William Noble Rutledge, commissioner of the Court of Queen’s Bench for the county of Simcoe, and custom house officer, was born in Streetsville, county of Peel, in February, 1827, and is the oldest native of that place now living. His parents, Henry and Jane (Noble) Rutledge, were originally from Ireland, and came from Westchester county, N. Y. to Canada. They belonged to the farmer community.
William received a common school education; farmed till past his majority; clerked a while for Benjamin Switzer, of Streetsville, and then went to Port Perry, and was in the mercantile business there for himself until 1854, when he was in company with Messrs. Cotton and Manning, building the Esplanade at Toronto.
In 1858 Mr. Rutledge returned to Streetsville, and was engaged in merchandising and milling between one and two years, after which he purchased the estate of Capt. Thos. G. Anderson, of Coldwater, where he has since resided, still, however, retaining his property in Streetsville.
Since taking up his residence in the county of Simcoe, Mr. Rutledge has been engaged in farming, and has dealt, also, more or less, in lumber. He has been in the municipality of the township of Medonte, and county of Simcoe, nearly all the time since settling there was a councilman and reeve for fourteen years, and warden of the county in 1877 was appointed a coroner of the county at an early day, and still holds that office as well as that of commissioner in the Court of Queen’s Bench, and is acting as custom house officer for Port Penetanguishine and other ports north and east. He was at one period a director of the Northern Railway, and was a returning officer for the county of Simcoe at the general election in 1872.
His politics are Conservative, and before becoming a Government officer, he was quite active, having a good deal of influence in his part of the county.
He is a Master Mason, a member of the Church of England, and a warden of St. Matthias’ church at Coldwater.