View source for John Rudolphus Booth

{{Short description|Canadian businessman}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = John Rudolphus Booth
| image              = John Rudolphus Booth.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1827|4|5}}
| birth_place        = [[Waterloo, Quebec|Waterloo, Lower Canada]]
| birth_name         = 
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1925|12|8|1827|4|5}}
| death_place        = [[Ottawa, Ontario]], Canada
| resting_place      = [[Beechwood Cemetery]], Ottawa
| spouse             = Rosalinda Cook
| known_for          = 
| awards             = 
}}

'''John Rudolphus Booth''' (April 5, 1827 - December 8, 1925) was a Canadian [[lumber]] tycoon and [[railroad baron]]. He controlled logging rights for large tracts of forest land in central [[Ontario]], and built the [[Canada Atlantic Railway]] (from [[Georgian Bay]] via [[Ottawa]] to [[Vermont]]) to extract his logs and to export [[lumber]] and [[grain]] to the [[United States]] and [[Europe]]. In 1892, his lumber complex was the largest operation of its kind in the world.{{sfn|Benidickson|2005}}

He arrived in [[Bytown]] (later renamed [[Ottawa]]) at the same time as many other future lumber entrepreneurs such as [[Henry Franklin Bronson|Henry Bronson]], [[William Goodhue Perley|W.G. Perley]], [[John Harris (Canadian entrepreneur)|John Harris]]{{efn|Bronson's partner}} and [[Ezra Butler Eddy|E.B. Eddy]]. Even so, by 1890 Booth had overtaken them all to become the largest lumber producer in the world.<ref name="Deachman2017">{{cite news |last= Deachman|first= Bruce|date= July 17, 2017|title= The Capital Builders: J.R. Booth, 'monarch of the Upper Ottawa' |url= https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/the-capital-builders-j-r-booth-monarch-of-the-upper-ottawa|work= [[Ottawa Citizen]]}}</ref> It was said that at one point the [[lumber|timberland]]s under his control occupied an area larger than [[France]].<ref name="Deachman2017"/>

He was familiar with all aspects of his industry, and one observer noted:

{{cquote|
[He] knew the forest as a sailor knows the sea, and his success was largely due to the fact that he never overestimated its potentialities.{{sfn|Benidickson|2005}}
}}

==Early life==
J. R. Booth was born on a farm at Lowes near [[Waterloo, Quebec|Waterloo]] ([[Shefford County, Quebec|Shefford County]]) in the [[Eastern Townships]] of [[Quebec]], [[Lower Canada]]. His parents, John [[Booth (surname)|Booth]] ([[Ireland]], 1802 - Quebec, 1877) and Eleanor Helen Booth (''née'' Rowley) (Ireland, 1804 - Quebec, 1834)<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg3609 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File |url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg3609.htm#86050 |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=krogsgaard.name}}</ref> were [[Irish people|Irish]] immigrants, had a number of children (variously reported as 5, 6 and 8); his paternal grandparents were John Booth and Elizabeth Hill; his patrilineal great-grandfather, Robert Booth who married Eleanor Taylor, was the son of Peter Booth,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.darvercastle.ie/story |title=www.darvercastle.ie |access-date=2019-03-11 |archive-date=2018-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112182237/https://www.darvercastle.ie/story |url-status=dead }}</ref> whose father, James Booth, a [[Freedom of the City of Dublin|Freeman of Dublin]], was fourth son of [[the Rev.]] Humphrey Booth and wife Letitia Jones.<ref>[http://www.burkespeerage.com/ Burke's Peerage], [[Burke's Peerage|Burke's Peerage & Baronetage]], ''qv.'' BOOTH, Bt</ref> He was related to the [[Booth Baronets]].<ref>Arnold McNaughton, The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy, in 3 volumes (London, U.K.: Garnstone Press, 1973), volume 1, page 186.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.twu.ca/sites/laurentian/heritage/jrbooth.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309083224/http://www.twu.ca/sites/laurentian/heritage/jrbooth.html|url-status=dead|title=J.R. Booth|archivedate=March 9, 2008|website=www.twu.ca}}</ref>

John Booth left the family farm at the age of 21 and got a job as a [[carpenter]] with the [[Central Vermont Railroad]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|p=3}}</ref>
In Kingsey Township, Lower Canada, on January 7, 1853, he married Rosalinda Cooke ([[Philipsburg, Quebec|Philipsburg]], Monteregie Region, Quebec, March 12, 1829 - Ottawa, Ontario, March 24, 1886, buried in Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ottawa Municipality, Ontario),<ref name="auto"/> daughter of Thomas Cooke (1790 - Abbott's Corner, Monteregie Region, Quebec, July 15, 1873) and wife Eliza Armstrong (Ireland, July 1808 - Saint-Armand, Monteregie Region, Quebec, March 29, 1871, buried in Abbott's Corner Cemetery, Monteregie Region, Quebec),<ref name="auto"/> and maternal granddaughter of Robert [[Armstrong (surname)|Armstrong]] Sr. ([[Whalton]], [[Northumberland]], August 30, 1777 - [[Franklin, Vermont|Franklin]], [[Franklin County, Vermont|Franklin County]], [[Vermont]], January 30, 1850, buried in Abbott's Corner Cemetery, Monteregie Region, Quebec) and wife Ann Lattimore Booth ([[Rennington]], Northumberland, April 8, 1786 - Franklin, Franklin County, Vermont, October 21, 1849, buried in Abbott's Corner Cemetery, Monteregie Region, Quebec),<ref name="auto"/> and moved to the [[Ottawa River]] valley. He was involved in the construction of a paper mill in Sherbrooke, and a sawmill in Hull. Upon completion of the latter, its owner, [[Andrew Leamy]]<ref name="biographi.ca">{{Cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/booth_john_rudolphus_15E.html|title=BOOTH, JOHN RUDOLPHUS|website=Dictionary of Canadian Biography}}</ref> hired him to manage the mill for a year. He then ventured out on his own, opening a shingle mill in Hull in a mill that he rented from [[Alonzo Wright]], but within months it was destroyed by fire.<ref name="biographi.ca"/> He established his own lumber company and won the contract to supply wood for the [[Parliament Hill|Parliament buildings]] at the new Canadian capital of [[Ottawa]], selected by [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]] in 1858.{{sfn|Bell|1991|p=5}} In winning the contract, he underbid more established firms by hiring unemployed [[longshoremen]] from [[Montreal]].{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=191}}

