Another interesting figure in
the history of York was Laurent Quetton St. George. Even the
man’s very name is shrouded in mystery.
Laurent and his brother Etienne were young Royalists who left France in
1791 to enlist in a guerrilla force of French emigres that was forming
in London(1). They adopted the name St. George in
order to protect their family. When both brothers returned to the
Revolution, Etienne was killed, forcing Laurent to once again flee to
England. However another story claims that Laurent alone changed his
name because he wanted to commemorate that his first step on English
soil was on St. George’s Day(2).
St. George came to Upper Canada in 1802 and quickly made a career in the fur trade(3).
In 1807 he came to York, started a business, and with his profits built
a beautiful Georgian home on the northeast corner of King and Frederick
Streets(4). The building was residential, except
for the main floor which served as a store with cellars below for
storage. The brick from which it was built likely came from the
excavated material of the lot(5). Brick was a rarity in York, making St. George’s house a definite symbol of prosperity and affluence.
St. George took his pre-1812 fortune and returned to France for the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1815(6).
John Spead Baldwin, brother of William Warren Baldwin, bought St.
George’s house and lived in it, later renting half of it to the
Canada Land Company [site 30]. |
