5) Richard Morwood: Elected reeve for the Village of Welland in 1863, & elected mayor for the Town of Welland in 1881, 1883, 1886 & 1887

Vital statistics

Birth: January 23, 1831 at Oneida County, New York, USA

Death: January 26, 1893 at Welland, Ontario, Canada (age 62)

Burial place: Fonthill Cemetery (Find a Grave)

Parents: John / Margaret (née McPherson)

Spouse: Louisa Minerva (née Hoover)

Children: Amelia Augusta / Albert Alexander / John Henry / Jenny Rose / James Franklin

Occupation(s): Merchant

Religion: Methodist

Political affiliation: Liberal

Community affiliations: Ancient Order of Foresters / Town Councillor

Profile

Richard Morwood was born January 23, 1831 in Oneida County, New York, USA. His maternal grandfather was John McPherson, of Scottish descent. His father John Morwood was born in Ireland and came to live in Oneida County, New York State. John first moved his family to Canada in 1842 to work in the woollen mills in the Short Hills area of Thorold.

A James McCoppen had opened a general store in Port Robinson in 1849. Not long after opening, Richard Morwood, around 18 years old at the time and just starting his career, became the first clerk to work in his store. James McCoppen served somewhat as Richard’s mentor in the mercantile business. Although an Edwin Smith from Port Colborne claimed the honour of giving Richard his first experience in the mercantile business around 1847. Nevertheless, at some point Richard and James became partners, and in 1856 a branch of the store was opened in Welland at 31 West Main Street, with Richard Morwood eventually becoming the sole proprietor.

Richard is credited as founding and building the Morwood Block at the above address and promoted three departments: dry goods, groceries, and hardware. It was a general store, and he was said to be able to “supply his customers with almost anything from a “needle to an anchor” or from a paper of pins to the most costly dress goods.” His customers came from the shipping traffic on the canal, and his store also became a centre of social activity for townspeople and local farmers. From a 1958 Morwood store ad: “Welland was a very small town in those days but townsfolk and farmers wagons and buggies were parked about the Morwood store in great numbers. The Morwood policy intrigued them… strict honesty in goods and a like honesty in all business transactions.”

R. Morwood Co. was later run by Richard’s children and grandchildren, over time it focused more on hardware, and it eventually became Welland’s longest continually run retail business. Unfortunately, the building was destroyed in a fire on December 6, 1968. After 112 years of service to the community, the R. Morwood Co. was not rebuilt. Only Daniel McCaw could match such a business record: he was profiled recently as the first reeve of Welland, who in 1851 opened a shoe business at 87 East Main Street which he later expanded into a retail store in 1867, which lasted until 1972.

Moving to Richard’s personal life, in 1857 he married Louisa, a daughter of Henry Hoover of United Empire Loyalist descent from the Thorold area. Their children were Amelia, Albert, John, Frank and Jenny. He was credited as being a model husband and father.

The Methodist Church may have been the centre of Richard’s life. He played a large part in the foundation and maintenance of Methodism in Welland, and he donated the land to build the Central United Church which is still at 12 Young Street. His life was “pure and unspotted” and in his dealings he was “conscientious to the most rigid conception.” Also, while he was greatly respected for his business acumen, it was written in his obituary that if he did not become one of the wealthiest men in the county, that fact was related more to his large liberality and large-hearted confidence in his fellow man, a trust that was not always well repaid. It was often said that if he received all that was owed him he indeed would have been one of the wealthiest men in the county.

His prominence as the proprietor of the main general store, along with his reputation for uprightness and honesty made him a natural for public office. While he was never a seeker after office, the public was so confident in his integrity and ability that he was elected to municipal council twenty-three times, the most of anyone in Welland, all time. His only rivals in that department were David Ross and Harry Wallace Diffin, who were both elected twenty times each as councillor or mayor (and they will each be profiled later on when we reach their mayoral numbers).

The time span between Richard’s first and last election also shows his reputation did not fluctuate but was steadfast. He was elected as a councillor in 1861 and 1862, then in 1863 he was elected to be reeve of the Village of Welland. He was then councillor again for 1864, 1865, 1867, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1879, and 1880. By this time Welland had grown to become a town and the Chief Magistrate position was now mayor. Eighteen years after he was reeve, he was elected mayor for the Town of Welland for 1881, 1883, 1886, and 1887. It was twenty-four years between 1863 and 1887, the longest time span between elections as Chief Magistrate of anyone who will be profiled here. Again, this speaks to his high public reputation as well as the stability of this opinion. The remaining years he was councillor were 1885, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, and 1893 (the year he died at age 62).

There were not many ‘major events’ per se in the years he led Welland as chief magistrate, but his time at the helm of the community marked stability and some progress for Welland. At the end of his mayoralty in 1887 it was recorded that “mayor Morwood thanked the electors for the honor of the mayoralty repeatedly bestowed upon him, and thought it but right that that honor should be passed around among competent men. As a heavy ratepayer, he wished a seat in the council, but he by no means wished to monopolize the mayoralty… a vote of thanks was unanimously tendered Mr. Morwood for his efficient and highly satisfactory services as mayor during the years 1886 and 1887.”

It should be noted the council of 1887 was a very energetic one, here are three major accomplishments: the construction of the first sewer, erecting several arc lamps that replaced coal oil street lights, and passing a bylaw to install a water supply, which was completed in 1888 at a cost of $48,000.

A lot more can be written about Richard Morwood, a man who may have been the most revered and respected by the community out of anyone who has ever called Welland their home, as hard as a thing like that is to measure. When he died January 26, 1893 in Welland, the town and county flags flew at half-mast, and during his funeral from 1 to 4 p.m. all business were closed as a mark of respect. The “community as a whole on this sad occasion feels a sense of loss and bereavement particularly deep and touching. Almost every man, woman and child in this vicinity feels as though they had lost a personal friend.” The concourse of people who attended the funeral was one of the largest in Welland’s history. At his funeral the choir sang “The Home of the Soul,” a hymn written in 1865 by Ellen M. H. Gates that was a favourite of Richard’s, of which here is an excerpt:

“I will sing you a song of that beautiful land,

The far away home of the soul;

Where no storms ever beat on that glittering strand,

While the years of eternity roll.”

Sources

City of Welland, “Welland Centennial: 1858-1958” (1958), 59.
“Death of Richard Morwood.” Welland Tribune, January 27, 1893.
“Dust To Dust.” Welland Telegraph, February 3, 1893.
“James M’Coppen.” Welland Tribune, March 15, 1895.
“Late Richard Morwood.” Welland Tribune, February 3, 1893.
“Municipal Elections.” Welland Tribune, December 30, 1887.
“The R. Morwood Story.” Evening Tribune, July 19, 1958.
Reid, Nora, B.A., M.A., “Report on 28-30 Young Street, Welland: “The Morwood House” (January 1, 1990), 2-3.
Welland Tribune Printing House, “The History of Welland County” (1887), 568-569.
Black, D.T. “Welland’s Water System.” Welland Telegraph, July 3, 1917.