== Building a lumber and railway empire ==
{{see also|Ottawa River timber trade}}

<gallery class="center" widths="200px">
File:Booth lumber camp Aylen Lake Ontario 1895.jpg|Booth [[lumber camp]], [[South Algonquin|Aylen Lake]], Ontario, {{Circa|1895}}
File:Timber raft 1880.jpg|Cookery on Booth timber raft
File:Booths rafts Sillery Quebec 1891.jpg|J.R. Booth's timber rafts arriving at [[Sillery, Quebec City|Sillery]], [[Quebec]],{{Circa|1891}}
File:JRBooth23.jpg|J.R. Booth in front of [[Canada Atlantic Railway]] timber train
File:J. R. Booth's lumber piling ground Ottawa.jpg|Booth's lumber piling ground
</gallery>

===Lumber===
{{wide image|Booths Mills Ottawa (HS85-10-26205).jpg|1125px|Panoramic view of Booth mills in Ottawa (1912)}}
Booth harvested timber from the upper Ottawa River and its tributaries, [[Log driving|driving]] them down the river to his mills, and is known to have started logging in the [[Amable du Fond River]] and [[Lake Nosbonsing]] area in the late 1860s, arriving at [[Depot Creek (Lake Nosbonsing)|Depot Creek]] in 1870.<ref name="Leatherdale">{{cite book |last= Leatherdale|first= Murray|date= 2010|title= Nipissing from Brule to Booth|edition=2nd|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=w_b2_np2viIC&pg=PA163|location= Victoria|publisher= [[Trafford Publishing]]|pages= 163{{en dash}}164|isbn= 978-1-4251-5342-7 }}</ref> Booth expanded his timber limits into the [[Lake Nipissing]] [[Drainage basin|watershed]] in 1881. In order to reach his Ottawa mills, Booth constructed the [[Nosbonsing & Nipissing Railway]] (length {{convert|5.5|mi|km}}) in 1884<ref name="Leatherdale"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/logging/history.htm|title=History of Logging and Lumber Railways in Ontario|last=Westhouse|first=Brian|access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref> to carry sawlogs over the portage from Lake Nipissing to the headwaters of the [[Mattawa River|Mattawa]]. It was subsequently incorporated as a separate company by Act of the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] in 1886.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to incorporate the Nosbonsing and Nipissing Railway Company|abbr =S.O.|year =1886|chapter =74|link =https://archive.org/stream/statutesofprovin1886onta#page/296/mode/2up|linkloc =archive.org}}</ref>

Booth's vision and boldness were qualities that made him a success. In 1867, he purchased, for $40,000,{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=191}} the timber rights of [[John Egan (Canadian politician)|John Egan]]'s {{convert|250|sqmi|km2}} of pine on the [[Madawaska River (Ontario)|Madawaska River]] in what is now [[Algonquin Park]]. Five years later, he refused an offer of more than $1 million to sell those rights.{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=191}}

During the latter half of the 19th Century, he amassed timber rights approaching {{convert|7000|sqmi|km2}} in Central and Northern [[Ontario]] which he would harvest for his mills.{{sfn|Bell|1991|p=5}} He often went to his Algonquin timber limits in his own private railway car, working beside his men during the day and on business affairs most of the night, seldom sleeping for more than a few hours.{{sfn|Bell|1991|p=5}} He was always on the lookout for opportunities to reduce costs, and in 1894 he began investing in [[tugboat]]s in order to accelerate the delivery of [[log boom]]s to the Chaudière mill.{{sfn|Barrett|Coons|2010|p=97}}

In 1891, Booth installed 13 [[band saw]]s at his Ottawa mill, which was said to be more than anywhere else in the world.{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=128}} The next year, that mill produced 140 million [[board foot|board feet]] (about {{convert|25000|cuft|m3}}) of lumber.{{sfn|Benidickson|2005}} It required the supply of 2 million logs annually in order to run at capacity,{{sfn|Barrett|Coons|2010|p=97}} and some of his timber limits were so remote that it took up to two years for logs to reach the mill.{{sfn|Barrett|Coons|2010|p=97}} Booth was so dominant in the industry that he assumed the role of [[Tacit collusion|price leader]], where all competitors met the prices he set for his product.{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=211}} His leading status would continue until 1919, when [[William Cameron Edwards]] and others would achieve greater outputs.

Half of the mills' output was shipped to England; the rest to the United States and throughout Canada.{{sfn|Bell|1991|p=8}} [[Pinus strobus|White pine]] from Booth's lumber yards was used to build the decks on the ocean liners of the [[Cunard Line]], including the ''[[RMS Lusitania|Lusitania]]'' and ''[[RMS Mauretania (1906)|Mauretania]]''.{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=61}} In 1905, he constructed a new plant and entered the [[pulp and paper]] business, thus being able to use [[softwood]] that he had been previously forced to sell. He expanded into the United States through the establishment of docks and a distribution centre at [[Rouses Point, New York]], a [[planing mill]] and box factory at [[Burlington, Vermont]], and a sales office in [[Boston]].

