogy, describing Diefenbaker as "the great populist of Canadian politics . . . an indomitable man, born to a minority group, raised in a minority region, leader of a minority party, who went on to change the very nature of his country and to change it permanently." The body of his late wife Olive was moved from Ottawa to lie beside him.

Commentators and historians have not been kind to Canada's 13th prime minister. J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer wrote that Diefenbaker's memoirs, "arguably the most mendacious ever written by a Canadian politician, burnished his own image and refought all the old battles with only one victor. . . . Yet the record remained, one of deliberate divisiveness, scandalmongering, and mistrust." Historian Michael Bliss - perhaps slightly kinder - judged that "Diefenbaker's role as a prairie populist who tried to revolutionize the Conservative Party begins to loom larger than his personal idiosyncrasies. The difficulties he faced in the form of significant historical dilemmas seem less easy to resolve than Liberals and hostile journalists opined at the time. . . . But his contemporaries were also right in seeing some kind of disorder near the centre of his personality and his prime-ministership. The problems of leadership, authority, power, ego, and a mad time in history overwhelmed the prairie politician with the odd name." For writer George Bowering, Diefenbaker was the wittiest of all the country's prime ministers, "and he was the most amazing campaigner anyone would ever see or hear." But he got everyone - the Americans, the British, the Liberals, the economists, the Quebecers, and his own party establishment - mad at him.

Diefenbaker's entire adult life was aimed at a political career. He was moved by ambition and a sense of injustice that was both personal and regional, a determination to succeed at the centre of Canadian politics in Ottawa and in doing so confirm the equal rights of those he believed had been excluded from power and influence in Canada. His attitudes were shaped in the 1920s and 1930s, when Canadian public life was dominated by a privileged circle of Ontario and Quebec politicians in the Liberal and Conservative parties. With his personal and western preoccupations, however, he failed to sense the potential grievances of the French-speaking Canadian minority, who felt similarly excluded from a full role in national life.

Possessed of a rare determination that was reinforced rather than dulled by early slights and defeats, Diefenbaker had nurtured a dramatic and corrosive talent as a criminal defence lawyer which served him well as a member of the opposition, though less well as a member of government. He was a British Canadian with a sentimental attachment to the imperial connection and to Canada's parliamentary institutions. His convictions on welfare and employment policy were shaped in the 1940s by his experience of the great depression on the prairies and were broadly shared by colleagues in the Liberal and CCF parties. In his approach to fiscal and monetary policy, on the other hand, he remained an instinctive conservative, never fully absorbing the lessons of Keynesian economics.

By temperament Diefenbaker was never a team player. Once he was in o