Timothy Eaton

Timothy Eaton
Born	March 1834(1834-03) Ballymena,County Antrim, Ireland
Died	31 January 1907(1907-01-31)(aged 72) Toronto,Ontario, Canada
Resting place	Mount Pleasant Cemetery,Toronto
Known for	Founder ofEaton's
Spouse	Margaret Wilson Beattie
Children	8
Relatives	Eaton family
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Timothy Eaton(March 1834 – 31 January 1907) was an Irish businessman who founded theEaton'sdepartment store,one of the most important retail businesses in Canada's history.

Early life and family

He was born inBallymena,County Antrim,Ireland(nowNorthern Ireland). His parents were Scottish Protestants, John Eaton and Margaret Craig. As a 20-year-old Irish apprentice shopkeeper, Timothy Eaton sailed from Ireland to settle with other family members in southernOntario,Canada. On 28 May 1862, Eaton married Margaret Wilson Beattie. They had five sons and three daughters. Among the sons wereJohn Craig Eatonand Edward Young Eaton. One of the daughters, Josephine Smyth Eaton, survived the sinking ofRMSLusitaniaoff the Irish coast in 1915. His granddaughter, Iris Burnside, was lost in that sinking.

T. Eaton Co. Limited

Plaque about Eaton in Toronto

This bronzestatue of Eaton(photographed in 1919) sits in theRoyal Ontario Museumin Toronto; a second casting sits inBell MTS Placein Winnipeg

In 1854, he worked for a short time in a haberdashery store inGlen Williams, Ontario.His sister married William Reid; they owned a farm inGeorgetown, Ontario,a short distance from Glen Williams. In 1865, with the help of his brothers, Robert and James, Timothy Eaton set up a bakery business in the town ofKirkton, Ontario,which went under after only a few months. Undaunted, he opened a dry goods store inSt. Marys, Ontario.

In 1869, Eaton purchased an existing dry-goods and haberdashery business at 178Yonge Streetin Toronto. In promoting his new business, Eaton embraced two retail practices that were ground-breaking at the time:first, all goods had one price (no haggling) with no credit given, and second, all purchases came with a money-back guarantee (a practice expressed in what would become the long-standing store slogan of "Goods Satisfactory or Money Refunded" ).

Starting in 1884, Eaton introduced Canada to the wonders of themail-order catalogue,reaching thousands of small towns and rural communities with an array of products previously unattainable. In these tiny communities, the arrival of Eaton's catalogue was a major event. More than clothing, furniture, or the latest in kitchen gadgetry, the catalogue offered such practical items as milking machines, in addition to just about every other contraption or new invention desirable. And, when rendered obsolete by the new season's catalogue, it served another important use in the outdoor privy of most every rural home.

Eaton spawned a colossal retail empire that his offspring would expand coast to coast, reaching its high point duringWorld War II,when theT. Eaton Co. Limitedemployed more than 70,000 people. Although Eaton did not invent the department store, nor was he the first retailer in the world to implement a money-back guarantee, the chain he founded popularized both concepts and revolutionized retailing in Canada.

Death and legacy

TheEaton family's mausoleum inMount Pleasant Cemetery,Toronto

Eaton died of pneumonia on 31 January 1907, and is buried inMount Pleasant Cemeteryin Toronto. He was succeeded by his son,John Craig Eaton.

In 1919,two life-sized statues of Timothy Eatonwere donated by the Eaton's employees to the Toronto and Winnipeg stores in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the company. For years, it was tradition for customers in both Toronto and Winnipeg to rub the toe of the statue for good luck. The Toronto statue is now housed by theRoyal Ontario Museum,and the Winnipeg statue sits in the city's arena,Canada Life Centre(formerly MTS Centre and Bell MTS Place), in almost exactly the same spot where it stood in the now demolished Eaton's store (albeit one storey higher). Museum-goers in Toronto and hockey fans in Winnipeg continue to rub Timothy Eaton's toe for luck.

His grandson was flying aceHenry John Burden.In 1985, his great-great-granddaughter,Nancy Eaton,was murdered by a childhood friend, who was found not guilty byreason of insanity.

Timothy Eaton Memorial Church,in Toronto, was erected in 1914.

The town ofEatonia, Saskatchewanwas named after Timothy Eaton.

The ground ofBallymena RFC,originally the sports grounds of the Mid-Antrim Sports Association, is called Eaton Park.

A school in the Scarborough district of Toronto,Timothy Eaton Business and Technical Institute,was named after him. It opened in 1971 for classes and closed its doors permanently in 2009.

See also

• Robert Simpson (merchant)
• John Wanamaker

References

• Biography at theDictionary of Canadian Biography Online

External links

Media related toTimothy Eatonat Wikimedia Commons