The Bolton family is thoroughly identified with the history of the Township of Albion and the County of Peel, some of its members having figured quite prominently in this locality. James Bolton, one of the pioneers in Albion, and the grandfather of our subject, came from the County of Suffolk, England, to Upper Canada in 1818; his occupation was that of a carpenter and builder. He settled in Albion, near the Humber, the next year. We learn from the “Historical Atlas of Peel County,” that he erected the first grist mills at Weston, Newmarket, Lloydtown and Tecumseh, and also a number of buildings in the City of Toronto and the neighborhood. He was quite a noted man, and active, using his pen as well as voice in opposing the “Family Compact,” and taking a prominent part in politics previous to the Rebellion, leaving the country at the time of the outbreak, and dying in Indiana in 1838.
He left six sons, of whom Charles the eldest son, was the father of our subject. He was born in England in 1804; married Catharine Parker, daughter of William Parker of Albion, in 1827; bought the farm that year which covered part of the present village of Bolton; was a farmer and subsequently a merchant here, and died in 1863; held the offices of School Commissioner under the old law, School Trustee, Deacon of the Congregational Church, the latter office he held till his death, and was a noble Christian man, a valuable citizen of the place.
His brothers were, George Bolton, a farmer, who died at Fordwich, County of Huron, in 1877; Henry Bolton, also living in Albion, and dying in 1845; James Cupper Bolton, a miller, farmer, and merchant in Bolton, from 1845 to 1854, when he sold his property here, removed to the Township of King, near Newmarket, where he still lives, and was appointed Justice of ‘the Peace in 1848, and is now one of the oldest magistrates in this part of the Province; Samuel Bolton, a carpenter and builder, who settled in Bolton in 1846, and is still residing here, and is a member of the Congregational Church; and William Bolton, the sixth son, a carpenter by trade, who lived alternately in Ontario and Indiana, and died in that State in 1865. He was a member of the Primitive Methodist Church.
The subject of this sketch, a leading business man in Bolton, was born here September 8, 1831; educated in the Common School; farmed until sixteen years of age; served an apprenticeship at the mercantile business in Toronto; a clerk and bookkeeper in Bolton for several years; and about 1856 became a conveyencer, which occupation he still follows, doing most of the business of that kind in this vicinity, and having an excellent reputation for accurate and honest work.
Mr. Bolton’s appointed Commissioner of Queen’s Bench in 1853; a Justice of the Peace in 1863, and is also a Notary Public and Clerk of the Division Court; was Clerk of the Township Council six or seven years; a School Trustee at one period; and Reeve of the Village for five years, elected every time by acclamation. In 1879 he was elected a Director of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway.
Mr. Bolton is a Reformer, and a leading man in the party in Peel and Cardwell.
He holds the same office in the Congregational Church that his father held, having been Deacon since about 1863 or 1864. His heart is enlisted in every good work, and he is the poor man’s friend.
In 1863 he married Maria Warbrick, daughter of James Warbrick of Bolton, and they have four children: James Warbrick, Grace, Louisa Maria, and John.
Among the early settlers in Bolton, is also George Evans, who came here in 1839, opened a Hotel in 1842, and is still its proprietor. He has been a Magistrate for nearly thirty years; was a member of the County Council from 1847 to 1856; has been a Commissioner of Queen’s Bench for a long period, and Post Master for the last ten or twelve years. During the Fenian raid he was Captain of Company No. 4, 36th Battalion, and now holds the rank of Major of that Battalion.