J. T. Kearns
J. T. Kearns | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | c. 1858 |
| Died | May 26, 1941 Montreal |
| Occupation(s) | Shop keeper, mine owner |
| Organization | Chesterfield Larder Lake Gold Mining Company |
| Known for | Co-founding Chesterville gold mine |
Jeremiah (Jerry) T. Kearns (c.1858-May 26, 1941) was a Canadian general store keeper who co-founded the Chesterville gold mine.
Kearns was born in Finch, Ontario and relocated to Chesterville where he ran the townships general store. In 1906, he was part of a group of prospectors who discovered gold and co-founded Chesterfield Larder Lake Gold Mining Company. Financial and logistical challenges delayed his group from opening a gold mine until 1939.
Kearns died in Montreal in 1941, and the community of Kearns in McGarry, Ontario is named after him.
Family life[edit]
Kearns was born in Finch township, Ottawa and relocated to Chesterville in 1888.[1]
Kearns and his wife had three sons.[2] Leo. J. Kearns grew up to take over the family mining business, Hulbert Kearns studied medicine at McGill University and became a physician in Detroit,[3] Walter Patrick Kearns died in 1922 aged 29.[4]
Career[edit]
In Chesterville, Kearns operated the general store and served on the village council from 1917-18.[2]
In 1906, Herman Hummel, Jesse Elliot, Wesley Barkley and Kearns went prospecting for gold near Lake Present in Ontario. Hummel spotted a white crystal in a rock and with Kearns removed it from a cliff face and broke it open to discovered gold.[2] Staking claim T. 1,860 was officially registered in Kearn's name.[5] The group informally renamed Lake Present (as it was known to Indigenous peoples) as Larder Lake.[6] The group incorporated the Chesterfield Larder Lake Gold Mining Company on March 20,[1] 1907.[7]
The company struggled to raise finances and initially used their land as a muskrat farm. In 1937 they raised sufficient financing to open the Chesterville gold mine.[7] Kearns became the treasurer of the company when it became more active.[2]
Retirement, death and legacy[edit]
After retiring from shop keeping, Kearns and his wife relocated to Toronto.[8]
Kearns died in hospital in Montreal on May 26, 1941, aged 83[1] or 84.[3] The community of Kearns in McGarry township, Ontario is named after him.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "J. T. Kearns Dies at 83". The Montreal Gazette. 27 May 1941.
- ^ a b c d McEachern, Ronald A. (24 June 1939). "Chesterville Mine Fulfils a 33-year-old Dream". National Post. p. 28.
- ^ a b "J. T. Kearns Passes". National Post. 31 May 1941. p. 14.
- ^ "Late W. P. Kearns, B.A.". Ottawa Citizen. 3 April 1922. p. 8.
- ^ Annual Report of the Ontario Department of Mines. (1942). Canada: Ontario Department of Mines. p59
- ^ "Chesterville District Farmer Almost Found Pot of Gold". The Ottawa Journal. 22 April 1950. p. 12.
- ^ a b Fifty-Fifth Annual Report of the Ontario Department of Mines (PDF). Province of Ontario. 1946.
- ^ a b McEachern, Ronald A. (24 June 1939). "Chesterville Mine Fulfils a 33-year-old Dream". National Post. p. 28.