Famous Joseph Fleury Jr. Plows – Part II

Fleury's sons took up their father's work after his death, and the Fleury name was associated with agricultural plows and other implements until the late 1930s. Operating as Fleury Bissell Ltd., the old Aurora Agricultural Works remained open until the end of World War II. Then, operations moved to Elora, Ontario, where they continued until the mid-1980s - 120 years after Joseph Fleury Jr. opened his first blacksmith shop. FC

Bruce Fleury is a fifth-generation descendant of Joseph Fleury Sr., and has been chairman of the Fleury Family Board since its inception 24 years ago. He is a former teacher and the retired commissioner of municipal recreation, parks and culture for the city of Scarborough, Ontario. He and his wife, Patti, now live on their 200-acre farm near Kinmount, Ontario. Documenting the history of the Aurora Agricultural Works and J. Fleury's Sons Limited has been one of Bruce's special interest; he also owns a small collection of Fleury plows and farm implements. He would be pleased to hear from fellow Fleury collectors and other descendants of the original Fleury brothers. Contact him at 2081 Galway Road, Rural Route 1, Kinmount, Ontario, Canada, KOM 2A0; e-mail: brucefleury@ptbo.igs.net.

The third and final installment covers the work of Joseph Fleury Jr.'s sons, Herbert Watson Fleury and William James Fleury, and the Canadian company's global marketing efforts, including at the Paris World's Exposition in 1889, where the company received various awards, medals and diplomas, and at the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, and ties to the John Deere Plow Co. in Canada West.