Name:
George William Fletcher 
Location served:
Chatham  
Years in Practice:
1902 to 1956
Area of Specialization:
Otolaryngology  

Biography:

Dr. George William Fletcher was born in Fletcher (Chatham-Kent), Ontario on the 24th of December, 1876.  Dr. Fletcher was the youngest of 2 children born to John Fletcher and the former Hannah Harriett Forbes.  His parents were farmers and he had an older sister named Ida May Fletcher who was born on the 26th of July, 1875.  Sadly, his father died on the 31st of October, 1877 when Dr. Fletcher was only 10 months old.  Mr. Fletcher was buried at the Stewart Cemetery, west of Merlin in Chatham-Kent.

After the death of his father, Dr. Fletcher, his mother and his sister moved to Plympton Township in Lambton County to live with his mother’s parents, George and Ann Mary Forbes.  His mother married Archibald Stewart Laird on the 5th of December, 1888.  Mr. Laird was a farmer in Harwich Twp (Chatham-Kent).  Mr. and Mrs. Laird had 5 more children; Archibald Forbes Laird, Jean Elizabeth Laird, Donald “Harry” Laird, Philip Charles Laird (born and died in 1895 at the age of 5 months) and Thomas Stewart Laird.

Dr. Fletcher attended school in the Blenheim area prior to matriculating from Chatham Collegiate Institute.  Dr. Fletcher taught school for a number of years earning enough money to attend university.  He graduated from The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1902 and received the first faculty silver medal.

Dr. Fletcher started practicing medicine in Wilkesport (Lambton County).

Dr. Fletcher married Edith Maud Mullin in Midland, Ontario on the 30th of June, 1903.  Mrs. Fletcher was born on the 10th of January, 1878 in Wellington County.  She was the 2nd of 3 daughters born to John Mullin and the former Margaret Gier.  Her parents were farmers and her siblings were Elsie Jane Mullin and Emmie Ann Mullin.

Dr. and Mrs. Fletcher had a daughter Margaret Hannah Fletcher born to them in Wilkesport on the 31st of August, 1905.

Shortly after his daughter’s birth, Dr. Fletcher moved his medical practice to  Chatham.  An ad appears in the 1908 Vernon’s City of Chatham Business Directory advertising his medical office on Fifth Street.

Dr. Fletcher did post-graduate work in London (England), Vienna, Chicago and New York.  In late 1908 he moved his family to Winnipeg, specializing in eye, ear, nose and throat medicine.  He became a Dean at the University of Manitoba, in the laryngology department.  In 1924, the Fletcher family was living in a large home at 105 Ash Street (Winnipeg).

Dr. and Mrs. Fletcher moved to Victoria, British Columbia in 1942.  It is unclear if he continued to practice medicine or if he retired.

Dr. Fletcher died at his residence, 877 Island Road in Victoria on the 23rd of October, 1956.  His wife and his daughter (Mrs. Margaret Van Vliet) survived him.  Mrs. Fletcher died on the 18th of July, 1968 in Langley, B.C.

*Dr. Fletcher’s brother, Dr. Archibald Forbes Laird graduated M.D. from the University of Western Ontario in 1913.  He served with the R.A.M.C. oversea’s during W.W.I.  Dr. Archibald F. Laird also specialized in eye, ear, nose and throat.

**Dr. Fletcher’s brother’s, Donald “Harry” Laird and Thomas Stewart Laird also served during W.W.I. 

***The village of Fletcher was named after Dr. Fletcher’s grandfather, John Fletcher Sr.  His grandfather donated 17 acres to the Michigan Central Railway so a station could be located in the village.