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JAMES CANAN
Thorold News
[Welland Tribune, 9 July 1897]
A figure well known to Welland county residents passed away at Owen Sound on Sunday afternoon last in the person of James Canan, whose home for many years had been in this county. Death was caused by Bright’s disease. He was in many ways a remarkable man and an inventive genius of no mean reputation. His patents of bucket-door for dredge dipper, weight pull-back for dipper instead of steam power, hydraulic dredge improvements, novel bicycle gear, bottle stoppers and many others, were valuable to the public. It is said that he has received royalties on fourteen different patents. He was the first man who started cable drilling, and was among the pioneers in the local natural gas field. The old well near the railway track, at Port Colborne, was utilized by him, he having connected pipes with it and used the gas for both heating and cooking. Later he was one of the prime movers in sinking other wells in Port Colborne. For over twenty years he was superintendent of Contractor Brown’s extensive dredging plant. He worked on the first dredge ever built in Canada,-or rather converted from a steam shovel to a dredge. French & Carmichael owned this machine, and it was used to dig out the old aqueduct dam in the rear of the court house-nearly half a century ago. Deceased’s family came from Ireland at an early date, and James was born in New Brunswick in 1833. His father died shortly after this, and some time later Mr. Canan’s mother married John Roach, father of Maurice Roach. His step-father carried on a blacksmith shop at Reilly’s bridge for a time. A brother and sister are the only survivors of the Canan family-John Canan of Ashtabula and Mrs. David Roach of Port Colborne. The remains of deceased were brought to Welland from Owen Sound on Monday evening, and on Tuesday morning High Mass was celebrated in the R.C. church by Rev. Father Trayling; interment in the cemetery adjoining.
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