(28 May 1853-15 July 1942), contractor. (R. J. Craig) Born at Glen Walter, GC. Parents: John Craig and his wife Mary Westley or Wesley. Robert J. Craig “began his career as a railroad contractor at Fort William, on the CPR, with the firm of Purcell and Ryan [see Ryan]. Later, he held contracts for many years in Argentina, Florida, Jamaica, Mexico and Cuba, returning to Canada in 1902. Until 1914 his work was in Ontario and Quebec, building such railroads as the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario, the Gatineau and the La Tuque section of the Transcontinental. After 1914, he retired to his home in Glen Walter.” The Cornwall Cheese and Butter Board book of 1920, in an entry which can be dated as composed a couple of years before, describes him as an active and successful farmer and retired contractor who is now “the owner of several large farms in the vicinity of Glen Walter,” one of them being the property containing the ruins of the famous Glengarry House. The book notes that his “residence and barns are among the finest on the Cornwall East Front” and are lighted by electricity from “a local power plant.” (electricity was unusual in GC-area farm properties at this time).

     Robert J. Craig died in Montreal, at the Ross Memorial Pavilion. He was married in 1891 to Annie Alberta Ferguson. (six children surviving him) He was a Mason. His membership of 67 years was believed at the time of his death to have been the longest membership in the Cornwall Masonic lodge. He was a Presbyterian elder in Salem Church, Summerstown.

Glengarry News 24 July 1942 (QF) * Harkness 227 (his widow?) * Stiles 93 (portrait)