140-142 St. Andrew
By Curtis Wolfe
Part of the neighbourhood’s fabric for more than 160 years, 140-142 St. Andrew attests to the lives of working-class Lowertowners.
The charming building is a worker’s cottage, as most original homes built in Bytown would have been before they were replaced with larger buildings. A few cottages remain in the neighbourhood and most retain their original use as a residence.
Nineteenth-century workers’ cottages take on distinct forms in different regions, and 140-142 St. Andrew is a well-preserved example of the style found throughout Lowertown: one-and-a-half storeys with two dormer windows. These characteristics demonstrate an influence of Quebec traditions.
The cottage was built between 1851 and 1863. The earliest recorded resident of the building is Michael Tiffy (many spelling variations exist, such as Teiffie, Tuffie or Teefey), who was listed as living on St. Andrew between Dalhousie and Cumberland in 1863. That same year he exchanged vows with Mary Ryan. Sadly, Mary passed away after two years of marriage.
In 1867, his mother Hanora (or Hannah) was also living in the building. Hanora was born in 1791 and was listed as a widow in the 1861 census at age 70. It’s possible that Hanora and her husband—also named Michael—were among the early Irish settlers in Bytown.
A working class hero is something to be
John Lennon
If you want to be a hero well just follow me.
Michael lived in 140 and rented out the other half. He worked as a labourer, as did many of the early tenants in 142, including Patrick Moran, a canal-lock labourer.
In 1877, Michael got married again, to Ellen Bennett, whose family was from Pembroke. They had six children before Michael died around 1891. As a widow, Ellen had in her care children ranging roughly from under 12 months 18 years old.
Without public welfare programs, 19th-century widows would have faced immense hardships. With limited means to earn money, widows would struggle to find enough money to replace their husband’s wages.
In 1892, Ellen put an ad in the Ottawa Citizen looking for work “washing and plain sewing or office cleaning by the day,” which was generally the type of work available to widows. If unable to secure a source of income, widows were sometimes forced to place children in an orphanage or rely on their children’s wages.
In the late 1890s, Ellen was arrested on several occasions for public drunkenness, which came with penalties as harsh as three weeks in prison. Eventually Ellen likely ran into financial difficulties and lost the property, as 140-142 St. Andrew was sold by a trust company in 1899. In the 1901 census, she was at the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women in Toronto, an infamous institution intended to cure alcoholism, drug addiction and psychiatric disorders.
Paul Thériault, a shoemaker on Dalhousie for a certain time, purchased the property from the trust company but died shortly afterwards, in 1901. It seems that relatives remained owners afterwards, with Alice Thériault, likely his daughter, recorded as the owner for four decades, until 1958.
During that period, the Thériaults continued to rent one or both halves. Scottish-born engineer James Logan was living at 140 in the early 1920s with his Quebec-born wife Zenaide Logan and adult son William, a First World War veteran who had served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1924, William was charged with stealing $40, and during his trial he admitted to making a living by bootlegging liquor.
Alcohol had been banned in Ontario since 1916. The following year the federal government outlawed the transfer of intoxicating beverages into dry areas, meaning Lowertowners could no longer bring alcohol across the Alexandra Bridge, thereby creating the conditions for bootlegging.
These crimes came with substantial penalties: William was sentenced to one year of hard labour in a lumber camp. Whatever difficulties occurred to him during those years, he would later have a long career with the City in the Department of Public Works.
During the early decades of the 20th century, Honoré Dubé and Marie Tremblay lived at 142 with their two children. Honoré spent his career in the construction industry and worked as a carpenter for 25 years at Taylor & Lackey, based at 48 Sparks. Among other projects, Taylor & Lackey worked on large institutional contracts, such as alterations and additions to the Saint Patrick Basilica in Centretown and the Crichton Street Public School in New Edinburgh.
In 1982 to 1983, major renovations to 140-142 St. Andrew took place, preserving the building’s historic appeal and craftmanship. An addition was built to the rear, and the ground floor was lowered to make a more spacious main living area with higher ceilings.
This work exposed the original stone foundation and highlighted it as a visual feature along the inside perimeter. An original staircase was retained and incorporated into the new design. Recent and current owners have acted as responsible custodians of the building, safeguarding Lowertown’s built heritage.