The mills' output was so large that its Fraserfield [[lumber yard]] and [[railyard]], acquired in 1870, extended along [[Bronson Avenue]] as far south as [[Carling Avenue]], backing onto [[The Glebe]].<ref>{{cite web|author = John Leaning|title = The Story of The Glebe|url = http://ottawahistory.ncf.ca/|publisher = Glebe Historical Society|access-date = 2014-12-07|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120912040810/http://ottawahistory.ncf.ca/|archive-date = 2012-09-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author = Bruce Scrivens|title = Life in the J.R. Booth Lumber Yard|url = https://www.scrivens.ca/blog/life-in-the-j-r-booth-lumber-yard|publisher = Scrivens|date = October 1, 2004}}</ref>

The Chaudière Island mills were so extensive that Booth issued [[Token coin|token]]s for use there, which were in circulation from 1893 until the 1940s.<ref>{{cite web|author = P.S. Berry|title = Trade and Other Tokens of the Gatineau Region|url = http://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/gatineautokens.pdf|page = 9|publisher = [[Bank of Canada]] Museum|access-date = 2014-11-30|archive-date = 2014-12-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141218155623/http://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/gatineautokens.pdf|url-status = dead}}</ref>

Fire was a constant threat to his mills, and they burnt down in 1893, 1886, 1900 and 1903. In 1900 alone, 100 million [[board foot|feet]] of lumber was lost to fire, and Booth also lost his home located at [[Wellington Street (Ottawa)|Wellington]] and [[Preston Street (Ottawa)|Preston Street]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Fear|first1= Jon|date= 1979|title= 'The Lumber Piles Must Go': Ottawa's Lumber Interests and the Great Fire of 1900 |url= https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/uhr/1979-v8-n1-uhr0896/1019390ar.pdf|journal= Urban History Review|volume= 8|issue= 1|pages= 38–65|doi= 10.7202/1019390ar|issn=1918-5138|doi-access= free}}, at pp. 41-43</ref> The extent of the fire led to a controversial proposal to restrict the amount of lumber being held in the yards, but intensive lobbying by Booth and other lumbermen effectively killed that measure as well as a later one in 1903.{{sfn|Fear|1979|pp=56-65}} Much of Booth's personal and business records were lost in these fires. It was also of concern within the timber limits as well, and Booth once said, "If fires are kept out of the forests, there will be more pine in this country 100 years from now than there was fifty years ago, and we shall have lots of timber for the generation to come."{{sfn|Nelles|2005|p=195}}

Booth established a hydroelectric [[generating station]] at Chaudière Falls in 1909 in order to power his sawmill and planing mill, after fifty years of using [[penstock]]s distributed around his property to directly feed the water [[turbine]]s that powered his machinery.{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=129}} The construction of the station resulted in the [[water level]] of the Ottawa River being raised by {{convert|10|ft|m|0}}, which meant the end of [[log rafting]] there.{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=88}}

===Railways===
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|title=Canada Atlantic Railway and predecessors
|1= [[Canada Atlantic Railway]] (1899)
|2= [[Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway]] (1896)
|3= Canada Atlantic Railway (1879)
|4= Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway (1891)
|5= [[Parry Sound Colonization Railway]] (1885)
|6= Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway (1871)
|7= Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company (1872)
|8= Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway (1888)
|9= Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway (1888)
}}

====Formation of Canada Atlantic====
Booth's sawmill operations could never run at full capacity because the output could not be carried out of the lumber yards fast enough.{{sfn|Bell|1991|p=8}} Because of these transportation problems in the Ottawa area, Booth became an important participant in the development of Canada's railway system when he purchased the Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway (M&OJ) and the Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company (C&PL) in 1879, amalgamating them to form the [[Canada Atlantic Railway]].<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to amend the Acts incorporating the 'Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company' and the 'Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway Company,' and amending Acts, and to amalgamate the said Companies|abbr =S.C.|year =1879|chapter = 57|link= https://books.google.com/books?id=cNquAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PR110&ots=zhf7j9rGE7&pg=RA1-PA14#v=onepage&f=false}}</ref> The M&OJ had received a charter to build southeast from Ottawa to [[Les Coteaux, Quebec|Coteau Landing]] on the north bank of the [[St. Lawrence River]]. The C&PL had received a charter to build a bridge across the St. Lawrence River to [[Valleyfield, Quebec]] and then operate a railway across southwestern Quebec to the United States border. Due to financial difficulties, neither line had been completed, and Booth worked to complete the entire route by 1882. The Coteau bridge was completed in 1890, thus eliminating the necessity of transshipping cargo by [[barge]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|pp=38{{en dash}}40}}</ref> The CAR formed a subsidiary, the Vermont and Province Line Railroad, which would build a line to [[Swanton (village), Vermont|Swanton, Vermont]] on the eastern shore of [[Lake Champlain]] in 1897, thus connecting Ottawa to the United States via the [[Delaware and Hudson Railway]], the [[Rutland Railroad]], and the [[Central Vermont Railway]].
{{CAR West}}
{{CAR East}}

====Expansion to Georgian Bay====
[[file:Collision on the OAPS railway.jpg|thumb|right|The diamond crossing between the OA&PS and B&O was the site of several collisions over its history, a tribute to its equally stormy building.]]
[[file:Building the OAPS through Algonquin.jpg|thumb|right|The rough terrain of the Canadian Shield is evident in this photo of the OA&PS being built through the area of today's Algonquin Park. Note the lack of vegetation in what is today completely covered by forest.]]
In 1888, Booth chartered the Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway to build a line from Ottawa to [[Renfrew, Ontario|Renfrew]],<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to incorporate the Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway Company|abbr =S.O.|year =1888|chapter = 71|link=https://archive.org/stream/statutesofprovin1888onta#page/194/mode/2up}}</ref> as well as the Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway to do the same from Parry Sound to Renfrew.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to incorporate the Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway Company|abbr =S.C.|year =1888|chapter = 65|link=https://archive.org/stream/actsparliamentd00canagoog#page/n581/mode/2up}}</ref> In 1891, the two lines (together with the [[Parry Sound Colonization Railway]] in 1893)<ref>{{cite book |last= Hayes|first= Adrian|date= 2005|title= Parry Sound: Gateway to Northern Ontario|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Nn21iNJ2utcC&pg=PA93|location= Toronto|publisher= Natural Heritage Books|page= 93|isbn=1-896219-91-8}}</ref> were amalgamated into the [[Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway]] (OA&PS), which ran from [[Georgian Bay]] through southern [[Algonquin Park]] to Ottawa.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to amend the Act to incorporate the Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway Company|abbr =S.O.|year =1891|chapter = 91|link=https://archive.org/stream/statutesofprovin1891onta#page/336/mode/2up}}, {{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to amend the Act to incorporate the Parry Sound Colonization Railway Company|abbr =S.O.|year =1891|chapter = 92|link=https://archive.org/stream/statutesofprovin1891onta#page/336/mode/2up}} and {{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act amalgamating the Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway Company, and the Ottawa, Arnprior and Renfrew Railway Company, under the name of 'The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Company'|abbr =S.C.|year =1891|chapter = 93|link=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgcvAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PR149&ots=rbosiE2lf7&pg=RA1-PA122#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>

