Hewetson, Alfred Russell

Alfred Russell Hewetson was born May 31, 1887 in Toronto, Ontario to parents John William and Eliza Jackson. His father founded the J.W. Hewetson Shoe Company in 1908 in a factory he built in Toronto. The company initially fared well but their progress was abruptly halted in 1913 when the Toronto factory caught fire and was completely destroyed. J.W. Hewetson was determined to rebuild his business and decided to move his company to Brampton, where both land and labour were less costly. In order to obtain a loan from the town of Brampton, Russell had to be involved in the running of the company. Russell was studying for the ministry at the time at the University of Toronto, but he gave up his studies and went into business with his father. Russell sought to integrate his social ideals into the operation of the Hewetson Shoe Company by turning the company into a cooperative where workers shared in the profits. Had it been· achieved this would have been a significant innovation in the business realm, however, he died at age 40 on February 8, 1928. Russell was buried in Brampton Cemetery, Brampton.

Russell, as he was known, met Rosa Melvina Breithaupt of Kitchener through their Christian Endeavour work and they married on October 10, 1917. The couple lived in Brampton and had four children: Ruth Evelyn; Dorothy "Dodie" Elizabeth; Rosemary "Posey" and John Russell "Russ". After Russell's death, Rosa remarried Herbert Spencer Clark in 1932 and together the couple founded The Guild of All Arts in Scarborough.

• Heritage Trust Report
• Vital records on Ancestry.ca