NARRATOR (female voice)
You’re now standing behind the Meigs residence, a house which might have been built around 1867 and which was spared during the fire that destroyed a large part of the city centre in 1911.
NARRATOR (male voice)
Daniel Bishop Meigs had a very busy life and career, from being a farmer, to becoming a lumber merchant, a mill owner, as well as being involved in municipal and federal politics.
NARRATOR (female voice)
In 1858, after completing his studies in Bedford, Daniel Bishop Meigs and his father Daniel Meigs invested in both a flour mill and a saw mill. Already in 1869, Daniel Bishop Meigs made several loans to the citizens of his community and from what we’ve been able to discover about him, it was probably because he truly wanted to help his fellow citizens.
NARRATOR (male voice)
M. Meigs was married twice, but he never had any children from either marriage.
Starting in 1868, he was elected twice as mayor of the Village of Farnham-West. Ten years later, he took on the same responsibilities twice again, this time as mayor of the City of Farnham. He finally retired altogether from municipal politics in 1894.
After first being elected by acclamation to become the member of Parliament representing the county of Missisquoi in 1888, he was defeated in 1891. However, he was subsequently re-elected four more times. Mr. Meigs served in the House of Commons for eighteen years as the Liberal MP for the county now known as Brome-Missisquoi.
NARRATOR (female voice)
In August 1911, while still serving as a member of Parliament, the Prime Minister of the day, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, came to meet the citizens of Farnham, and Mr. Meigs acted as his guide. Do you know where the Prime Minister stayed while visiting Farnham? Well, of course, he spent the night at Mr. Meigs’ residence.
NARRATOR (male voice)
M. Meigs retired from politics in 1911. He passed away in his garden on a summer morning in 1916, at the age of 81.