My Family Tree

John Albert Brace was born on December 28 1855 in Charlottetown, the son of George Brace and Hannah Mann. He died in Summerside at the age of 82 years in 1938.

He came to Summerside at the age of 18 years, where he worked for the Island department store, R. T. Holman, in hardware. According to the Summerside papers, he left Holmans to form his own company, and in 1889 he established Brace, McKay & Company. He was President of the company until his retirement in 1914. As a well-known and respected merchant, he served on the Summerside Town Council, was a member of the Board of Trade, and served on the board of the Prince County Hospital.

He and Margaret Eva Howatt (or Eva Laird) of Tryon were married on June 29 1880 at the home of her grandfather by a minister of the Methodist Church, and in the 1881 census they were living with her grandparents in Summerside. They had two daughters and one son: Winnifred M. L. (Mrs. Lucas R. Allen) Summerside; George, a merchant and council-member in Tofield, Alberta; and Mary Irene, a teacher who died after a thyroid operation. John Albert's former home, at 159 Spring Street in Summerside, is a PEI Historic Property. At the time of his death, only his youngest brother, Walter, was named in his obituary as a surviving brother.

His widow Eva died in 1948, at age of 93 years. "Mrs. Brace was born in Tryon on October 12, 1855, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Howatt. After the death of her mother she lived with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. James B. Leard. She left six grandchildren: George's son James S. Brace, of Edmonton, Alberta; and Winnifred's daughters - Irene (Mrs. Lachlan Macpherson) of St. John, N.B.; Florence (Mrs. Fraser Ross) Halifax, N.S.; Edith (Mrs. Manning Archibald) of Mount Royal, Quebec; Mildred (Mrs. D. F. Archibald) Halifax, N.S.; and Margaret (Mrs. Allan McColl) Montreal, Quebec; and nine great-grandchildren."

Summerside Journal, 1922 Reminiscences of Watson F. Clark (Oakland Maple Leaf):
"There is one other who I think is one of the old time bunch. If not, he is a close second. It is our old friend John A. Brace, one of the founders of the firm Brace, McKay & Co...Albert is, I think, the only one whats left of the original firm bearing his name. But he never found time to retire that I have heard of yet. He aint that kind uv a feller, no sir! as Hiram Hornbeam said. He has always been a hustler, made a financial success in life and has not been the sole beneficiary either. Many have tasted the fruits of his labor. He has always been foremost in every movement tending to the good of his fellow man and improvement of his home town, Summerside. Long life to him." (from PEI Ancestry)

The Westminster Chimes in Trinity United Church, Summerside were a gift to the church from George Brace and Winnifred Brace Allen in memory of their parents.