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186:, Wood wrote back, "I have laid myself open to ridicule & malevolence, which I know not how to meet; that the thing will be made the subject of mirth and a handle to my enemies for a sneer I have every reason to expect." Wood became the subject of ridicule and was tagged with the nickname "Molly Wood", "Molly" then being a derisive slang expression for a
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On 8 June 2021, the Church-Wellesley
Village BIA called for the removal of the statue because of the involvement of Alexander Wood in the Society for Converting and Civilizing the Indians and Propagating the Gospel Among Destitute Settlers in Upper Canada, which contributed to the organization of the
354:, the prime minister at the time a law was passed where a limited exception was added to the Criminal Code for the offenses of buggery or gross indecency – provided the acts took place in private and those involved were over 21. Homosexual acts remained defined in law as a crime.
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during the assault. In order to identify the assailant, Wood personally inspected the genitals of a number of suspects for injury. There is no evidence on the public record that Wood acted improperly during the investigation, nor indeed of Wood's actual
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Wood had never married — and neither had any of his brothers and sisters, all of whom were themselves already deceased by the time of Wood's death — and he consequently had no legal heirs. Owing to differences between
Scottish and Canadian
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179:; however, contradictory rumours began to emerge about his conduct, including allegations that Miss Bailey never existed at all and that Wood had fabricated the rape charge as an opportunity to fondle and seduce young men.
217:, a longtime friend of Wood's, recommended him for a position on the 1812 War Claims Commission. Judge Powell was the appointing authority and refused Wood on moral grounds due to the 1810 scandal. Wood sued Powell for
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was unveiled on 28 May 2005. The $ 200,000 cost was shared by the business association and the City of
Toronto. The statue incorporated a rose on the lapel of Wood's coat, in a secondary nod to
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case. The victim, referred to as Miss Bailey, came to Wood claiming that she did not know the identity of her attacker, however she had scratched her assailant's
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to decide that his estate would be divided up under
Scottish, rather than Canadian, law. His estate thus passed to a first cousin once removed in 1851.
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Wood remained in York, continuing his service in civic duties for the next seventeen years. In 1827 he purchased 50 acres (0.2 km²) of land at
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and was on the boards of several organizations. His life in York continued without incident until 1823, when Rev.
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in the neighbourhood, honouring him as a forefather of
Toronto's modern gay community. The statue by sculptor
194:, at the time a young law clerk in Powell's office, called Wood the "Inspector General of private Accounts."
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Alexander Wood finally returned to
Scotland in 1842 and he died there two years later at the age of 72 in
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and won, but Powell refused to pay and subsequently published a pamphlet attacking Wood even further.
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system in Canada. The statue was taken down on 4 April 2022 by the business improvement association.
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594:"Church-Wellesley BIA calls for removal of Alexander Wood statue, cites residential schools role"
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Wood returned to York by 1812, resuming his prior appointment as a magistrate. He fought in the
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charges on condition that Wood leave Upper Canada, and Wood left for
Scotland in October 1810.
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611:"Removal of Church Street’s Alexander Wood statue in near secrecy welcome but complicated"
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Statue of
Alexander Wood formerly at the corner of Church and Alexander streets in Toronto
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In 2005, Church
Wellesley Village Business Improvement Association (CWVBIA) launched a
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The
Alexander Wood Letterbooks, which are in the collection of the Baldwin Room at the
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Streets, which was referred to as "Molly Wood's Bush" throughout the 19th century.
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paid tribute to Wood as one of Toronto's most distinguished founding citizens.
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In 1810, Wood found himself at the centre of a scandal when he investigated a
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and was marketed exclusively to bars in the Church and Wellesley area.
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The area once known as Molly Wood's Bush is now part of Toronto's
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94:(January 1772 – 11 September 1844) was a Scottish merchant and
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and York Streets, in the heart of what is now Toronto's
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When confronted with the charges by his friend, Judge
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134:) four years later. His original home was located on
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661:Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
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429:"Introducing a buddy in even badder times".
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450:"Chapter 13A: A Once Great Mercantile Row"
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568:"Queer beers and lesbian lagers"
418:Dictionary of Canadian Biography
318:Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery
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518:"Del Newbigging, 1934–2012"
492:"Del Newbigging, 1934–2012"
146:. Going into business with
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338:Statue of Alexander Wood
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102:who was the centre of a
646:LGBT history in Toronto
573:2 February 2012 at the
671:People from Stonehaven
497:11 August 2012 at the
352:Pierre Elliott Trudeau
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303:Toronto Public Library
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184:William Dummer Powell
110:Early life and career
548:10 July 2014 at the
284:Christopher Richards
274:Church and Wellesley
246:The British Colonist
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666:Canadian merchants
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177:sexual orientation
144:Financial District
114:Wood was born at
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18:Molly Wood (play)
16:(Redirected from
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543:"Walk this way"
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348:Del Newbigging
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336:Main article:
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60:January 1772
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641:1844 deaths
636:1772 births
598:Global News
292:Dora Awards
277:gay village
211:War of 1812
136:King Street
104:sex scandal
630:Categories
288:Molly Wood
254:estate law
219:defamation
188:homosexual
138:, between
120:Stonehaven
116:Fetteresso
96:magistrate
84:, Scotland
64:Fetteresso
528:15 August
106:in 1810.
571:Archived
555:The Grid
546:Archived
495:Archived
124:Scotland
68:Scotland
416:at the
242:Woodcot
230:Carlton
156:Glasgow
132:Toronto
82:Woodcot
464:8 July
324:Statue
268:Legacy
199:sodomy
152:London
580:Xtra!
504:Xtra!
366:Notes
314:Lager
236:Death
226:Yonge
190:man.
172:penis
130:(now
118:near
530:2017
522:Xtra
466:2015
310:beer
294:for
228:and
168:rape
154:and
128:York
75:Died
57:Born
140:Bay
98:in
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474:^
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