When the PSCR was taken over by Booth, the original intention was to have its terminus at [[Parry Sound, Ontario|Parry Sound]].{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=201}} However, the high prices demanded by local landowners prompted him to choose a location on nearby [[Wasauksing First Nation|Parry Island]], which would become [[Depot Harbour, Ontario|Depot Harbour]].{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=201}} When completed, Depot Harbour became one of the most prominent ports on the [[Great Lakes]], rivalling [[Collingwood, Ontario|Collingwood]], [[Midland, Ontario|Midland]] and [[Owen Sound]].{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=201}} It was the shortest route for [[grain trade|shipping grain]] to the [[Atlantic]], with trains arriving and departing every twenty minutes.{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=191}}

All three lines met "end to end". The M&OJ met the OA&PS on Booth's sawmill property in Ottawa while the C&PL met the M&OJ in Coteau, using several hundred feet of trackage rights of the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] (GTR). In 1899, the OA&PS amalgamated with the CAR.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =An Act to amalgamate the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway Company and the Canada Atlantic Railway Company under the name of the Canada Atlantic Railway Company|abbr =S.C.|year =1899|chapter =81|link= https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015074723068?urlappend=%3Bseq=531}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|p=158}}</ref> As a result, Booth ruled the largest railway empire built in North America by any one man.

It was said that the first phase of the CAR's construction was undertaken without any government assistance, which was unusual at the time.{{sfn|Lee|2006|p=103}} Booth himself was concerned with building the railways as well as marketing the service to build and maintain tonnage on the new lines.<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|p=137}}</ref>  He was open to cooperation with other railways in eastern and western Canada, as well as to sale or amalgamation with a larger railway system, and was contemplating such a sale by 1901.<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|p=139}}</ref> Whether it was because Booth at age 74 was tired, or because he realized that competition from other transcontinental lines would soon cause serious problems for the CAR, he did everything possible in the early years of the 20th century to make every aspect of the railway profitable, and therefore attractive to potential buyers.<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|p=142}}</ref>

Booth also operated grain elevators at Depot Harbour, Coteau, [[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth]] and [[Milwaukee]], and steamships on the [[Great Lakes]], and formed the Canada Atlantic Transit Company, which operated five large lake freighters on the Upper Great Lakes.

<gallery class="center" widths="200px">
Grand Trunk Elevators, Depot Harbour, Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada (1910) (5444702599).jpg|Depot Harbour elevators in 1910
OAPS at Depot Harbour.jpg|OA&PS engine #701 2-8-0 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The engine is shown in Depot Harbour, the western end of the line.
</gallery>

====Sale to Grand Trunk====
Prompted by the federal government, the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] began negotiating with Booth to acquire the Canada Atlantic as part of the Grand Trunk's efforts to expand into northern Ontario and eventually into Western Canada. In August 1904 the GTR agreed to purchase the Canada Atlantic system, including the Great Lakes steamship fleet and the line in [[Vermont]] which connected with its [[Central Vermont Railway]] subsidiary. The agreed-upon price for the entire system as well as the Depot Harbour and Ottawa terminals was $16,000,000.<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|pp=143{{en dash}}144}}</ref> The Grand Trunk took over all operations of the CAR on 1 October 1905, but the actual purchase was ratified by Parliament only in 1914.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =The Grand Trunk and Canada Atlantic Amalgamation Act, 1914|abbr =S.C.|year =1914|chapter = 89|link= https://archive.org/stream/actsofparl1914v02cana#page/132/mode/2up}}</ref> Booth was subsequently one of the GTR's directors until its nationalization as part of the [[Canadian National Railways]] in 1923.<ref>{{harvnb|Bell|1991|p=160}}</ref>

===Other interests===
[[Image:International Portland Cement Co Hull, Quebec 1904.JPG|thumb|left| International Portland Cement Company, Hull, Quebec (1904), a predecessor of [[Canada Cement Company]], and one in which J.R. Booth was a significant investor.]]
At the creation of the [[Lady Stanley Institute for Trained Nurses]] in 1890 in Ottawa, he was a member of the Provisional Committee. Later in 1892, he became Life Governor of that same Institute by paying at least the amount of $500.<ref>The Lady Stanley Institute for Trained Nurses, incorporated 1890. Ottawa: Free Press Office, Cor. Queen and Elgin Street, 1892. Scanned reproduction of original artifacts. Scholar Select.</ref>
 
Booth was a significant investor in the [[Canada Cement Company]] formed by [[Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook|Max Aitken]], which is now part of [[Lafarge (company)|Lafarge]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = About Lafarge North America - History|url = http://www.lafarge-na.com/wps/portal/na/en/1_1_6-History|publisher = Lafarge North America|access-date = March 14, 2013}}</ref> He was also a director of Foster-Cobalt Mining which took part in the [[Cobalt silver rush]],{{sfn|Benidickson|2005}} whose origin took place on one of Booth's timber limits.<ref>{{cite book |last= Davis|first= Harold Palmer|date= 1910|title= The Davis Handbook of The Cobalt Silver District|chapter=Cobalt, 1903|chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/davishandbookofc00davi#page/n13/mode/2up/|location= Toronto|publisher= Canadian Mining Journal|pages= 8–9}}</ref>

