J.J. Carrick
John James "J.J." Carrick (17 September 1873 - 11 May 1966) was an American-Canadian real estate developer, politician, and stockbroker. He was the developer of the 1909 Mariday Park neighbourhood in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Among his many accomplishments: as mayor of Port Arthur he initiated the first daylight savings time in the world (in 1908), and he sold the first Remembrance Day poppies in Canada. [6]
Early life
J.J.'s father, John Alfred Carrick (1850 - 1915), born in West Malling, Kent, England. (John died in Toronto, residing at 1841 Dundas, having suffered from "carcinoma of the stomach" since 1910. This address is not a prestigeous one.)
J.J. was born 17 September 1873 in Evansville, Indiana, USA, to John and his wife Emiline Harvey (1849 - 1928).
In the 1878 in the Evansville city directory, John A. Carrick's listing is: "Singer Sewing Machine agent, res 1701 Upper 2d". The only other Carrick listed is "Harry J.", also "res 1701 Upper 2D".
"[Carrick]'s early history is a bit cloudy", reported his grandson, George Merton Carrick, in 2020. [12] Carrick must have moved with his family to Toronto for some reason, and he graduated from the University of Toronto in 1897. [6]
From 1897 to 1903 Carrick worked for John D. Rockefeller, becoming a leading oil salesman. [6]
As an entrepreneur Carrick was greatly influenced by [Rockefeller]. It's my personal view that when Carrick came into contact with Rockefeller's level of wealth and success he got bit by the wealth bug so hard, he never got over it. Carrick became "on fire" with success and momentum and became a very talented salesman.
— Daniel J. Skaarup, "Success Philosophy: Standing on the Shoulders of Sleeping Giants"
Marriage and family
He married Mary Jane Day on 20 December 1899 in Simcoe, Ontario. He listed his occupation as "Traveller" on the marriage license.
Mary Jane and J.J. had three sons:
- John Alfred "Jack" Carrick (1903 - 1952)
- Donald Day "Don" Carrick (1906 - 1997)
- James Alexander Crozier "Alex" Carrick (1908 - 1943)
All three sons were outstanding athletes who attended the elite private school, St. Andrew's College from 1917 until grade 12, in Aurora, Ontario, and then went on to the University of Toronto. They all became stock brokers, taking after their father.
J.J. had grandchildren:
- George Manton Carrick (by Don) (born circa 1943). George married Donna Carmichael and as of 2020 lives in Arroyo Grande, California.
- Ellen Green (by Don)
- Judith (by Alex)
- John Carrick (by Alex)
- Likely some by Jack also.
Jack
Jack was born 6 Apr 1903 in Sault Saint Marie [2], died 17 August 1952 in Detroit, Michigan. He married Mary Winnifred Elizabeth Rose (born 23 Sep 1904) on 7 July 1928.
John Alfred Carrick (St. Andrews' College 1917 - 1922). Jack Carrick, who was an outstanding boy at S.A.C. in the early twenties, died in Detroit, Mich. on August 17th, 1952. While at St. Andrew's, Jack captained the First Hockey team in 1922, played on the Football team for several years, was a Prefect, treasurer of the Athletic Association and held many other offices. He was a good student and won the Thorley medal and four proficiency prizes. On leaving St. Andrew's he entered the faculty of Engineering at the University of Toronto. While at Varsity he played on the football team, and after graduation played for a time with Argonauts. In 1928 he became associated with the firm of [Investment Bank] Halsey, Suart and Co. in Chicago, and almost his entire business career was in the U.S.A. He was for a time with T.A. Richardson and Co., Toronto.
— St. Andrew's College Review, Christmas 1952, page 76 [3]
Don
Donald Day "Don" Carrick (18 September 1906 - 28 February 1997). Born in Port Arthur, he died in Toronto. He was Ontario amateur golf champion and former Canadian golf champion, and a graduate of University of Toronto and Harvard and graduated from Osgoode. He married Elizabeth Frazce Bunker. He was an MP for the Liberals from 1954 to 1957.
Alex
Alex (3 December 1908 - 19 July 1943), married Evelyn Moore (4 August 1910 - 13 March 2009) on 16 September 1933 [4].
