E W ThomsonEdward William Thomson was born on February 12, 1849, in Peel County, Canada West, to a family with a history of public service, being the grandson of Edward William Thomson, who served in the York militia and held office in the Legislative Assembly f Upper Canada. At the age of fourteen, he moved to Philadelphia to work in a mercantile office but soon enlisted in the Union Army at fifteen, serving as a trooper in the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry during the American Civil War. After his discharge in 1865, he returned to Canada and fought again in 1866 at the Battle of Ridgeway during the Fenian Raids. His career turned toward journalism when he joined The Toronto Globe in 1878 as an editorial writer, a position offered to him by George Brown. Later, in 1891, he joined The Youth s Companion, where he spent eleven years. He authored a collection of short stories titled Old Man Savarin and Other Stories in 1895, and later a book of poetry, The Many-Mansioned House and Other Poems, in 1909. He died on March 5, 1924. Read More Read Less