Together with [[Michael John O'Brien|M.J. O'Brien]], he also invested in The Dominion Nickel-Copper Company (owner of the [[Murray Mine]]) in order to create a potential competitor to [[Vale Limited|International Nickel]].{{sfn|Nelles|2005|p=329}} It was subsequently sold to [[Frederick Stark Pearson]], [[William Mackenzie (railway entrepreneur)|William Mackenzie]] and [[Donald Mann]] and became the British America Nickel Corporation, in which Booth was a director.{{sfn|Martin|2005|pp=7{{en dash}}8}} In 1921, Booth was induced to vote in favour of a bondholders' reorganization scheme through the promised issue of $2,000,000 of British American stock. The reorganization was later held by the Ontario courts as not binding on the minority bondholders, and the ruling was upheld by the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]]<ref>{{cite BAILII|litigants=The British America Nickel Corporation Limited and others v M. J. O'Brien Limited|link=|court=UKPC|year=1927|num=7|format=1|parallelcite= [1927] AC 369|date=18 January 1927|courtname=[[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council|P.C.]]|juris=Ontario}}</ref> in a decision that has influenced corporate jurisprudence throughout the [[British Commonwealth]].<ref>{{cite web|author= Craig Barrett|title = English courts uphold rights of minority bondholders |url = http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2628f9ab-f2e4-45f6-82f0-c7f3e40d1f42|date = November 7, 2012|publisher = Chadbourne & Parke LLP}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1= Saugata Mukherjee|author2= James Yao|title = Look Beyond the Contract: Restructuring Infrastructure Debt|url = http://www.shlegal.com/Asp/uploadedFiles/File/Newsletters/2013_newsletters/10_13/10_13_Southeast_Asia_Infrastructure.PDF|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150412173241/http://www.shlegal.com/Asp/uploadedFiles/File/Newsletters/2013_newsletters/10_13/10_13_Southeast_Asia_Infrastructure.PDF|archive-date = 2015-04-12|date= October 2013|publisher = Stephenson Harwood LLP}}</ref> After Inco drove British American into bankruptcy in 1924 by aggressively cutting the price of nickel,<ref>{{cite web|title = Inco Limited|url = http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/59/INCO-LIMITED.html|publisher = Reference for Business}}</ref> it later acquired British American's assets.{{sfn|Martin|2005|p=10}}

===Later years===
J. R. Booth continued to run his business empire well into his nineties. Only in 1921 did he convert it from a sole proprietorship into a corporation (known as J.R. Booth Limited).<ref>{{cite news|title = J.R. Booth, Limited, incorporated|url = https://archive.org/stream/p1pulppapermagaz19gard#page/98/mode/2up|work = Pulp and Paper Magazine of Canada|volume = XIX|issue = 4|page = 98|date = 27 January 1921}}</ref> He died in 1925 at the age of 98 after being ill for several months and was survived by his sons Jackson, John Frederick, daughter Helen Gertrude Fleck and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In 1943, J.R. Booth Limited, with the exception of its lumber division, was sold to [[George Weston Limited]] to become part of the [[E. B. Eddy Company]].<ref>{{cite news|title = Garfield Weston buys Ottawa firm|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19430812&id=An8tAAAAIBAJ&pg=4584,1850350|newspaper = [[Montreal Gazette]]|date = August 12, 1943|access-date = March 14, 2013}}</ref> The lumber mill was later sold to E. B. Eddy in 1946.
{{Clear}}

==Other influences==
[[Image:Britannia Boating Club now Britannia Yacht Club 1896 by William James Topley.jpg|thumb|right| [[Britannia Yacht Club|Britannia Bay Boating Club]], 1896]]

Booth's impact was significant on Ottawa:

:* The right of way used by the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway within Ottawa is now used as the [[Ontario Highway 417|Queensway]].
:* Booth Street in Ottawa (which connects to [[Hull, Quebec]] via the [[Chaudière Bridge]]), together with rue Booth in [[Gatineau, Quebec]] and chemin Booth in [[Kingsmere, Quebec]], were named in his honour.<ref name="Deachman2016"/>
:* J.R. Booth leased a property on [[Lac Deschênes]] to the [[Britannia Yacht Club|Britannia Bay Boating Club]]. Designed by [[Edgar Lewis Horwood]], the clubhouse was opened in 1896.
:* J.R. Booth donated the land on the southwest corner of Richmond Road and Britannia Road for the [[Britannia United Church|Britannia Heights Methodist Church]], which had been meeting in homes since 1869. The Britannia Heights Methodist Church formed in 1873.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/49388353/|title=The Ottawa Journal from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada|date=October 2, 1976|website=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
:* The acreage he acquired for pasturing the horses for his mills would later become the [[Central Experimental Farm|Dominion Experimental Farm]].
:* Booth also had a summer home in [[Kingsmere, Quebec]], on the north shore of Kingsmere Lake.<ref>{{Cite web|title = John Rudulphous Booth summer home|url = http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMFHW7_John_Rudulphous_Booth_summer_home|publisher = waymarking.com|access-date = March 14, 2013}}</ref>

In [[Algonquin Provincial Park]], Booth Lake<ref>{{Coord|45.6574999|-78.1874999|display=inline|format=dms}}</ref> is named after him. However, most other traces of Booth's interests in the Park (including a summer retreat at the Barclay Estate{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=196}}<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ontarioabandonedplaces.com/upload/wiki.asp?entry=9402|title= Barclay Estate - Rock Lake|publisher = Ontario Abandoned Places}}</ref> on [[Rock Lake (Algonquin Park)|Rock Lake]])<ref>{{Coord|45.526070|-78.409959|display=inline|format=dms}}</ref> were razed by the Province of Ontario{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=192}} as their leases on [[crown land]] ran out.{{sfn|Brown|1994|p=197}}

Two [[Township (Canada)|geographic township]]s have been named after him. In [[Quebec]], Booth Township<ref>{{coord|46|45|N|78|40|W}}</ref> was surveyed and established in 1908.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://mern.gouv.qc.ca/publications/foncier/arpentage/cantons.pdf|title= Répertoire des cantons du Québec|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date= 2004|page= 5|publisher= [[Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife (Quebec)|Ministère des Ressources naturelles, Faune et Parcs]]|access-date= 2017-01-22|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160402161528/http://mern.gouv.qc.ca/publications/foncier/arpentage/cantons.pdf|archive-date= 2016-04-02}}</ref> It is located east of [[Kipawa, Quebec|Kipawa]], and is part of the [[unorganized territory (Quebec)|unorganized territory]] of [[Les Lacs-du-Témiscamingue, Quebec|Les Lacs-du-Témiscamingue]] in the [[Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality]]. In [[Ontario]], Booth Township<ref>{{coord|49|5|42|N|88|21|0|W}}</ref> was surveyed and established in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/FAKNB|title= Booth|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= 2016|website= rncan.gc.ca|publisher= [[Geographical Names Board of Canada]]}}</ref> It is located immediately north of [[Nipigon]] in [[Thunder Bay District]].

