first acquired the condition in 1819 during a visit to the island of Anticosti after which he had his first attack. After that he was often ill – "...it was long a matter of wonder how he bore up so well under his affliction." He continued to write for the newspaper until just 3 weeks before his death. His correspondence was as frequent and as clear as ever and he was busily conducting his business affairs up to his last days through numerous letters to his son in Dundas, Ontario. His funeral was described as "...one of the most mournful sights ever seen in Guelph, nearly all the inhabitants wearing crape..." His obituary in the Guelph Herald included the following statement about Mr. Pirie's character: "Although ever ready to assist the poor emigrant or wayfarer, no matter what his nationality might be, he loved his native land and his "brither Scots" with a love which was unquenchable. We have often, when speaking of his native land and its dearly cherished associations, seen his lips quiver, and the tear start in his eye, as with faltering accents he recounted its history, dwelt lovingly on its scenery, or recalled his youthful days spent there, with all their fondly remembered reminiscences." Mr. Pirie has numerous descendants across Canada, the United States, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Costa Rica. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery (formerly Union Cemetery) in Guelph, Ontario, and his grave is one of the earlier burials. Footnotes References Websites George Pirie: Find-a-Grave entry. George Pirie: Poetry George Pirie: Prominent People & Families of Ontario Electric Scotland: Guelph Book Shetland Island Genealogical Database (T. Gott): George Pirie Wellington County Museum & Archives Photos of 50 Castle Street, Aberdeen Scotland / Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland Books Guelph Herald. Lyrics of the Late George Pirie, Esq. Guelph: 1870. Burrow, Charles Acton. The annals of the town of Guelph, 1827–1877. Guelph : Herald steam printing house, 1877, pp. 146–148 (G. Pirie's biography). Online edition Caledonian Society of Toronto. Selections from Scottish Canadian poets: being a collection of the best poetry written by Scotsmen and their descendants in the Dominion of Canada Toronto: Caledonian Society of Toronto, 1900, pp. 129–132. George Pirie's poems are included: "The Murder of Thomas Scott", The Temperance Cause", and "The Forget-me-Not". Connon, John R. Elora / The Early History of Elora and Vicinity. 1930.