History of Homes: Erie Street

Andrew Monteith  (see Monteith Avenue) was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1822, the youngest of the five children of John and Elizabeth (Gibson) Monteith. The family emigrated in 1834 and arrived in Little Thames on July 12 of that year. Andrew found himself as an 11-year-old in the wilderness of the Huron Tract in the middle of summer. His oldest brother, Samuel (1805-1890), preceded the rest of the family to Canada in 1830 and welcomed his parents, his three brothers and one sister. The first Monteith family home was a log house on the Embro Road in the Gore of Downie Township. Samuel had worked with the Canada Company surveyors in adjoining townships. 

Andrew Monteith held almost every political office in Downie, Perth and Stratford. He became the first president of the British Mortgage and Loan Co. He served on the Perth County council (1850-1865) and Stratford town council (1857-1861). In Confederation year, 1867, he was elected as a Conservative to represent North Perth in the Ontario legislature and served to 1874. In that year he was elected to the House of Commons. After four years as a federal member he resigned from politics. He died at his home in Downie Township in 1896. Monteith Township in Parry Sound was named after Andrew Monteith.   By: Stanford Dingman