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FREDERICK VAN WYCK LAUGHTON (1882 - 1947)
See also the story of the "Boys
of Parkhill", here on the website.
Fred Van Wyck Laughton appears to have been the second son of John Hugh
Laughton and Louise Estelle Van Wyck, born on November 1, 1882 in Thedford,
Ontario. John Van Wyck, his younger brother apparently died as a young
infant, reportedly 1 month and 15 days old. Although we know that Scarlet
Fever was rampant at that time, I have no confirmation as to that being John's
cause of death. Needless to say, this left Frederick Van Wyck Laughton as
the oldest surviving son of John and Estelle.
Fred was Christened at home on Mary 28, 1895, along with his siblings Harry,
St. Clair, Paul and Louise.
In naming his sons with the "Van Wyck" middle name, a tradition was
started that saw the eldest son of the next two generations carry that middle
name. Unfortunately, as I (Richard Van Wyck Laughton) had four (4)
daughters, I ended the tradition after only two generations.
Myra Elvira Laughton (Rogers) |
Myra, Fred and his sister Louise ("Tot") at Fred's place
in Grand Bend. |
Frederick Van Wyck Laughton married Myra
Elvira Rogers. Geordie's records show that Myra Elvira Rogers was
from New York and that they were married in 1912. Records
from the Box Funeral Home in Parkhill show that Myra was born January 3,
1891 and died July 24, 1987.
We have posted a picture of Fred and Myra with Fred's bother on Harry's
Page as well.
We all knew his wife "Great Aunt Myra" very well, and for
my sisters and I in Grand Bend she was a frequent guardian and
friend. Aunt Myra, I recall left Canada for the cold winters to
reside in Brownsville, Texas. Great Aunt Myra spent her final
years at the Central Park Lodge retirement home in London,
Ontario. My wife Olga and I frequently visited her there but
unfortunately at that time we never thought to talk more about the
family history. As I recall, it was my mother Maureen Montgomery
Laughton (Kennedy) who cared for her for those many years in London. |
| Fred passed away in 1947, thus none of the
grandchildren of his brother George ever got to meet Great Uncle
Fred. The historical records tell us that Fred Van Wyck
Laughton was also in the grocery supply business, following in the
footsteps of his father John Hugh Laughton. Following that we know he
served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Province of
Ontario, Canada. We know that prior to serving as an MLA that Fred
was the Clerk of the Town of Parkhill, as we have the Certificate
of Appreciation issued to his brother George Van Wyck Laughton
for his service in the First World War.
Fred's father, John Hugh Laughton, also served as the Clerk of the
Town of Parkhill. Together they served as Clerk for 40 years.
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Uncle Paul's letter of April 6, 2004
provides some insight on the activities of Fred and Myra Laughton, to
which we have added some pictures from the files:
"Fred was one of my & Eleanor's
favourite people, kind, a great sense of humour, and a real charmer. Fred took
over the store when his mother died and his father left the business to become
a drummer (note: a drummer a travelling
salesman).
He was town clerk of Parkhill for
over 40 years* as well as parliamentary assistant as an MLA to the
Minister of Highways. [There is a Laughton township somewhere in the
north, Kenora county, I think. I loved to go campaigning with him as a
kid because of the number of different pies at the strawberry socials. I
have his statue of Sir John A., whose hand he had once shaken.
Myra, whose High School Greek texts
taught me to read Greek in Grade 8, was his bookkeeper, & I often
spent Saturday evening till after midnight with her at the store. They
had a typewriter on which I learned to type, unfortunately. It had 3
rows of keys instead of 4, 3 fonts on each key accessed by down as well
as up shift. Numerals were upper shift on the top row. It is now in the
Carlton University Journalism museum."
* we now know that was 28
years but together father John Hugh and son Fred Van Wyck held the
position of Town Clerk for 40 years |
It is my understanding, from stories of long ago, that Paul Van Wyck Laughton
drowned in Grand Bend at the age of 12 and at or nearby the home of Fred and
Myra Laughton. Apparently Fred and Myra's beautiful home in Grand Bend
(which we often visited as children) was the country home of many of the
Laughton's. If only I had the chance to return there today to see and read
all of the records that were in that home!
Fred Van Wyck Laughton was the first, if not the only member of the Laughton
clan, to be elected as a "Member of the Legislative Assembly" (MLA) of
the Province of Ontario (18th Parliament 1929-1934). If that was today,
Fred would have been known as a "Member of Provincial Parliament"
(MPP). I have visited the Ontario Legislature at Queens Park in Toronto to
view the listing for Great Uncle Fred on the wall of the halls and to find his
picture (2nd floor by the east elevators, not far from the guard station).
In April 2007 the Legislative Assembly of Ontario posted the past and present
MPPs. Although Fred's name "Van Wyck" was initially spelt
incorrectly, they quickly change the site. Below is what is in the
records: (click on image for larger scale or the link
to the MPP site)
It was only this year that we found out that you could search the Toronto
Star web site for historical pages that might relate to your genealogical
search. As Fred Van Wyck had been an MLA/MPP it was logical that he might
have some mention in the Toronto paper. This is what we found:
 | Toronto Star - October 19, 1929 (to post):
Fred Van Wyck Laughton is nominated as the Progressive Conservative
Candidate for the Province of Ontario riding in Middlesex North (Parkhill,
Ontario area), while at the same time there is a big crack down on "rum
runners" in New Jersey.
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| Toronto
Star - October 28, 1929: Fred Laughton is the Conservative candidate in
Middlesex County (the Parkhill-London area) and he challenges his own
party's leader on the a school board issue.
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| Toronto
Star - April 15, 1931; While the Premier of Ontario is on
vacation, Fred is appointed to the Highways Advisory Committee. |
The collection of Paul Laughton that we gained access to in February 2009 had
newspaper clippings reporting on the death of Fred Van Wyck Laughton.
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