In school at the University of Toronto, Alex was a football star, and later with the Argonauts.
"Alex" Carrick. — He has shown that, like his brothers, you can't keep a Carrick off a football team. A good tackler and dived at his man with great ferocity. He played flying-wing, and we all hope that he will be with us next year.
— St. Andrews College Review, 1925. [5]
Alex was a "well-known stock broker" at age 31, as of 1939, living on Glencairn Ave, Toronto. This information was published as part of an article on a head-on collision he was a driver on 1 June 1939. On 2 June a charge of criminal negligence was laid against Alex for causing the accident, according to the Windsor Daily Star.
At age 35, while serving in England in the Army, he had an accident "sustained when thrown off his motorcycle" on 19 July 1943, which led to "circulatory and respiratory failure following severe injury to the brain." He died and was buried in Surrey, England. [6]
Lieutenant Alexander Crozier Carrick will be remembered by all the boys who attended St. Andrew's between 1917 and 1926. He was the younger brother of Major Donald D. Carrick, now overseas with the R.C.A., and of John A. Carrick of Chicago, both of whom had a large part in the life of St. Andrew's in the early twenties. Lieutenant Alex. Carrick, like his famous brothers, was a successful athlete. At the time of his death he was engaged in night convoy duties in England and was the victim of a motor vehicle accident. A very strong bond bound the three brothers together during their school days: to his brothers, parents and his widow, the Review extends sincere sympathy.
— Saint Andrews College Review 1943, page 95
Lt. A. Carrick Fatally Hurt. Tank Corps Officer is Killed in England. Word of the death of their son, Lieut. Alexander Crozier Carrick, was received yesterday by Col. and Mrs. J.J. Carrick, 49 St. Andrew's Gardens. Earlier, they had been notified that the young officer and former outstanding athlete was dangerously ill of multiple injuries suffered in a motor cycle accident. A member of the Tank Corps, he recently wrote his family that he was engaged in night convoy duties in England. Born in Port Arthur in 1908, he attended St. Andrew's College, University of Toronto Schools, and the University of Toronto. He played hockey and football for Varsity and was also on the Argonauts' football team. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Mercie Moore Carrick, and two children, Judith and John; his parents and two brothers; John A. Carrick, Chicago; Major Donald D. Carrick, overseas with the R.C.A.; Col. Carrick, father of the dead officer, served in the last war.
— Globe and Mail, 20 July 1943, page 5
Port Arthur
Carrick came to Port Arthur in 1903 attracted by a real estate boom in anticipation of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway locating at the Lakehead.
Carrick came to town like a lightning bolt, full of energy and enthusiasm. He managed to partner with some of the biggest names in Thunder Bay on numerous projects.
— Daniel J. Skaarup, "Success Philosophy: Standing on the Shoulders of Sleeping Giants"
J.J. Carrick was elected mayor in 1908, for one year or less, which was apparently the length of term at the time. [7]
- 1907 - 1907 Alderman in Port Arthur
- 1908 - 1908 Mayor of Port Arthur
- 1908 - Conservative MLA in the Ontario Legislature
- 1911 - 1917 Acclaimed MP for Thunder Bay and Rainy River, sitting until the next election in 1917.
- 1915 - 1918 Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Militia during World War I.
Other Accomplishments:
- February 1906 - 17 February 1916 Carrick founded a newspaper, with Orillia native Edward Blake MacKay [8]: the Port Arthur Daily News (merged, sold to Thompson in 1949, and ultimately became the Chronicle-Journal). "Carrick sold the newspaper in May 1918 to John Russell Smith of the firm Davidson & Smith."
- On 1 July 1908, as Mayor, introduced Daylight Savings Time, making Port Arthur the first city in the world, and the only city in the world using it, for three years, until Orillia, Ontario implemented it in 1911.
- In 1908, Convinced Canadian Northern Railway to build the Prince Arthur Hotel, over a poker game on a train from Winnipeg. CN paid Carrick $850,000 to have him build the hotel; the city provided the lot; this hotel is also the first place in Canada to sell the Rememberance Day poppies [6]
- Credited with persuading the government to establish the Armoury and the Customs buildings in Port Arthur.
