William Brennan

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Address:
  316 Bruyère Street

Notes:

The “Brennan” House (316 Bruyère Street)

The smallest and most modest of the four heritage buildings is likely the most valuable one as well. The small house at 316 Bruyère is quite possibly the oldest building left in Lowertown East, having been built approximately 140 years ago. The property was sold by Ottawa’s first Catholic bishop, Guigues, to William Brennan, an Irish immigrant and labourer, in 1866, and remained in the Brennan family until 1955. The Brennan house is representative of the many “cottage” like “workman’s” houses that would have existed in this section of Lowertown East over the years. According to the old fire insurance plans, 316 Bruyère was a one and a half-storey house for much of its lifetime. This means that it would have had a wood shingled roof likely with dormer windows. The following two photographs depi
ct what 316 Bruyère would have looked like (approximately) before being altered in later years and a photograph of 316 Bruyère as it appears today. The doors and windows were likely in the same location as they are today, and would have represented a variation of the house depicted in the
St. Patrick Street photo. It is one of only 5 buildings left in Lowertown East that would have had side gabled roofs. Oddly, despite the rarity of this building, it does not appear on the City of Ottawa’s Heritage Reference List.
With proper care, 316 Bruyère could be rehabilitated to its former self.

Not long after buying the property, William Brennan built a house at 316 Bruyère Street. At the time, the street was actually called "Water" Street, because it ran along the Rideau River. The house was on one side of Water
Street and the river was on the other side. Over the years, the city filled in a portion of the river and eventually created a park, which is known today as Bordeleau Park.

According to the 1881 Census, William (65 years old) was living with his wife Anilaina (56), and two sons, Alfred James (23), and William (19). It's not clear whether or not William and Anilaina had other children, but give n their age in 1881, it is likely that they might have had others. William senior was listed as a labourer, Alfred James was a plumber and William junior was a printer. According to the 1891 Census, Anilaina had passed away and William was then living with his son Alfred James and daughter-in-law, Mary Jane. Mary Pinard (nee: Burgess), Mary Jane's widowed mother, was also living with them.

Residence:
Photo - The “Brennan” House, 316 Bruyère Street (after alterations)

Family/Spouse: Anastasia Pendergast. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Address:
  316 Bruyère Street

Notes:

Alfred James, who went by the name "James," was married to Mary Jane Pinard, who appears to have been a near-by neighbour. He passed away in 1917 at age 53, and Mary Jane Brennan inherited the house. Mary Jane
remarried to James Losty and moved to 140 Cobourg Street, which was a few blocks away in Lowertown. Mary Jane continued to rent the house at 316 Bruyè re and also did considerable benevolent work in Ottawa acting as the president of the women`s auxiliaries at Immaculata High School and the Ottawa General Hospital. She was noted in the newspaper as volunteering
as late as 1949. She would have been about 80 years old by that time.
In October of 1955, Mary Jane Losty (first marriage: Brennan, nee: Pinard) passed away at around the age of 87. James Losty (1867-1955) had already departed the world only a few months before in May. It appears that Mary Jane had no children with either husband as there is no mention of them in her final will. She did, however, leave money to distant relatives and her 316 Bruyè re property to a close friend, Lea Carriere. Lea sold the house in 1958 and lived until 1999 in Vanier. Following the departure of the Brennan’s, the
house at 316 Bruyè re was inhabited by a number of different French-Canadian families throughout the 20th century.

Source:
The Lowertown Community Association, and Bruyè re Street Task Force
By long-time and proud residents of Lowertown, Ottawa:
Marc Aubin, 205-100 Boteler Street, Author and Researcher, and
Nancy Chenier, 332 Cathcart Street, Assistant Researcher

Residence:
The Lowertown Community Association, and Bruyère Street Task Force By long-time and proud residents of Lowertown, Ottawa: Marc Aubin, 205-100 Boteler Street, Author and Researcher, and Nancy Chenier, 332 Cathcart Street, Assistant Researcher

Alfred married Mary Jane Pinard on 11 Nov 1890 in Sainte-Brigide, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Mary (daughter of Mary Burgess) was born about 1869 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; died on 24 Oct 1955. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]