Eugene O'Keefe (10 December 1827 – 1 October 1913), baptized as Owen Keeffe, was an Irish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist, well-known in the brewing industry for his signature brews. He incorporated the O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited in 1891.
Born in Bandon, County Cork, he moved with his family to Canada when he was five, eventually settling in Toronto. He married Helen Charlotte Bailey in 1862, with whom he had a son and two daughters.[1]
From 1856 to 1861, he worked at the Toronto Savings Bank. He later was president of the Home Bank of Canada.
In 1861, he was one of the purchasers of Toronto's Victoria Brewery (founded by George Hart and Charles Hannath c.1840s as Hannath & Hart Brewery[2]), at the corner of Victoria and Gould Streets, which had an annual production of 1,000 barrels. In 1891, he incorporated it as the O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited. The brewery would expand to a capacity of 500,000 barrels. He sold the business after his son died in 1911. The company would later become part of Carling O'Keefe Breweries.[1]
O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited.
In 1882, he and three Humber Bay hoteliers formed the Humber Steam Ferry Company. The company operated the Annie Craig, which carried excursionists from Toronto to the resort hotels at the mouth of the Humber River.[3]
The O'Keefe name is well established in Toronto due to the many charitable donations that O'Keefe made throughout his life. He donated millions of dollars to the Catholic Church in Toronto, built five churches in Toronto, built St. Augustine's Seminary in Scarborough, and built Toronto's first low-income housing development.
His former Toronto mansion (O'Keefe House), located across from the former O'Keefe Brewery, served as a residence for students at Ryerson University from 1964 to 2018.[5] The former brewery itself is now the Image Arts faculty building.
Since then, a handful of individuals have been actively trying to reestablish the O'Keefe name due to the vital role that he played in shaping the city during the Victorian period. It was not until 2006 that an official biography was written about O'Keefe. The delay was due in large part to scant information and a lack of personal and company records.
Referencesedit
^ abcPower, Michael (1994). "Biography – O'KEEFE, EUGENE – Volume XIV (1911-1920) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. The University of Toronto.
^. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
eugene, keefe, december, 1827, october, 1913, baptized, owen, keeffe, irish, born, canadian, businessman, philanthropist, well, known, brewing, industry, signature, brews, incorporated, keefe, brewery, company, toronto, limited, 1891, born, 1827, december, 182. Eugene O Keefe 10 December 1827 1 October 1913 baptized as Owen Keeffe was an Irish born Canadian businessman and philanthropist well known in the brewing industry for his signature brews He incorporated the O Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited in 1891 Eugene O KeefeBorn 1827 12 10 10 December 1827Bandon County CorkDied1 October 1913 1913 10 01 aged 85 Toronto OntarioOccupation s Businessman and philanthropistKnown forO Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited Contents 1 Life and career 2 Legacy 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksLife and career editBorn in Bandon County Cork he moved with his family to Canada when he was five eventually settling in Toronto He married Helen Charlotte Bailey in 1862 with whom he had a son and two daughters 1 From 1856 to 1861 he worked at the Toronto Savings Bank He later was president of the Home Bank of Canada In 1861 he was one of the purchasers of Toronto s Victoria Brewery founded by George Hart and Charles Hannath c 1840s as Hannath amp Hart Brewery 2 at the corner of Victoria and Gould Streets which had an annual production of 1 000 barrels In 1891 he incorporated it as the O Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited The brewery would expand to a capacity of 500 000 barrels He sold the business after his son died in 1911 The company would later become part of Carling O Keefe Breweries 1 nbsp O Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited In 1882 he and three Humber Bay hoteliers formed the Humber Steam Ferry Company The company operated the Annie Craig which carried excursionists from Toronto to the resort hotels at the mouth of the Humber River 3 O Keefe was a close friend of Canadian railway magnate Hugh Ryan and served as one of his pallbearers alongside lieutenant governor of Ontario Sir Oliver Mowat Conservative Senator James Mason Ontario politician William Harty Ontario Banker W S Lee at Ryan s funeral held in St Michael s Cathedral Basilica in 1899 4 In 1909 Pope Pius X made him the first Canadian layman to become a private Papal chamberlain He died at his home on Bond Street in 1913 aged 85 1 Legacy edit nbsp O Keefe House in 2005 The O Keefe name is well established in Toronto due to the many charitable donations that O Keefe made throughout his life He donated millions of dollars to the Catholic Church in Toronto built five churches in Toronto built St Augustine s Seminary in Scarborough and built Toronto s first low income housing development The O Keefe name was used as a tribute on the new O Keefe Centre when it was built in 1960 by E P Taylor then the head of O Keefe Brewing Company In 1996 the name was changed to the Hummingbird Centre In 2007 the name was changed to the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts His former Toronto mansion O Keefe House located across from the former O Keefe Brewery served as a residence for students at Ryerson University from 1964 to 2018 5 The former brewery itself is now the Image Arts faculty building Since then a handful of individuals have been actively trying to reestablish the O Keefe name due to the vital role that he played in shaping the city during the Victorian period It was not until 2006 that an official biography was written about O Keefe The delay was due in large part to scant information and a lack of personal and company records References edit a b c Power Michael 1994 Biography O KEEFE EUGENE Volume XIV 1911 1920 Dictionary of Canadian Biography www biographi ca The University of Toronto Business and History O Keefe Brewing Company Limited Western Libraries Archived from the original on 23 September 2009 Retrieved 7 January 2010 Denise Harris 2015 Humber Bay Etobicoke Historical Society The Manitoba Morning Free Press 15 February 1899 Hugh Ryan s Funeral Impressive services held at St Michael s Cathedral The Pallbearers newspapers com Aguilar Bryann 5 February 2018 Ryerson University to close O Keefe house The Toronto Star ISSN 0319 0781 Retrieved 14 February 2018 Bibliography edit Eugene O Keefe Dictionary of Canadian Biography online ed University of Toronto Press 1979 2016 External links editHistory of O Keefe House Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eugene O 27Keefe amp oldid 1218944485, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