In 1892, Booth rented a cottage at [[Saranac Lake, New York]], where his daughter would [[Cure Cottages of Saranac Lake|cure]] for several years. Booth brought a pair of skis with him, thus introducing the sport of [[skiing]] to the area.<ref>{{Cite web|title = John R. Booth|url = http://hsl.wikispot.org/John_R._Booth|publisher = Historic Saranac Lake|access-date = March 14, 2013|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130416045357/http://hsl.wikispot.org/John_R._Booth|archive-date = April 16, 2013}}</ref>

One of Booth's descendants noted in 2016 that the manner in which his predecessor had gathered his wealth was exceptional in comparison to "[[The Canadian Establishment|really old-school wealthy families]]" in Canada, "as most of them came from [[Rum-running|the booze business, which was illegal]]. So they didn’t pay taxes; it was all cash. So what J.R. did was that much more impressive."<ref name="Deachman2016"/>

==Death, descendants and legacy==
Booth died in Ottawa on December 8, 1925. On his passing, [[Michael Grattan O'Leary]] of the ''[[Ottawa Journal]]'' noted that what people should remember about him was that he was:

{{centered pull quote|
not the great magnate whose wealth is the envy of many and the wonder of more; but the great pioneer, the man whose genius and imagination tamed the wilderness . . . and, above all, did more than any man of his time to build up this Ottawa Valley.
}}

Also at that time, [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] observed:

{{cquote|
Mr. Booth was indeed one of the Fathers of Canada; it is not too much to say that it is to men of such sterling worth and indomitable will as he possessed, more than aught else, that we owe the development of our Dominion.<ref>{{cite web|title = Booth's Funeral|url = https://www.twu.ca/sites/laurentian/heritage/funeral.html|publisher = [[Trinity Western University]]|access-date = August 20, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055430/http://www.twu.ca/sites/laurentian/heritage/funeral.html|archive-date = September 21, 2013}}</ref>
}}

Booth's fortune was a subject of much speculative commentary during the latter years of his life, with estimates ranging up to $100 million. At his death his estate was officially valued at almost $7.7 million; the property was later re-evaluated upwards to $23 million.<ref>{{Cite web|author = Doug Mackey|url = http://www.pastforward.ca/perspectives/Oct_272000.htm|title = A closer look at lumber baron J.R. Booth|website = Community Voices|date = October 27, 2000}}</ref> Although succession duties of $4.28 million were paid in 1927,<ref>{{cite news |title= Claims Booth Duties Paid|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KplTAAAAIBAJ&pg=1208,1689121&dq=booth+succession+duty+g:loccanada&hl=en|newspaper= [[Regina Leader-Post]]|date= September 18, 1937|access-date=September 24, 2013}}</ref> in 1937 Ontario Premier [[Mitchell Hepburn]] subsequently claimed more and had the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] pass the necessary legislation to overcome the legal obstacles.<ref>{{cite news |title= Ontario Assembly Prorogues Today|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UXctAAAAIBAJ&pg=6552,331650&dq=hepburn+succession+duty+act+amendment+g:loccanada&hl=en|newspaper= [[Montreal Gazette]]|date= December 3, 1937|access-date=September 24, 2013}}</ref> J.R's heirs eventually paid another $3 million in 1939.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ottawa Estates Pay Additional Duties to Govt.|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZvIuAAAAIBAJ&pg=7028,1797999&dq=booth+succession+duty+g:loccanada&hl=en|newspaper= [[Ottawa Citizen]]|date= September 23, 1939|access-date=September 24, 2013}}</ref>

His son John Frederick Booth, who lived in Canada, married and had a daughter Lois Frances Booth (born Ottawa, Ontario, 2 August 1897; died Copenhagen, 26 February 1941), who was married in Ottawa, Ontario, on 11 February 1924 to [[Count Erik of Rosenborg]], whom she divorced in 1937; they had two children. At the time of the marriage, it was rumoured that Booth contributed half of her $4-million dowry. J.R. issued a formal denial.<ref>{{cite book |author = C. Arnold McNaughton|volume = 1|title= The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy|ol= 5235688M |year= 1973|publisher= Garnstone Press|location= London|isbn= 0-90039119-7 |page= 186}}</ref> She later remarried Thorkild Juelsberg, without issue.

