Biography:

Dr. William Benjamin Duck was born in Morpeth, Ontario on the 4th of September, 1857.  Dr. Duck was the eldest of 5 children born to Isaac Duck and the former Grace Webb.  His parents were both born in Wiltshire, England and his father was a blacksmith.  His siblings were; Elijah Jacob Duck, Grace Hannah Amelia Duck, Albert Herbert Duck (died at the age of 12 days old of convulsions) and Annie Maud Mary Duck.  Dr. Duck was educated at Morpeth Public School, Dundas Collegiate Institute and the Toronto Normal School.

Dr. Duck attended Trinity Medical College and graduated M.B. with honors in 1879 from The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.  Dr. Duck received the highest percentage of marks in his final exams.

Following his graduation, Dr. Duck returned to Morpeth and set up his medical practice.  He advertised in the 1880 Kent County Directory.

In 1886 Dr. Duck travelled to Europe and did post graduate work in Paris, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Lyon and Marseilles.  Upon his return to Canada, Dr. Duck settled in Preston (now known as Cambridge), Ontario.

Dr. Duck was Chairman of the Preston Board of Education and served in that capacity for 2 years.  He was a physician to the A.O.U.W., The Independent Order of Foresters, and The Oddfellows.  He became the Medical Officer of Health for Preston.  Dr. Duck advertised in the 1893 Ontario Gazetteer in Preston.

In 1891 Dr. Duck’s brother Elijah (a druggist) was a lodger at the Roos residence in Preston, Ontario.  Perhaps this is how Dr. Duck met his future wife, Clara Roos.  Dr. Duck married Clara Roos in Preston on the 28th of May, 1894.  Mrs. Duck was born in Preston on the 17th of February, 1864, the 2nd of 4 children born to George M. Roos and the former Rachel Esmond.  Her father held a number of occupations including working in a shoe factory and working as an office manager at a woolen mill.  Her mother died when she was 11 years old. Her siblings were; Angeline Roos, George Arthur Roos and Caroline Roos.  Dr. and Mrs. Duck were married on the 28th of May, 1894, at a private residence in Guelph.  Incidentally, Elijah Duck married Clara Roos’s sister Angeline Roos.

After their marriage, Dr. Duck practiced medicine in Preston.  Mrs. Duck died on the 1st of June 1895, just a year after their marriage. Her cause of death was listed as “continued fever 16 days”.  She was buried at the Preston Cemetery.

Dr. Duck died of pneumonia in Preston on the 20th of January, 1899.  He was buried at the Morpeth Cemetery near his parents.  He was 41 years old.