Birth: 10/31/1865, Orillia, Ontario, Canada [8]
Marriage: 4/29/1896 in Cleveland, Ohio
Spouse: Minnie Eliza Garrard (11/29/1865 – 4/25/1943)
Death: 4/3/1935, Cleveland, Ohio, burial at Knollwood Cemetary
Biography:
Stories:
Overcoming Diphtheria
When George Duncan McLeod was young, age uncertain, he contracted diphtheria and was very ill. Before vaccinations and antibiotics many people died of this disease. It was cold outside, probably in the winter, and because of his age, probably occurred at the McLeod home on Matchedash Street in Orillia, Ontario. Despite his febrile condition and very high fever, he dragged himself out the back door, broke the ice on the surface of a wash tub full of water, and climbed into the cold water. After soaking in the water his fever broke and he recovered. SOURCE: A. Garrard Macleod as told to Robert Malcolm Macleod
The Big Fish
When George Duncan McLeod (GDM) was a young man in Orillia, Ontario, he went fishing one day on either Lake Couchiching or Lake Simcoe. While rowing his boat out to where he wanted to fish, he noticed a boy in another boat struggling with his rod and reel as though his line was snagged on something. He rowed over to see if he could help. The boy explained that his line was indeed snagged and that he was in a lot of trouble because he had decided to fish with his dad’s new fishing tackle without permission. GDM offered to try freeing the line and while doing this he realized that the line was actually not snagged but that a very large fish was on the line. He battled the fish a long time and eventually got it up from the depths to see that it was much too big and heavy to fit in either his boat or the boy’s. So they both rowed to shore and beached it. The fish was a large muskellunge, five to six feet long, and more than fifty pounds. These dimensions are consistent with the graph given in the Wikipedia article on the muskellunge. The fish was mounted and, for many years was displayed over a hotel bar on the lake shore at Orillia. Since Lake Simcoe is much deeper than Lake Couchiching it is likely that the fish was caught there. Of course, the boy did not get in trouble. He had a very proud father. SOURCE: A. Garrard Macleod as told to Robert Malcolm Macleod
Pat the Irish Terrier
Later in life, George Duncan Macleod had a very active Irish Terrier named Pat when the family lived at 1556 Addison Road in Cleveland, OH. The house apparently had an upstairs tower room with windows that faced the street. Pat was the traditional golden red color, was smart and fun, and had inherited his breed’s vermin exterminating trait. When the weather was good during the Spring, Summer, and Fall, George Duncan Macleod and Pat would play a game. George Duncan Macleod would leave the front door open and the screen door unlatched so Pat could exit on his own. They would sit together at an upstairs window and watch the storm drains at the curbs of the street. When a rat would emerge from one drain and scurry towards another one, George Duncan Macleod would point it out to Pat. Pat would jump down, run down the stairs, out the door, race across the porch and street, catch and kill the rat, and proudly bring it to the porch. George Duncan Macleod watched the show and then went down to let Pat back in. Sometimes the victim would be a squirrel trying to cross from tree to tree. Pat had good leaping ability so he could jump up and pluck a squirrel right off a tree trunk and woe to any cat who tried to cross the yard either in the front or back of the house. SOURCE: A. Garrard Macleod as told to Robert Malcolm Macleod
Sad Drowning Accident
The circumstances under which James Quinn, Jr., son of our respected townsman, lost his life on Friday last by drowning are distressing in the extreme and have profoundly stirred the sympathies of the whole community. As will be seen from Mr. Whiten’s account of the accident the party had made over three-quarters of their way to Wausaushene returning from their hunting expedition and were within 125 yards of the rocks when the storm struck them swamping their boat. Young Mr. Quinn was a good swimmer and struck out for the rock and it is probable the shock to the system by being precipitated into the ice cold water may have been partly the cause of his sudden disappearance, not to rise again. Mr. Whiten did all it was possible for him to do with his frail craft and to him Mr. Strathern owes his escape from immediate drowning, and the timely arrival of Mr. Gill finally saved him and McLeod.
Mr. Samuel Frazer immediately begun the search for Mr. Quinn’s body, and Mr. Quinn, Sr., went up to Waubaushene, after receiving the melancholy news to continue the search, which as yet has been without result, though it is hoped the bereaved family will soon have the satisfaction of recovering the remains of the lost one.
The melancholy news was a terrible revelation to Mr. and Mrs. Quinn and their family, while the regret of the whole community that so estimable a young man should be called away on the threshold of manhood under such circumstances is deep and heartfelt. Mr. Quinn, as one of Orillia’s oldest inhabitants is popularly known by a wide circle of friends, and with this family, stands high in public esteem, the deceased being much liked by those who knew him. The loss of the young man is a heavy blow to his parents whose deep distress is shared by the sincere sympathy of everyone in the district.
The following is MR. WHITEN’S ACCOUNT of the accident:
“We left Ragged Rapids on Friday morning in two parties, J. Quinn, R. Strathern, and G. McLeod in the boat and F. Toogood and myself were in the canoe. We carried exactly the same load in the boats and went through much heavier seas than when we swamped. It was the most choppy sea I was ever in, the waves seeming to pour over the sides of the boats without giving them a chance to ride them. We had arrived within a quarter of a mile of Waubaushene when a black squall struck the boats, and, as we were heavily loaded, our canoe began to fill. We immediately started for a rock 100 yards away, and had almost reached it when we heard a yell from the boys in the boat, who were then about 70 yards from the rock, and on looking around saw that their boat had gone under. As soon as we struck the rock we emptied everything out of the canoe. I shoved her out and jumped in, telling Frank to Stay where he was as he could be of no use. I made for the dearest one to me, which happened to be Jim Quinn, but before I had got five yards from shore he disappeared beneath the surface and never rose again. I kept right on and went to Bob Strathern who was clinging to the overturned boat. I told him to hang on to the end of the canoe and I would take him ashore but he was too weak to do so. One of the dogs kept climbing on Bob and bade fair to drown him too. I pulled it into the canoe and tried to lift Bob in but could not. Just as I started out from the shore Mr. James Gill arrived on the scene and picked up George McLeod out just as he was going down for the third time. Mr. Gill next came to Bob and pulled him into his boat. Nothing could be seen of poor Jim, he went down just as Geo. McLeod was being saved. I think it was the dogs that drowned him. I heard him call them off McLeod, and saw them pawing him. He was swimming on his back at the time and seemed to be taking it easy when all of a sudden he went down without a struggle. Mr. Gill had the misfortune of breaking an oar in his efforts to reach Jim, which somewhat delayed him. We did everything in our power and could do no more. The two survivors were taken to Wanbaushene where they were cared for by Dr. Henley and Dr. C. H. McLean.”
Geo. McLeod says:
“When about 125 yards from the rock Whiten and Toogood shouted to us that they were sinking. We shouted encouragement to them, particularly Jim, and never thought that we were in any danger ourselves. The squall struck us and the first thing we knew we were struggling in the water. Jim and I finding the boat would only support one struck out for shore. One of the dogs kept putting me under so Jim called him off. The dogs swam over to him and must have jumped on him and sent him down. Jim Gill caught me in the nick of time as I was about played out. Poor Jim seemed to think of everyone but himself. The whole thing was over in four or five minutes, and everyone don their best. Everything including the boat was lost.” SOURCE: Unknown newspaper article
