The Seagram Family

Joseph Emm Seagram ca. 1900

Joseph Emm Seagram was born in 1841 to Octavius Augustus Seagram and his wife, Amelia Stiles, who had emigrated to the Galt area (now Cambridge, Ont.) from Wiltshire, England in 1837. Joseph and his younger brother Edward were orphaned in their teens, and lived for six years at Dr. Tassie's boarding school in Galt. After spending a year at business college in Buffalo, New York, Joseph Seagram returned to Canada, where he worked as a bookkeeper and manager at various mills in Galt and Stratford. In 1864 he went to work for William Hespeler at the Granite Mills in Waterloo, which was to be the foundation of his career as a distiller.

Estate Accounts.

Dr. Tassie's school in Galt where Joseph Emm Seagram and his brother Edward lived for six years after being orphaned in their teens.

Joseph Emm Seagram in prosperous middle age.

In 1869 J.E. Seagram married Stephanie Urbs, daughter of Jacob Hespler's sister Marie, thus connecting himself with some of the most prominent families in the area such as the Warnocks and Hespelers. Joseph and Stephanie had five children who lived past infancy. Their only daughter was Blanche Alexandrine (Adine), 1871-1919, who married G. H. Bowlby, M.D. in 1894. Their four sons were Edward Frowde, 1873-1937, Joseph Hamilton, 1875-195-?, Norman 1879-1963, and Thomas William, 1887-1965.

Seagram home ca. 1860.

"Bratton House" on Willow St. in Waterloo, home of Joseph Emm Seagram. It was the largest house in the twin cities and had 65 rooms. The home later served as the K-W Orphanage.

J. E. F. Seagram with the Seagram family trophies. Joseph Emm Seagram's passion was horse racing. A wealthy man, Seagram advanced horse racing in Canada and helped make it a popular and respectable pastime. He imported high-quality breeding stock from the United States and Britain. Horses from the Seagram stables were Queen's Plate winners for eight consecutive years, beginning in 1891. Seagram horses achieved fifteen plate wins in all. His enthusiasm was shared by his son Edward Frowde and grandson Joseph Edward Frowde who continued the family tradition to the 1970's.

Belle Mahone winning the King's Plate 1917.

E. F. Seagram and "Sally Fuller" in 1935; the Seagram family's last Plate.

Lithograph by A. H. Hider of the King's and Queen's Plate winners of J. E. Seagram, which was featured on the label of a whiskey called "King's Plate."

A popular print, it also appears in the photograph above of the interior of a Waterloo cigar store, ca. 1908.

"King's Plate" label.

News clipping: "Joseph Seagram distiller, sportsman."

News Clipping, K-W Record, Oct. 31, 1975. Until his death in 1919 Joseph Emm Seagram "social, political and business circles in Waterloo." Active in politics, he served on Waterloo Town Council from 1879-1886 and was Conservative Member of Parliament for Waterloo North from 1896-1908. Local organizations benefited from his involvement. He founded the Globe Furniture Company, was a founder of the Waterloo County Loan and Saving Co. and donated land for the K-W Hospital. His sons and grandsons continued the tradition of strong local participation in business and civic life. They also displayed a keen interest in and support of sports, ranging from golf to football to cycling.