James J. Power [ 1841 (Approx.) - ]

James J. Power(s) is listed as a 30 year-old bailiff in the 1871 Census of Fenelon. He first appears as a grocer in the July 1873 edition of D&B, but he vanishes immediately afterwards. He may have been working for someone else. His reappearance in the July 1878 edition was short-lived for he retired from business in November 1880 and sold out to Mr. John A. Ellis. In a Gazette ad he thanked the public for their patronage “during the past three years” and this supports the directory evidence that his business began sometime in 1878 [FFG 11 Dec 1880; 2].

By 1881 “James Powers” was listed as an auctioneer in the Census, and a similar entry appears in 1882 Lovell’s Business and Professional Directory of the Province of Ontario. Power undertook a variety of jobs however; the following year J.J. Power “rented Moffat and McFarland’s old store beside the Gazette office” to open out “a stock of groceries” [FFG 14 April 1883; 2], but this business did not last long. In late 1884 his left foot was injured “by one of the saws in the Red Mill”, and several months later he “slipped and fell with such violence” that his leg was broken and his ankle dislocated [FFG 14 Feb 1885; 2]. From 1884 until 1895, he was regularly listed as an auctioneer and general agent both in the directories and in the papers [FFG 30 May 1885; 2]. He auctioned the lumber yard of R.C. Smith in November 1885 [FFG 21 Nov 1885; 2] The 1891 Census records Power as a 50 year-old auctioneer. Power was dead by February 1909 when the obituary of his wife appeared in the papers [FFPL 09.3].