The Gooderham & Worts Distillery inToronto

While trying to find out more about the C.L. Fitzhenry Distilling Co. in Boston, Mass, I came across another Fitzhenry distilling connection, this time in Toronto, Canada.

These two excellent websites here and here give the background to the Gooderham and Worts Distillery.

A summary of the Fitzhenry connection to this company shows that in 1855 Julia Riordan started a dairy and distillery on Front Street. In 1867 William Thomas Fitzhenry was running this distillery, leased from Mrs Riordan. William married her daughter Mary A Riordan sometime between 1861 and 1863. The distillery claimed to be producing 250 gallons of liquor a day and was renamed the York Distillery.

After Mrs Riordan died, the York Distillery was sold to the Gooderham and Worts Company in January 1877.
This sale may also have been due to the death of William, as in the 1881 Canadian Census, Mary was widowed and had four children to support. She never remarried and died in 1907.
The children were:
Thomas born 1863
Moses born 1866
Julia born 1869
William born 1872

The distillery connection didn't finish there - in the 1913 Toronto City Directory, Thomas is listed as a clerk at Gooderham and Worts.

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