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MAJOR THOMAS C. FORMAN Fought in the Fenian Raids of 1866 One hundred and fifty five years ago one of this community’s most co- lourful characters was born in St. Fergus, Aberdeenshire Scotland. Thomas Chalmers Forman was born on October 28, 1857 and as a teen- ager he set out on his own to make his fortune in the Canadas. He found his way to Oshawa where he met another Scot, James C. Laing, a successful and prosperous grain merchant. When Laing decided to expand his grain merchant business, he looked north to Prince Albert which had no grain merchant to service the many farmers in Reach Township. He sent young Thomas to open up an opera- tion buying and selling grain. Forman prospered and felt that he had enough success and credibility with his employer to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Laing agreed. Thomas and Margaret were married in 1845. By 1850 Prince Albert had evolved into the second largest grain market in Canada and Thomas For- man was the leading merchant. In 1863, a series of tragic events began to overtake the Forman family. On April 20 Margaret died of cholera and the following year their 15 month old daughter Janet died. With four more other children to raise, Thomas remarried. His new bride was another Scots lass, Eleanor Taylor, the daughter of the Reverend Joseph Taylor of Lockerbie Scotland. Shortly after his marriage, Thomas’ 9 year old daughter Annie died of T.B. That was August 28, 1865. As if to compound his personal tragedies, trouble was brewing at a na- tional and international level. In the United States a Civil War was beginning to erupt, a war brought Please turn to page 38 HAULAGE ¢ Lent - 1920 Whitfield Rd., Port Perry * 905-982-0118 Limited www.tradingpostqualityfoods.com 1451 Reach St., Port Perry * 905-985-7282 FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2013 35