- Apparently he was also president of the Great West Coal Company of Brandon, Manitoba, for some period of time (unknown)
- By 1910 Carrick had offices in Port Arthur, Fort William, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Montreal. He created his own mortgage finance company called The Red Path Estate. [6]
Carrick lived in Port Arthur from 1903 to about 1918. He built a house in 1906 that still stands. In the 1960s it was occupied by the Arthur Family [9]. As of 2019, "a localbusinessman Gene Prpich lives there, fittingly as he is an antiques dealer" - Jack Floyd. [10] Sunrise Antiques [11] [12]
The rear of the Carrick house faces Algoma, and it has a gorgeous park on the side.
In 1957 Carrick returned to Port Arthur after 40 years, for a civic event, and was given a standing ovation. Former Mayor Charles Cox (1882 - 1958) called Carrick a "spellbinder and noisemaker", saying that he "laid the groundwork for the city of Port Arthur". Local historian Joseph Placide "J.P." Bertrand (? - 1964) introduced Carrick as a "big man with a big heart". [13]
Later career
After the war he moved to Toronto to start a brokerage business. By 1939 it was called Gachin Holdings, with offices at 330 Bay Street, Toronto, a 16-storey office tower built in 1925 and fittingly known as the "Northern Ontario Building". [14]
J.J. Carrick lived in the second-most affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Moore Park, at 49 St. Andrew's Gardens.
In 1930 he ran as a Liberal in the Port Arthur-Thunder Bay riding.
He ran as an independent MP in the St. George Riding in 1934, losing badly in 4th place with 207 votes to the winner, Ian Strachan, a liberal. [15]
Carrick spent the winter of 1934 - 1935 in California [16]. His son Alex visited for a month from about 9 March 1935.
In January 1939 he returned from his 27th round trip to England. He was still plugging mining stocks.
We're lucky we live in Canada. Continental Europe is a Mad-House with two raving Maniacs running wild, and civil murder in Spain. And we call it Civilization!
Arrived Saturday from England-my 27th round trip. We had on board in the steerage many Czechoslovakian refugees going to the U.S. What a pathetic sight-these destitute women & children. And we call it Civilization!
Talked with many prominent Britishers, attended the 50th Anniversary Banquet of the Foreign Press-the Germans stayd away-heard Chamberlain's great speech. We've got to take off our hats to that Old Boy. Well, what's it going to be for 1939. World War? Armageddon?
We're lucky we live in Canada. We're lucky we have a great gold producing mines-mining is Canada's most propserous industry. Gachin shareholders are lucky. Original Gachin purchasers have received over 410% dividend returns. Gachin has investments in 21 Canadian dividend paying gold mines.
P.S.-Write Gachin Holdings, 330 Bay St., Toronto, for particulars. Buy Gachin for safety & better-than-average dividends.
— J.J. Carrick, in the Globe and Mail, 23 January 1939, page 21
Circa 1939 - 1945 President of "Books for the Boys" charity, run from his 330 Bay Street office in Toronto, which ran into the hundreds of thousands of books [17]. Carrick also encouraged war savings in speeches in 1941.
I propose herewith to review Gachin operations and give shareholders a concise account of Gachin's activity since the Syndicate was organized in 1932.
Gachin Gold Syndicate, a Partnership in which all subscribers were jointly liable, was formed on August 4, 1932, with an authorized capital of $25,000.
December 7, 1932, the authorized capital of the Syndicate was increased to $200,000, and the Syndicate Agreement stated:
(1) The Syndicate shall have as its main purpose the exploration and development of mining properties.
(2) The Syndicate shall not be converted into an Investment Trust.
August 11, 1937, Gachin Holdings Limited was incorporated with only one class of stock—no par value shares...
Dividends: Subscribers to Gachin Gold Syndicate have received nearly 50% of their original investment in dividend payments.
Perhaps the brightest aspect of Gachin Holdings Limited is its ownership of a large block of Kirkland Hudson Bay. Lake Shore control Kirkland Hudson Bay. They have invested nearly one million dollars in Kirkland Hudson Bay, and have both the finances and engineering talent to make it a successful producing mine.
