Address:
222 King Street - Home of Matthew Butler and Loretto Shibley Butler
Summary:
King Edward VII appointed Matthew Butler as companion of the Order of St. Michael & St. George.
Property Details:
This property once had an earlier house on its lot which was occupied by several people before being sold on 1 June 1910 to William Sinclair Davis, a local land agent and manager of the Bank of Hamilton in Oakville. It was rented for a time by Agnes Rogers, a widow, before being demolished and replaced in 1921 with the house which stands today.
Its first owner, Matthew Joseph Butler, was born in Deseronto, Ontario in 1856. He studied engineering at the University of Toronto and served a three year apprenticeship in Belleville with surveyors & architects John Dunlop Evans & Thomas Oliver Bolger. He was involved in a vast number of business ventures which took him across Ontario as land surveyor and later in an engineering capacity for several railroad companies.
In 1880 he married Loretto Shibley in Napanee and they had a son and daughter who died inchildhood as well as two further daughters.
In 1905 Sir Wilfrid Laurier appointed him to the position of Deputy Minister and Chief Engineer of the Department of Railways and Canals. While in office he earned an appointment by King Edward VII as companion of the Order of St. Michael & St. George.
In 1910 he returned to the private sector, relocating to Nova Scotia as general manager of the Dominion Iron & Steel Co. & the Dominion Coal Company. Afterwards, he spent a short time in Montreal where he was elected president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers.
Butler retired in 1919 and afterwards settled in Oakville where he went into private practice as a consulting engineer. He became interested in the history of Canadian engineering and penned several biographies of prominent early engineers for the journal of the Engineering Institute of Canada.
Loretta Butler died in Oakville in 1932 and shortly afterwards, Matthew relocated to Sydney, Nova Scotia where his daughter Elizabeth Lynch lived. He died the following year. Both Matthew and Loretta are buried in Deseronto, Ontario along with several other family members.
After the deaths of Loretta & Matthew Butler, the house remained in the family and was
occupied by their daughter Loretta Florence Dare & her young son Michael Reginald who had come to live with them when Loretta’s husband Reginald died in 1918. It remained in the family until 1950 at which time it was sold.
Its first owner, Matthew Joseph Butler, was born in Deseronto, Ontario in 1856. He studied engineering at the University of Toronto and served a three year apprenticeship in Belleville with surveyors & architects John Dunlop Evans & Thomas Oliver Bolger. He was involved in a vast number of business ventures which took him across Ontario as land surveyor and later in an engineering capacity for several railroad companies.
In 1880 he married Loretto Shibley in Napanee and they had a son and daughter who died inchildhood as well as two further daughters.
In 1905 Sir Wilfrid Laurier appointed him to the position of Deputy Minister and Chief Engineer of the Department of Railways and Canals. While in office he earned an appointment by King Edward VII as companion of the Order of St. Michael & St. George.
In 1910 he returned to the private sector, relocating to Nova Scotia as general manager of the Dominion Iron & Steel Co. & the Dominion Coal Company. Afterwards, he spent a short time in Montreal where he was elected president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers.
Butler retired in 1919 and afterwards settled in Oakville where he went into private practice as a consulting engineer. He became interested in the history of Canadian engineering and penned several biographies of prominent early engineers for the journal of the Engineering Institute of Canada.
Loretta Butler died in Oakville in 1932 and shortly afterwards, Matthew relocated to Sydney, Nova Scotia where his daughter Elizabeth Lynch lived. He died the following year. Both Matthew and Loretta are buried in Deseronto, Ontario along with several other family members.
After the deaths of Loretta & Matthew Butler, the house remained in the family and was
occupied by their daughter Loretta Florence Dare & her young son Michael Reginald who had come to live with them when Loretta’s husband Reginald died in 1918. It remained in the family until 1950 at which time it was sold.
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222 King Street
Plaque for 222 King Street
Matthew Joseph Butler
222 King Street
Plaque for 222 King Street
Matthew Joseph Butler