Brackets

DimensionsOverall: 85 × 12.5 × 18.5 cm

Credit LineCollection of Museum London, 1976

Object number1976.070.002

Label TextThese brackets were originally installed under the eaves of the house at 199 Simcoe Street. Grocer Andrew Garfield McCormick (1835-1903) lived at 199 Simcoe Street with his wife, Anne, and their children. The house was a two story brick dwelling. McCormick was born in London, the son of Irish immigrants, Andrew and Alice. A member of the London and Middlesex Historical Society, Harriet Priddis, interviewed his sister, Ann McCormick Porte, in 1922. Ann shared her memories of the very early years of the village of London. As a young man, Andrew worked for his father, a merchant, before entering the shoe business. Poor health led him to enter the grocery and provisions trade. He added to this the buying and selling of horses, at which he enjoyed considerable success. McCormick's upstanding reputation supported his move into local politics. He was, at different times, a councilman, alderman, and then mayor of London. In 1866, he became an alderman for Ward 1. In 1873, he was mayor. That was the year London's fire department shifted from a volunteer to a paid force. McCormick was named president of the Western Fair Association in 1875 and served on other boards. McCormick was also active in a fraternal organizations such as the Royal Arch Masons and the I.O.O.F. Goodspeed summarizes McCormick in these words: "In the space allotted in this volume, it would be impossible to give a detailed account of his public and private career, or speak at length of his many sterling social and business qualities. Suffice it to say that in every walk of life his career has been above criticism. or reproach." ("History of the County of Middlesex , Canada," p. 901)

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