Gachin Holdings Limited owns 63,330 shares of Kirkland Hudson Bay.
— Report to Gachin Holdings Limited Shareholders by J.J. Carrick, 3 May 1941
On 18 October 1968, two years after Carrick's death, Gachin Holdings Limited appeared in a Vancouver Sun column where readers could submit share certificates to discover if it had any value. It was listed along with several other companies as "CHARTERED SURRENDERED OR CANCELLED". So by this point it's clear the company has ceased to exist, perhaps liquidated after the death of Carrick. [11]
Author
Carrick bought column space in Canadian newspapers such as the Globe and Mail during the 1930s and 1940s, writing a column called Carrick-atures. This column was often accompanied by advertisements for his gold mining syndicate, Gachin Holdings.
In 1943 he collected these writings into a book called Hall of Fame: Photos, Cartoons, Sketches, Eulogy, Humor, Ridicule; it was published in hardcover in 1943 by the "Institute of Financial Education". [7]
Hall of Fame featured in the prior art exhibits presented by Mad Magazine when defending their use of the face of Alfred E. Newman, since J.J. had apparently used it. Carl Djerassi, in recounting this fact in his 2014 book, The Pill Pygmy Chimps, and Degas' Horse, called Hall of Fame "somewhat corny". [8]
Mexico
Carrick had moved to Mexico in about 1951 and died in Mexico City on 11 May 1966. He was buried in Simcoe County alongside his late wife and son Jack.
Obituary
This obituary ran in the Gazette on 13 May 1966. It contains apparent inaccuracies:
- Carrick was not a soldier, he was a politician with an honourary title of "colonel"
- He moved to Port Arthur in 1903 by other sources
- His wife Mary died on 20 January 1947, according to their tombstone, so she did not survive him. His Mexican death certificate also says he is a widower.
TORONTO — (CP) — John James Carrick, a soldier, politician and writer who bought space at advertising rates for his column in The Globe and Mail, died in Mexico City. He was 92.
Mr. Carrick was born in the United States and moved to Canada while young. He started his first business in Port Arthur, Ont., in 1902 and was elected mayor in 1908.
The same year he was elected to the Ontario legislature as Conservative member for Port Arthur and sat until 1911. From then until 1917 he represented the constituency in the House of Commons.
During the First World War he served overseas as a colonel with Canadian army.
In 1941 he used the Globe and Mail column Carrickatures to appeal for books for Canadian forces overseas.
He retired and moved to Mexico 15 years ago, saying that country had the ideal climate for "health, happiness and longevity."
Surviving are his wife Mary and a son, Donald, of Toronto.
— The Gazette (Montréal), 13 May 1966, page 41
Sources
[1] Canadiana Biography of J.J. Carrick [18]
[2] J.J. Carrick's Wikipedia page [19]
[3] Thunder Bay Museum [20]
[4] Petrone, Penny, 1995. Breaking the Mould. [21]
[5] Chronicle-Journal, 22 May 2005, "Boost and sell: John James Carrick". By Bryan Martyniuk.
[6] Success Philosophy: Standing on the Shoulders of Sleeping Giants, by Daniel J. Skaarup. [22]
[7] Carrick, J.J. Hall of Fame: Photos, Cartoons, Sketches, Eulogy, Humor, Ridicule. Harcover - 1943. Publisher: Instit. of Financial Ed.; First Edition edition (1943) ASIN: B001NRHR3C [23]
[8] Djerassi, Carl. The Pill, Pygmy Chimps, and Degas' Horse. The Autobiography of Carl Djerassi. 2014. [24] "There were references to a publication of that face [Alfred E. Newman]... to a somewhat corny book, Hall of Fame, published in 1943 in Toronto by one J. J. Carrick."
[9] J.J. Carrick obituary, Montreal Gazette, page 41, 13 May 1966.
[10] The Ottawa Journal, 14 March 1945, page 9.
[11] The Vancouver Sun, 18 October 1968, page 19.
[12] Phone call between Michael Currie and George Merton Carrick, 21 January 2020.
[13] Death Certificate of J.J. Carrick, 12 May 1966.
[14] Tombstone of J. J. Carrick at Find a Grave [25]