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Thomas Harold PENFOLD (1888-1969)Tree014:

Name:	Thomas Harold PENFOLD 1
ONS Reference:	Tree014:
Sex:	Male
Record Id:	2916
Father:	Samuel J. PENFOLD (1851-1937)
Mother:	Epsy LAKIN (1860-1936)

Individual Events and Attributes

Birth	28 Jun 1888	Guelph
Death	1969 (age 80-81)	Guelph

Marriage

Spouse	Mary COLWILL (1887-1972)
Children	Margaret Marie PENFOLD (1916?-2004)
	Neil PENFOLD ( - )
	Catharine PENFOLD ( - )
	Harold Thomas (Buster) PENFOLD (1920?-1943)
Marriage	23 May 1912 (age 23)	Guelph

Individual Note (shared)

Thomas and Mary are buried in the Woodlawn cemetery in Guelph. Very near to their stone is:

Samuel Penfold - b. 1852, d. 1937

WifeEpsy Lakin - b. 1860, d. 1936

DaughtersMary Grace Penfold - b. 1897, d. 1969

Clara I Penfold - b. 1903, d. 1985

 

GUELPH MERCURY December 15, 1980

Penfold family among first to settle in Royal City

By VERNE McILWRAITH ,

The Penfolds were among Guelph's first families, with Samuel Penfold being one of the special group of people who trecked

through the woods along the Speed River bank from Galt to reach Guelph about sunset on April 23,1827. Efforts to verify this fact have proven futile for no mention has yet been discovered of the name Penfold being among those listed to help John Galt fell a maple tree near what is now Allan Bridge to open up the forested tract of the Canada Company survey. The actual spot for the tree felling is covered by the westernmost abutment of the high level CNR bridge.

Samuel Penfold was married to Mary Heather but there is no apparent record of whether the marriage took place before or after the tree-felling

incident that Samuel attended. The Heather name was existent in Guelph at that time or shortly after, so it is presumed she lived in Guelph.

Samuel and his wife raised seven children: Fannie, Samuel, George, Mary, Jane, Elizabeth and Emily. Emily became Mrs. Frank Coleridge; Elizabeth was Mrs. Harry Heather; Jane was Mrs, James Gow; Mary became Mrs, Synder of Monteal. Fannie did not marry.

That first Samuel was a builder of note and a carpenter. He built many homes and devoted much time to furniture making. He is said to have made a table from the first maple tree that was cut down by the Galt party and it was believed still in existence in 19271,100 years later.

Son of that original Penfold, Samuel second, was as energetic as his father. He went to school until 11 years of age and apprenticed for three years to William Heather in the harness-making trade. He then entered the employ, of J.B. Armstrong and Co. to learn the carriage building trade, spending the rest of his life there.

The second Samuel Penfold married Epsy Lakin of Guelph in 1880 and nine children were born. Edith and Emily died quite young, Louisa became Mrs. Earnest Black, Grace went to New York, Ida was Mrs* Ross of Barrie; and other daughters were Bessie and Clara. The two boys, Herbert and Thomas were third and fourth in the family.

Samuel, the second, and his brother George, sons of the original sire, formed the S and G Penfold Carriage Company in 1881 and continued until 1925 when they withdrew because of opposition from the automobile. In 1905 they added a hardware department and this outlived the declining carriage business and in 1925 the firm became exclusively hardware.

Thomas Harold Penfold, son of Samule second, was born June 8,1888, at 108 Macdonell St. and at seven years he moved to Toronto Street. On completion of a commercial studies course in 1906 at Alexandra School (near Central) Thomas joined the furniture firm. He lost the tips of three fingers of the left hand and couldn't continue and went to Toronto for two years with the CNR, then had two years at McLaughlin Motor Co., in Oshawa. Returning to Guelph, he joined his brother Herbert in the hardware business taking it over in 1927. A bad fire destroyed the premises in 1948, after it survived the depression days of the 1930s. The reduced business was transferred to the rear of the family home on Woolwich Street and continued for many years.

Tom Penfold married Mary Colwill in 1912, she being a daughter of R.A. Colwill of Arthur. They raised four children, Margaret became Mrs. W. Drinkwater, Toronto; Harold lost his life in the Second World War; Catharine was Mrs. Allan Poole, California; and son Neil lived in Guelph. Neil had

three children Carol, Bobby and Cathy.

 

Birth - 8 Jun 1888 in 108 Macdonell St, Guelph

Residence 1888 in 108 Macdonell St, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Residence 1895 in Toronto St, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Residence 1901 in Guelph, Wellington, Ontario, Canada More Options... 1901 Canadian Census

Education 1906

Residence 1911 in 52 Toronto St., Guelph, Wellington, Ontario, Canada ... 1911 Canadian Census

Occupation 1911- Carriage Builder ... 1911 Canadian Census

Residence Abt 1946 in Woolwich St, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Burial Woodlawn Cem., Block F, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Occupation Furniture Firm, lost tips of three fingers then had to leave

Occupation Hardware Store (his fathers), running it with his brother Herbert

Occupation McLaughlin Motor Co., Oshawa, Ontario, Canada for two years

Occupation CNR for two years

Sources

1	"Don Chesney [Tree014]". Record originated in...