John Bamlet Smallman was an Irish-Canadian businessman (9 March 1849 – 14 February 1916).

Biography

A son of James Knight Smallman and Eliza Switzer, John Bamlet Smallman was born in

Clifden Clifden () is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland. In the 1850s, the family emigrated to

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

(then London,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

, because

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

had not been formed yet) where his father became a commission merchant. From age 14 to 21, Smallman worked as a clerk, saving enough money to form a partnership with his fellow

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 ...

, Lemuel Hill Ingram, a clerk in a local wholesale establishment. They ran a successful business, and in 1882 they were purchasing direct from British suppliers on cash terms. Within ten years trade had increased to $110,000, staff productivity had more than doubled (to $9,200 per clerk), expenses had fallen from 16 to 11 percent of turnover and profits were averaging 10 percent. Smallman and Ingram expanded their business by acquiring new premises in 1892. They purchased adjacent properties and added shoe and toy departments (only to be discarded as insufficiently profitable). Soon an even larger location was secured. By the turn of the century the store employed more than 100 clerks. Smallman bought Ingram's interest at the latter's death in January 1901, bringing his own nephew and two of Ingram's children into the business. It was incorporated in 1908. Smallman suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and two strokes. He died on 14 February 1916. His obituary stated that he never mixed in politics, was a member of First Methodist Church and supported the Children’s Aid Society and the Irish Benevolent Society. The bulk of his shares in his business were bequeathed to the Western University of London, Ontario.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smallman, John Bamlet 1849 births 1916 deaths 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Businesspeople from County Galway Businesspeople from London, Ontario Irish expatriates in Canada 19th-century Irish businesspeople People from Clifden