Peter George Benedict

Family reference: 352.254.12

	Born	23 Feb 1877		Wallaceburg, Chatham Twp., Kent Co., Ontario
	Married	26 Dec 1904	Agnes McPhail	Calgary, Alberta
	Died	23 Nov 1948		Calgary, Alberta

- Family album of photos and documents.

Parents:

• Father: John Smedley Benedict; 1859 - 1927
• Mother: Catherine Benedict; 1856 - 1936

Chidren:

1. John (Jack) Alexander Benedict; 1905 -1974
2. William Douglas Benedict; 1908 - 1976
3. Albert Charles Benedict; 1910 - 1983
4. Stanley Gordon Benedict; 1911 - 1951
5. George Alexander Benedict; 1912 - 1986
6. Dorothy May Benedict; living
7. Agnes Marion Benedict; living
8. Norman Lorne Benedict; 1927 - 2008

Peter’s Early Years

Peter, as he was known in his earlier years, was born in Wallaceburg, Ontario in 1877, the second child of John and Catherine Benedict. His father was a Great Lakes captain. Restless, Peter left his home, tonsorial business and friends "without saying goodbye" and headed out of town in August of 1899 at the age of 22.

He appears a couple of years later, in 1901, as a lodger in Lethbridge, Alberta. By 1903, he is in Calgary as a young dandy, working his barber trade and dancing in the evenings at Professor Hepburn's Dancing Academy. Here he meets his future bride, Agnes McPhail.

Peter and Agnes

Agnes was the daughter of Archibald McPhail, a mining engineer from Cape Breton. The McPhail family had just escaped the massive rock avalanche at Frank, Alberta in the Spring of 1903, where some 90 people were buried by the partial collapse of Turtle Mountain.

After living for a time at 319 - Fifth Avenue S.E. in Calgary, George (as he was now known) entered into a brief partnership, Brennan and Benedict, about 1907. He retired from the Alberta Hotel Barber Shop in 1944. It was located in the basement of the Alberta Corner Building at Eighth Avenue and First Street West.

Footnotes

Social Notes

Calgary Herald of June 18, 1903:
"Professor Hepburn is in the hospital for a few days. His class will be directed Friday night by George Benedict. Mr. Hepburn will be on hand himself Saturday evening."
Apparently George was a dancer in his younger days. Likely it was a great way for a newcomer to meet the young ladies of early Calgary.

Census of 1881

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Person	Sex	Age	Birthplace	Status	Religion	Origin	Occupation	Page
BENEDICT, John	M	48	Ontario	married	Ch. of England	English	Farmer	4-24
Harriett	F	41	Ontario	married	E. Meth.	German		4-24
Samantha	F	18	Ontario		E. Meth.	English		4-24
Caleb	M	13	Ontario		E. Meth.	English		4-24
John S.	M	21	Ontario	married	Ch. of England	English	Labourer	4-24
Catherine	F	25	Ontario	married	E. Meth	English		4-24
George P.	M	4	Ontario		E. Meth.	English		4-24

- 1881 Census for Chatham Twp, Kent Co., Ontario; available at Chatham Library Historical Society; Chatham, Ontario.

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Peter George was witness to the following Marriage in 1897 007739-97 (Kent Co.) Edwin Thomas LANDON, 34, dredgeman, Illinois US, Wallaceburg, s/o Asa & Mary L., married Edith May McINNES, 19, Chatham, same, d/o Daniel & Martha Ann, witn PETER G. BENEDICT & Orpha L. BOOKER, both of Wallaceburg, on 29 December 1897, at Wallaceburg

By the 1901 Census of Canada, George is now in Lethbridge, ALBERTA

Surname Givens Age Province District Subdistrict Enum.District Page Line

Benedict George 24 TT ALBERTA Lethbridge (South/Sud) p(2)-1 17 23

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-- JimBenedict - 20 Aug 2006 -- DonaldElliott - 27 Mar 2008
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