Biography:

Dr. Charles Herbert Carruthers was born in Point Edward (Lambton County), Ontario on the 8th of January, 1895.  Dr. Carruthers was the eldest of 5 children born to Herbert James Carruthers and the former Lydia Marion O’Neil.  Mr. Carruthers was an engineer with the Canadian Nation Railway for 53 years.   Dr. Carruthers’ siblings were; Walter Bethune Carruthers, Calvert Mitchell Carruthers, Bruce Lyman Carruthers and a sister named Helen Grace Carruthers.  Sadly Helen Grace Carruthers died of peritonitis on the 14th of September, 1909 at the age of 7.  The Carruthers family resided at 237 Wellington Street in Sarnia.

In 1919 Dr. Charles H. Carruthers graduated M.D. from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Dr. Carruthers married Eileen Belton on the 11th of June, 1919 in The Pas, Manitoba.  Mrs. Carruthers was born in England in 1901 the 2nd of 4 daughters born to Joseph Benjamin Belton and the former Kate Ellen Dunmore.  The Belton family immigrated to Canada aboard the Empress of Ireland, landing in Quebec on the 20th of July 1911.  Her father worked as a caretaker in The Pas and her sisters were Doris Matilda Belton, Kathleen Louise Belton and Hilda Elizabeth Belton.  After their marriage, Dr. and Mrs. Carruthers settled in Star City, Saskatchewan.  Star City is a small town located in Central Saskatchewan.

In 1927 Dr. Carruthers took postgraduate studies in Ireland and he was granted the degree’s of M.R.C.P.I. & L.M. from the Royal College of Physicians.

Dr. and Mrs. Carruthers had 3 sons; Charles Bruce Carruthers, Wallace Belton Carruthers and Neil Calvert Carruthers.

In 1931, Dr. and Mrs. Carruthers moved to Florence where he continued to practice medicine.  Florence is located in Lambton County on the border of Chatham-Kent.  There are numerous birth and death records for Thamesville and Camden Township (Chatham-Kent), bearing Dr. Carruthers signature.

Dr. Carruthers belonged to the Florence Masonic Lodge.  Mrs. Carruthers involved herself with the Red Cross Society and the Florence Women’s Institute.

On the 30th of June, 1939, Dr. Carruthers was working in his garden when he began to feel ill.  He called his friend, Dr. Ralph H. Walker of Thamesville.  Dr. Walker went over immediately to Dr. Carruthers home in Florence and while he was speaking to him, Dr. Carruthers’ collapsed and died.  Mrs. Carruthers died on the 25th of May, 1991.  Dr. and Mrs. Carruthers were buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia.

*All 3 of Dr. Carruthers brothers became physicians. Dr. Walter Carruthers and Dr. Calvert Carruthers opened the Carruthers Medical Clinic in Sarnia.  Dr. Bruce Carruthers became a medical missionary in India.

**Dr. Carruthers’ son Bruce Carruthers became a pharmacist and Dr. Carruthers’ sons Wallace and Neil Carruthers both became physicians, but neither of them practiced medicine in Chatham-Kent. 

***Dr. Carruthers’ brother, Dr. Walter Bethune Carruthers served with the Canadian Military during WWI.

****Dr. Ralph Hiram Walker also appears on the Chatham-Kent Physician Tribute website.