Tragedy on the Titanic — Canada’s Brewing Dynasties Have Seen A Lot

John Molson founded his Montreal brewery on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in 1786. The brewery is the oldest in North America and the second oldest company in Canada, where the Molson name has become synonymous with beer. But beyond their celebrated libation, the Molson family has a rich and colourful heritage, according to researchers at Ancestry.

John Molson was a wide-ranging, successful entrepreneur whose projects included a steamboat line, a luxury hotel, and Canada’s first industrial grain distillery. John and his and wife, Sarah Insley Vaughan, had three sons: John, Thomas, and William.

Harry Markland Molson, son of William, inherited the brewery from his uncle John Henry Robinson Molson. Harry’s life was cut tragically short as a passenger aboard the Titanic, where he was last seen removing his shoes with intentions to swim to a nearby ship.

Unfortunately, Harry did not make it aboard the ship and his body was never recovered. His death notice is listed in newspaper clippings from the Syracuse Herald and the Indianapolis Star, where his name appears with others under the headline “Wealth Totals Half a Billion.”

Percival Talbot Molson, born in 1880, was a great-grandson of John Molson. Percival, a former McGill University sports star who donated money to build a stadium on campus, died while serving in the Frist World War. Completed in 1915, the stadium was renamed in Percival’s honour. Percival’s WWI enlistment paper, dated April 26, 1915, provides details about his life, including his next-of-kin (his mother), his marital status (he was single), his willingness to be vaccinated (he was), and even his signature. Percival also served in the war with his brother Herbert Molson and his cousin Francis Stuart Molson (all three can be found in Ancestry’s Canadian Soldiers of the First World War Collection).

When it comes to famous brewing families, though, the Molsons don’t have a monopoly on intriguing stories.

Labatt Breweries has been around since it was founded in London, Ontario, by John Kinder Labatt in 1847. John Labatt Jr. became involved in the brewery at a young age and did an apprenticeship in West Virginia before taking over the family business in 1866 when his father passed away. John and his wife, Sophie, were married, resided, and died in London, Ontario. Mysteriously, Sophie’s 1906 death record indicates that she was accidentally poisoned.

Almost 30 years later, in August 1934, John and Sophie’s son John S. Labatt was kidnapped by gangsters, held for a week, and then released unharmed, after which he walked into Toronto’s Royal York Hotel, which was full of reporters covering the kidnapping. Later, the Ironwood Daily Globe featured an article on one of the kidnappers, Russell Knowles, going on a hunger strike while being held at the Kingston penitentiary.

Now that is some strange brew.