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COLUMN: Lightfoot family's roots run from England to Orillia
Gordon Lightfoot's great-grandfather settled in Ontario in 1869
OrilliaMatters Staff
This photograph of the Wagg’s delivery trucks includes Gordon Lightfoot Sr. It was taken in 1950 by Frank B. Stewart. It was donated to the Orillia Museum of Art & History by Shirley Stewart in 2012.Photo supplied by the Orillia Museum of Art & History
Written by Fred Blair and submitted by the Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH)
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, the famous Canadian folk singer, was born in Orillia on Nov. 17, 1938. What was his family’s connection to Orillia and where did his ancestors originate?
Gordon was the son of Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Sr. and Jessie Vick Trill. Gordon Sr. was living in Orillia by 1934, the same year he married Jessie in Barrie. Although Gordon Sr. was new to Orillia, Jessie was the great-granddaughter of George Vick (1824-1898) and Eliza Emily Bailey (1832-1920).
Eliza arrived in Orillia in 1832, when she was six weeks old. Her family was one of the first handful of settlers in the community. Her father may have been the first carpenter in Orillia, and her husband, George, was the first baker. George prospered and was able to open two additional stores, where Mariposa Market is today, and constructed a grain mill on the waterfront. The mill allowed local farmers to sell their grain to George for cash or to have it locally milled for their own use. He delivered freshly baked bread to the village and area resorts.
At the time of his marriage to Jessie, Gordon Sr. was employed as a bank clerk in Orillia. Surprisingly, the 1939 Vernon’s Directory recorded him as a salesman in Jones’ Music Store. Were music and singing popular at home? By 1942, he was employed at Wagg’s Laundry and, six years later, he was managing the Orillia plant. Gordon Jr. began working there at age 14 and later became a delivery driver.
As Gordon Jr. was a celebrity, it is not surprising the Lightfoot family history can easily be found online on more than one family history website.
Gordon Sr. was born in 1910 in Brooke Township, Lambton County. His father, George Lightfoot, was also born in Brooke Township, where he remained and farmed throughout his life. George’s father, Joseph Lightfoot, arrived in Ontario about 1869 and settled in the township. He was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1832. Joseph Lightfoot was the son of Henry Lightfoot, who was born in Sproatley, Yorkshire. Henry’s father, John Lightfoot, was also born in Yorkshire about 1770. English census records revealed Henry and John both moved around within the shire and lived in the villages of Butterwick, Foxholes, Hedon, Old Malton, Sproatley, and Witherwick in Yorkshire. Although there are recorded Lightfoot burials in Yorkshire back to 1619, the family appears to have only been researched back to 1770.
Were Gordon Jr.’s Yorkshire ancestors employed in different villages as migrant farm workers? The origin of the Lightfoot surname suggested another possibility. In medieval times, a “light-footed” man was a swift runner, or a messenger, and a messenger may also have found employment in different communities.
Visit OMAH to view Turning Back the Pages, a permanent exhibition dedicated to Gordon Lightfoot.
Lightfoot lineage-June 2025
