Jesse O. McCarthy (November 10, 1867 — 1937) was a Toronto insurance executive and politician and an early member of Canada's

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

community. McCarthy was born in Walpole,

Haldimand County Haldimand County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Despite its name, it is no longer a county by definition, as all mu ...

, Ontario to Charles Callahan McCarthy and Margaret Frances (Williams) McCarthy. He was a school teacher before becoming a

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typical ...

agent in 1892. He worked for the Temperance and General Life Assurance Company of Toronto until 1905 and then was the provincial manager of first the

Great West Life The Canada Life Assurance Company ( French: ''La Compagnie d'Assurance du Canada sur la Vie''), commonly known as Canada Life (''Canada-Vie''), is a Canadian insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ...

Assurance Company of Toronto from 1906 to 1909 and then manager of Aetna Life Assurance Company until 1912 when he became president of the Sterling Life Assurance Company and then president and general manager of its successor, the Security Life Insurance Company of Canada. McCarthy was first elected to

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

as alderman for Ward 6 in the

1910 Toronto municipal election Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on 1 January 1910. George Reginald Geary was elected to his first term as mayor. Two plebiscites were passed: # To build a tube and surface subway transit system; # Election of Board ...

and was re-elected in 1911 Toronto municipal election. In the

1912 Toronto municipal election Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 1, 1912. Mayor George Reginald Geary faced no opponents and was acclaimed for reelection. Toronto mayor Mayor Geary had been elected mayor in 1910 and re-elected in 1911. No o ...

he was elected to the

Toronto Board of Control The Board of Control of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was a part of its municipal government until it was abolished in 1969. It served as the executive committee of the Toronto City Council. When it was initially created in 1896 by mandate of the provi ...

and was re-elected in

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

and

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

and is credited with establishing Toronto's

juvenile court Juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, chi ...

, the first in Canada, and advocated on improvements to sanitation, food safety, the water and milk supply, lighting, and education. McCarthy ran for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...

in the 1915 Toronto municipal election but was defeated by Thomas Langton Church who won 26,041 votes to McCarthy's 19,573. McCarthy had been endorsed by the ''

Toronto Daily Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

'' which praised his record as a

social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...

er crediting him with leading the

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

movement in the city as well as using his position on council to improve

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, ...

and sanitation to reduce the spread of disease, and built improved hospitals. Originally a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, McCarthy and his wife became members of the small Baháʼí community in Toronto. In 1924, McCarthy was sent to Britain to represent Toronto's Baháʼí community at an international Baháʼí conference. He married Mary Davis on August 10, 1892, and they had three children: Lilian Pearl, Vourneen, and Davis. McCarthy died in 1937.Toronto Daily Star (1900-1971); Toronto, Ontario. 13 Nov 1937: page 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Jesse O. Toronto city councillors Canadian Bahá'ís Converts to the Bahá'i Faith from Protestantism 1867 births 1937 deaths People from Haldimand County 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors