(1858-12 Sept. 1909), teacher of the deaf. (Duncan W. McDermid, Prof. Duncan W. McDermid) (date of birth 1860 also found) Born Island Road, Martintown, though perhaps on the Stormont rather than the GC side of the county line. Parents: John McDermid and his wife Janet Christie. The McDermid family moved to Manvers Township, Ont., about 1870, and afterwards to the St. Catharines, Ont., area. D. W. McDermid’s early education was in the Martintown area and in Manvers Township. He taught for 5 years at the Ontario Institution for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb at Belleville, having originally become associated with the Institution as a clerical employee. In 1882 he married Mary E. Lorenzen, who was partly deaf, and who was also a teacher at the institution. (two children) In 1882 he left Belleville for Council Bluffs, Iowa, where for the next eight years he taught at the Iowa Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. In 1890, he was appointed principal of the Manitoba Deaf and Dumb Institution, a position he held for the remainder of his career. At the time of his appointment, his wife was appointed an assistant teacher in the same institution. Duncan W. McDermid was important in advancing the education of the deaf in Canada. He was also a prominent figure in Winnipeg, active in charitable and other activities. When the British Association for the Advancement of Science met in Canada in 1909, he was in charge of planning their western tour. He was a Mason. He died at Winnipeg General Hospital after a short illness.

Life by Keith Wilson in Dictionary of Canadian Biography Vol. XIII * obituary Winnipeg Evening Telegram repr. Cornwall Standard 24 Sept. 1909 * Morgan (1898) 728 * Pioneers and Early Citizens of Manitoba (1971?) 130 * Campbell & McDermid, Kennedys, 277-278 * Bumsted 151