James Worts

James Worts (ca.1792 – 1834) was one of the co-founders of the Gooderham and Worts partnership which, after his death, evolved from a simple mill into a prosperous distilling company, one which would eventually become the largest in the world.

Having first constructed a flour mill in his hometown of Suffolk, England, he eventually moved to York, Upper Canada with his eldest son, James Gooderham Worts in 1831. Once there, he set up another windmill which was completed in 1832.

In 1834, several weeks after his wife died during childbirth, James Worts committed suicide by drowning himself in a well on his own company's property.