Fonds 78-1002 - Vernon B. Wadsworth fonds

Vernon B. Wadsworth was born in 1844 and at the age of sixteen became an articled pupil of John S. Dennis, Provincial Land Surveyor, upon passing his preliminary surveying examination in Toronto in April 1860. Wadswoth assisted Dennison in the surveying of several colonization roads in the Muskoka, Parry Sound and Nipissing Districts. Wadsworth passed his final examination and became a licensed surveyor in 1864 and he continued to do surveys in the previously mentioned Districts. When John S. Dennis retired from his surveying practice and entered the Government Service as Surveyor General of Canada, Wadsworth arranged a partnership with Dennis' former partner B.W. Gossage and established a surveying office on Adelaide Street in Toronto. This partnership only lasted a few years. In 1868, Gossage gave up the surveying business, due to lack of business. In the same year, Wadsworth approached Charles Unwin, a successful and politically connected Toronto land surveyor, and the two formed the partnership of Wadsworth and Unwin. At the same time, the surveying business in Toronto and the Province took a turn for the better and Wadsworth and Unwin were able to develop a large practice. They received commissions from the Dominion and Ontario Governments, Railway Corporations and the City of Toronto. They were also employed as City Surveyors by the Corporation of Toronto and in 1872, they published the Wadsworth and Unwin's map of the City of Toronto which proved to be an invaluable resource to lawyers and those engaged in the real estate business. In February of 1875 Wadsworth married Laura Ridout. On 1 December 1876, Wadsworth entered the service of the London and Canadian Loan Agency Company as Chief Inspector. He also retained his name in his surveying firm. In 1899 he was made the General Manager of the company. On 1 April 1921, after 44 years of service, V.B. Wadsworth retired from the service of the London and Canadian Loan and Agency Company. He died in 1942 at the age of 98.