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George Turner Orton
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Physician.
Born at Guelph, Ontario on 19 January 1837, son of Dr. Henry Orton, uncle of Orton Irwin Grain, he was educated at the Guelph Grammar School and by a private tutor at Berlin, Ontario. He then pursued medical studies at the College of Surgeons (Dublin) then the University of St. Andrew’s (Scotland), from which he graduated MD in 1860. He was subsequently elected a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, England.
In 1861, he began a medical practice at Fergus, Ontario where he also served as surgeon of the 30th Battalion, Wellington Rifles. He was a councilor and reeve of Fergus. In 1874, he was elected MP for Centre Wellington, being reelected until 1883 when he moved to Winnipeg, entering into medical partnership with Robert George Brett and transferred from the 30th Battalion to the 90th Winnipeg Rifles. He served in the Northwest Rebellion under Middleton and was present at the Battles of Fish Creek and Batoche.
In 1884-1885, he was Medical Superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and subsequently coroner for British Columbia, and Medical Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Manitoba.
He married Ann Farmer (?-?) of Sutton, England, with whom he had two daughters, Maud Orton and ? Orton (wife of ? Haldane). His Winnipeg residence, 193 Donald Street, was designed by architect George Creeford Browne and built in 1893 or 1894.
He died at Winnipeg on 14 November 1901 and was buried in the St. John's Cathedral Cemetery.
See also:
John M. Egan, A Railway Officer in Winnipeg, 1882-1886: An account of Canadian Pacific’s first years in the Manitoba capital by Omer Lavallee
MHS Transactions, Series 3, Number 33, 1976-77 Season
The Canadian Album: Men of Canada or Success by Example, Vol. III, Bradley, Garretson & Company, Brantford, Ontario, 1894.
Death registration [George Turner Orton], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Dr. Orton died this morning,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 November 1901, page 1.
We thank Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 April 2025
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