===Siblings and descendants===
[[File:J.R. Booth ca1900-1904.jpg|J.R. Booth and sons, {{Circa|1900}}|right|thumb]]
[[File:Armes_d_alliance_de_Lois_comtesse_de_Rosenborg.svg|right|thumb|230px|[[Impalement (heraldry)|Arms]] of [[Count Erik of Rosenborg|Lois, Countess of Rosenborg]]]]
{{Tree list}}
* {{Tree list/final branch}}  John Booth (1802{{en dash}}1877), m. (1st) Eleanor Rowley (1804{{en dash}}1834) (2nd) Lydia Bickford (1808{{en dash}}1861) (3rd) Suzannah Bickford (1814{{en dash}}1888)
** James Rowley Booth (1825{{en dash}}1906)
** '''John Rudolphus Booth''' (1827{{en dash}}1925), m. 1853 Rosalinda Cooke (1829{{en dash}}1886)
*** Frances Gertrude Booth (1854{{en dash}}1856)
*** Helen Gertrude Booth (~1855{{en dash}}1940), m. Andrew Walker Fleck (1848{{en dash}}1924)
*** Lila Booth (1858{{en dash}}1918), m. J. Arthur Seybold (1859{{en dash}}1928)
*** Augusta Adella Booth (1860{{en dash}}1866)
*** Charles Jackson Booth (1863{{en dash}}1947),<ref>{{cite news |title= C.J. Booth Leaves $7,594,000: Son Is Only Heir to Large Estate|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19470731&id=NA8vAAAAIBAJ&pg=1962,6590158|newspaper= [[Ottawa Citizen]]|date= 31 July 1947|access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2014/05/jackson-booths-bigger-building.html|title= Jackson Booth's Bigger Building|last= Smythe|first= Robert|date= May 22, 2014|website= urbsite.blogspot.ca|publisher= Urbsite}}</ref> m. Jessie Louise Gibson (1876{{en dash}}1939)
**** John Frederick Booth (d. in infancy)
**** {{Tree list/final branch}} Charles Rowley Booth (1915{{en dash}}1960),<ref>{{cite book|title = The Ashburian|url = https://archive.org/stream/ashburian196044ashb#page/16/mode/2up|page = 16|year = 1960|volume = XLIV|publisher = [[Ashbury College]]|location = Ottawa}}</ref> m. Marjorie Annette McKinnon(1920{{en dash}}2003)<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.federationgenealogie.qc.ca/avisdeces/avis/pdf?id=212966|title = Marjorie Annette MCKINNON|newspaper = [[Ottawa Citizen]]|date = 30 September 2003|access-date = 19 August 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053730/http://www.federationgenealogie.qc.ca/avisdeces/avis/pdf?id=212966|archive-date = 21 September 2013}}</ref>
***** John Rowley Booth (1944{{en dash}})<ref name="Deachman2016">{{cite news |last= Deachman|first= Bruce|date= February 19, 2016|title= The Booths: A famous name (and nose) mostly a blessing, sometimes a curse|url= https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/the-booths-a-famous-name-and-nose-mostly-a-blessing-sometimes-a-curse|newspaper= [[Ottawa Citizen]]}}</ref>
***** {{Tree list/final branch}} William Jackson Booth (1946{{en dash}})<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date= July 31, 1947|title= C. Jackson Booth Leaves $7,594,000|url= |work= [[Ottawa Journal]]}} </ref>
*** John Frederick Booth ([[Ontario]], 3 June 1865{{en dash}}Ontario, 5 August 1930), m. Frances Alberta Hunsiker ([[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], 1 November 1866{{en dash}}[[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], [[British Columbia]], 12 February 1964, buried in Beechwood Cemetery, [[Ottawa]] Municipality, Ontario),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg3609.htm#86049|title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg3609 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File|website=krogsgaard.name}}</ref> daughter of Jacob E. Hunsicker ([[Waterloo Region, Ontario|Waterloo Township]], Ontario, 17 October 1849 - ?) and wife Catharine Bricker (Waterloo City, Ontario, 29 June 1844 - ?)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg3610.htm#86059|title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg3610 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File|website=krogsgaard.name}}</ref>
**** John Rudolphus Booth (1895{{en dash}}1941),<ref>{{cite news |title= Canada Won't Permit Heir To Wed His Wife Over Again|url= http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/New%20York%20Evening%20Post/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201938%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201938%20Grayscale%20-%200154.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=ffffffffba5ffab7&DocId=5411281&Index=Z%3a%5cIndex%20U%2dF%2dP&HitCount=15&hits=1e5+22d+22e+22f+25b+25c+25d+2ac+2b3+2f3+313+34a+412+413+414+&SearchForm=C%3a%5cinetpub%5cwwwroot%5cFulton%5fNew%5fform%2ehtml&.pdf|newspaper= [[New York Post]]|date= 21 January 1938|access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref> m. (1st) Ida Evelyn Woods (1900{{en dash}}) (2nd) Elizabeth Jane Smith (1909{{en dash}})
***** {{Tree list/final branch}} Pamela Evelyn Booth<ref>{{cite news |title= Miss Pamela Evelyn Booth Becomes Bride of Douglas L. Breithaupt|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19461007&id=7_wuAAAAIBAJ&pg=6475,1292479|newspaper= [[Ottawa Citizen]]|date= 7 October 1946|access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Pamela Evelyn Booth Breithaupt, "Michigan, Detroit Manifests of Arrivals at the Port of Detroit, 1906-1954"|url = https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KZ1J-QG2|publisher = familysearch.org}}</ref> (1923-2015<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= |title=Pamela ANDERSON |url=https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/pamela-anderson-1066051892 |website= |location= |publisher= |access-date=2025-09-08}}</ref>)
**** Frederick Hunsiker Booth (1895{{en dash}}1941),<ref>{{cite news|title = F.H.Booth Dies in California Aged 46 Years|page = 3|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19410813&id=cvYuAAAAIBAJ&pg=3565,2111194|newspaper = [[Ottawa Citizen]]|date = August 13, 1941}}</ref> m. (1st) Louise Taylor (1898{{en dash}})<ref>{{cite web|title = Louise Taylor, 'Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1920'|url = https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N766-WP8|publisher = familysearch.org}}</ref> (2nd) Cornelia Ann Vanderhoef (1911{{en dash}}1995)
***** {{Tree list/final branch}} Elizabeth Ann Booth<ref>{{cite web|title = Elizabeth Ann Booth, "California, Birth Index, 1905-1995"|url = https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VLNJ-SDD|publisher = familysearch.org}}</ref> (1934-)
**** {{Tree list/final branch}} Lois Frances Booth (Ottawa, Ontario, 2 August 1897 – Copenhagen, 26 February 1941).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg706.htm#17771 | title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg706 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File }}</ref> m. (1st) [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], 11 February 1924 [[Count Erik of Rosenborg|Count Erik Frederik Christian Alexander of Rosenborg]] (Copenhagen, 8 November 1890{{en dash}}Copenhagen, 10 September 1950)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://krogsgaard.name/pafg706.htm#13686 | title=Selected Families/Individuals - pafg706 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File }}</ref> (2nd) Gunnar Thorkil Juelsberg (1904{{en dash}}1966)
***** Alexandra Dagmar Frances Marie Margrethe, Countess of Rosenborg (1927{{en dash}}1992)
***** {{Tree list/final branch}} Christian Edward Valdemar Jean Frederik Peter, Count of Rosenborg (1932{{en dash}}1997)
*** Frank Booth (1867{{en dash}}1869)
*** {{Tree list/final branch}} May Belle Booth (1876{{en dash}}1899)
** William Booth (1829{{en dash}}1913)
** Eliza Booth (1831)
** Robert Rowley Booth (1832{{en dash}}1899)
** Louis Elijah Booth (1835{{en dash}}1915)
** Eleanor Booth (1839{{en dash}}1842)
** Charlotte Booth (1841{{en dash}}1912)
** Lucinda Booth (1842{{en dash}}1933)
** Samuel Armstrong Booth (1844{{en dash}}1920)
** Isaiah (Isaac) Booth (1845{{en dash}}1928)
** Edward J. Booth (1846{{en dash}}1849)
** {{Tree list/final branch}} Edward Judson Booth (1852{{en dash}}1943)

