Biography:

Dr. John C. Urquhart was born in Paisley, Ontario in April of 1858.  Dr. Urquhart was the 6th of 7 children born to George C. Urquhart and the former Janet Fraser.  His parents were born and raised and were married in Scotland and their first 2 children Ann Isabella Urquhart and James Urquhart were born in Scotland before the family immigrated to Bruce County in Ontario.  Besides Ann and James his other siblings were; Margret, George, Catherine and Janet.  When Dr. Urquhart’s parents first immigrated to Canada, his father farmed to support the family but according to the 1871 census, Dr. Urquhart’s father was a “druggist” in Paisley.

Dr. Urquhart travelled to Scotland for his formal medical training.  He graduated from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1883.  Dr. Urquhart’s name appears on birth and death records in the Merlin, Ontario area as early as 1881 .  He was known to see patients in the surrounding area’s of Romney and Raleigh Townships as well.  Dr. Urquhart advertised his medical practice in Merlin in the 1885 Ontario Business Directory and Gazetteer.

In the late 1880’s Dr. Urquhart moved to Rochester, New York to practice medicine.

He married Emma Augusta Wynkoop on the 15th of December, 1892 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Mrs. Urquhart was born in Crestline, Ohio on the 29th of January, 1869.  She was the 3rd of 6 children born to Henry William Wynkoop and the former Mary Cincinnata Wilson.  Her father was a telegraph operator and her siblings were; Robert Bennett Wynkoop, Agnes Farrar Wynkoop, Orrin Booth Wynkoop, Percy Gerardus Wynkoop and James Alvin Wynkoop.

According to the 1900 U.S. Census Dr. and Mrs. Urquhart were residing at 56 North Ave., in Rochester, New York and 10 years later they were still in Rochester, but residing at 442 Monroe Avenue.  In the Rochester, New York “Societies and Associations” catalogue (Volume 35), Dr. Urquhart is listed as the physician for the Scottish Society.

In the 1913 Los Angeles, California City Directory, Dr. and Mrs. Urquhart were living at 442 S. Boyle Avenue in Los Angeles.  His medical office was located at 426 West 5th Ave. Rm. 800.  When the 1920 U.S. Census was taken, Dr. and Mrs. Urquhart resided at 709 Twenty Third Street in Los Angeles.

Dr. Urquhart died California on the 4th of July, 1923.

Mrs. Urquhart was a very involved citizen in the City of Los Angeles.  A brief biography of her life appears in the ‘Women of the West’ publication of 1928.  On the 11th of December 1949, an article appeared in the Mansfield News-Journal describing how Mrs. Urquhart donated a grandfather clock to the Crestline Museum.  The clock had been made by her grandfather Gerardus Wynkoop, who was a cabinet maker.  The clock had been passed down through her family and she had possessed it for over 40 years.

Mrs. Urquhart died on the 13th of January 1960.  At the time of her death, she resided at 400 S. Euclid Ave. in Los Angeles.  She was buried at the Hollywood Cemetery.

*Mrs. Urquhart’s brothers James Alvin Wynkoop and Orrin Booth Wynkoop served with the United States Armed Services during WWI.