Victoria Furnishing House, Cornwall, Ontario

Victoria Furnishing House.

Above is a receipt of Victoria Furnishing House operated by W.G. Stoddart, Funeral Director and Embalmer. The receipt is written to Charles Lant whose father George Lant died in 1913. In the 1800s and early 1900s it was common for furniture stores to deal in funeral caskets, hearses etc. Following is the obituary for Charlie Lant. 

OBITUARY: “Body of C.W. Lant, well known Cornwall business man was found floating in Cornwall canal just west of the junction of Seymour Avenue and Water streets at 10:34 o’clock yesterday [10 Sep 1936] morning. How Mr. Lant’s body came to be in the water will probably never be known, but it is presumed he was walking along the bank and fell in. The body was seen floating in the water by Ernest Lalonde, who brought it to shore. Born at Hosaic, 60 years ago, a son of George Lant. He came to Cornwall with his parents as a boy, educated locally, and entered the confectionery & restaurant business with his brother-in-law, Walter Borthwick, in one of the stores in the St. Lawrence Block, now the Chevrier Block, about opposite the S-F Building. After being located there for a number of years, Mr. Lant branched out in his present stand next door to the Yates Block and for 38 years he had been located there. In recent years he sold newspapers and magazines in addition to confectionery, tobacco, etc., and enjoyed a large patronage. For 28 years he was a distributing agent in Cornwall for Fleischmann Yeast Company, relinquishing that post 8 years ago. He suffered a nervous breakdown a year ago and had not been in the best of health although able to carry on his business interests. He was a member of Monroe Loyal Orange Lodge No 880 of Cornwall.”

~ Greg Roy Collection

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