{{Tree list/end}}

==See also==
*[[Booth House (Ottawa)|Booth House]]
*[[Fleck/Paterson House]]

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===References===
{{Reflist|3}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web|title = J.R. Booth's Remarkable Career|url = https://archive.org/stream/p1pulppapermagaz20gard#page/474/mode/2up|publisher = Pulp and Paper Magazine of Canada|volume = XX|issue = 23|pages = 475{{en dash}}477|date = 8 June 1922}}
* {{cite book |last1= Barrett|first1= Harry|last2= Coons|first2= Clarence F.|date= 2010|title= Alligators of the North: The Story of the West & Peachey Steam Warping Tugs|chapter= 17: John R. Booth: A Distinguished Ottawa River Client|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ihgGff4aNdgC&pg=PA97|location= Toronto|publisher= Natural Heritage Books|isbn= 978-1-55488-711-8}}
* {{cite book |last= Brown|first= Ron|date= 1994|title= Ghost Railways of Ontario|chapter= The Ottawa Arnprior and Parry Sound: John Booth's Ghost Town Trail|location= Peterborough|publisher= Broadview Press|pages= 191{{en dash}}201|isbn= 1-55111-054-7}}
* {{cite journal |last= Coons|first= C.F.|date= 1978|title= The John R. Booth story|journal= Your Forests|volume= 11|issue= 2|pages= 8–26|publisher= [[Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources]], Forest Management Branch|ol= 18631101M}}
* {{cite book |author = Allan Bell|title= A way to the West|year= 1991|publisher= Privately published|location= Barrie|isbn= 0-9694914-0-9|ref = {{harvid|Bell|1991}}}}
* {{cite book |last= Lee|first= David|date= 2006|title= Lumber Kings and Shantymen: Logging and Lumbering in the Ottawa Valley|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZLSf-I0XgIC&pg=PA1|location= Toronto|publisher= James Lorimer & Co. Ltd.|isbn= 1-55028-922-5}}
* {{cite web|first = Joe|last = Martin|title = The Advent of Nickel: From Discovery to Mid-20th Century|url = http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/-/media/Files/Programs-and-Areas/CanadianBusinessHistory/INCO20BACKGROUND203.pdf|date = 2005|publisher = [[Rotman School of Management]], [[University of Toronto]]}}
* {{cite book |first= H.V.|last=Nelles|title= Politics of Development: Forests, Mines, and Hydro-Electric Power in Ontario, 1849{{en dash}}1941|edition=2nd|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=N9DRjjxZRPQC&pg=PP1|year= 2005|publisher= [[McGill-Queen's University Press]]|isbn= 0-7735-2758-3}}
* {{cite book |author = John Ross Trinnell|title= J. R. Booth, The Life and Times of an Ottawa Lumber King|year= 1998|publisher= TreeHouse Publishing|location= Ottawa|isbn= 0-9683558-1-1}}
* {{cite book |editor1 = J. Andrew Ross|editor2= Andrew D. Smith|author = Jamie Bendickson|chapter = John Rudolphus Booth|title= Canada's Entrepreneurs: From The Fur Trade to the 1929 Stock Market Crash|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=EqpAnILPISoC&pg=PT345|year= 2011|publisher= University of Toronto/Université Laval|location= Toronto|isbn= 978-1-4426-4478-6|pages=328{{en dash}}335}}

==External links==
* {{Cite DCB |last=Benidickson |first=Jamie |title=Booth, John Rudolphus |volume=15 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/booth_john_rudolphus_15E.html |year=2005}}
* {{Cite web|url = https://www.twu.ca/sites/laurentian/heritage/jrbooth.html|title = John Rudolphus Booth, Lumber King and Entrepreneur|publisher = [[Trinity Western University]]|access-date = 2017-09-01|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080309083224/http://www.twu.ca/sites/laurentian/heritage/jrbooth.html|archive-date = 2008-03-09}}
* {{Cite web|url = http://www.railfame.ca/sec_ind/leaders/en_2003_BoothJ.asp|title = John R. Booth|publisher = Canadian Railway Hall of Fame|access-date = 2013-03-14|archive-date = 2012-11-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121112041037/http://www.railfame.ca/sec_ind/leaders/en_2003_BoothJ.asp|url-status = dead}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, John Rudolphus}}
[[Category:1827 births]]
[[Category:1925 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Canadian businesspeople]]
[[Category:People from Estrie]]
[[Category:Province of Canada people]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian businesspeople in the timber industry]]
[[Category:Anglophone Quebec people]]
[[Category:Canadian business executives in rail transport]]
[[Category:People from Saranac Lake, New York]]
[[Category:Booth family (Dunham Massey)|John Rudolphus]]
[[Category:Burials at Beechwood Cemetery (Ottawa)]]