William Neilson (March 16, 1844 – February 10, 1915) was a Canadian businessman and founder of William Neilson Limited.

Early life

Neilson was born in Ramsay Township,

Lanark County Lanark County is a county and Census divisions of Canada, census division located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, Ontario, Perth, which was first settled in 1816Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

West. His working life began as a farmer in Rochester, New York, then moved on to being a machinist's apprentice in

Almonte, Ontario Almonte ( ; ) is a former mill town in Lanark County, in the eastern portion of Ontario, Canada. Formerly a separate municipality, Almonte is a ward of the town of Mississippi Mills, Ontario, Mississippi Mills, which was created on January 1, 199 ...

, Canada. In 1873 journeyman Neilson worked in

Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...

, Ontario, moving on in 1889 to a retail store. Afterward he sold his store in 1890 and moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario and began a grocery store that eventually failed. Leaving his family behind, he moved to

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

to work as a farmer with his brother.

Founding of William Neilson Limited

Returning to Toronto, still in debt, he purchased some cows and began the sale of milk. Neilson then obtained

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

manufacturing equipment. In 1893 the firm, William Neilson Limited, was started.

Ice-cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food colouring ...

and

mincemeat Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped apples and dried fruit, distilled spirits or vinegar, spices, and optionally, meat and beef suet. Mincemeat is usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Traditional mincemeat recipes contain meat, notably beef ...

were the first products, and these fuelled the growth of the company. Expansion and modernization started in 1904 with a new location and the addition of new equipment. By 1905 production was at two thousand gallons of ice-cream per day and 15 tons of ice. Meanwhile, mincemeat production was discontinued. Neilson constructed the

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

in Toronto in 1906."A sweet tale of Canadian-made chocolate treats; Some of these iconic brands got their start with the birth of 'Quaker capitalism' in 19th-century England." ''Spectator'' amilton, Ontario 5 May 2020, p. G2. ''Gale OneFile: News'', link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622721088/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=ce669da4. Accessed 28 Nov. 2022. Chocolate was added to the product mix in 1908. Chocolate bars and ice cream became popular treats and prior to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the company was producing more than 560,000 pounds of chocolate annually. This required further expansion and a new building was added, and by 1915 a new site was required and the production moved to

Beachville, Ontario South-West Oxford is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,664 in the 2016 Canadian census. A predominantly rural municipality, South-West Oxford was formed in 1975 throu ...

. By 1928, the company employed a thousand people in all departments and production was at one thousand gallons of ice cream per hour, and the company opened branches in South America, South Africa, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand. William Neilson Limited, now headquartered in

Georgetown, Ontario Georgetown is a large unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Halton. The town includes several small villages or settlements such as Norval, Ontario, Norval, Limehouse, Ontario, Lime ...

, was owned by

George Weston Limited George Weston Limited, often referred to as Weston or Weston's, is a Canadian holding company. Founded by George Weston in 1882, the company today consists of the Choice Properties real estate investment trust and Loblaw Companies Limited, C ...

from 1947 to 2008 and is now owned by

Saputo Incorporated Saputo Inc. is a Canadian dairy company based in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1954 by the Saputo family. It produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream produ ...

Marriage and family

Neilson married Mary Eva Kaiser on October 6, 1875, in Brockville, Ontario. They were the parents of five children, of which the sons continued the business after the death of their father in 1915. Fred Harry Morden Neilson, the family's official churner, ran the business as president until his death in 1947. Charles Edward Neilson was secretary-treasurer and James William Allen Neilson was a vice-president. The Neilson family are buried at Forest Lawn Mausoleum in north Toronto.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Neilson Dairy
at www.neilsondairy.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, William 1844 births 1915 deaths Canadian businesspeople People from Lanark County Canadian people of Scottish descent