James Farrand Ruttan was a real estate agent and politician in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. He was mayor of Port Arthur

Port Arthur, Ontario

Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...

 from 1891 to 1892.

He was born in Cobourg

Cobourg, Ontario

Cobourg is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario 95 km east of Toronto. It is the largest town in Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is located along Highway 401 and the former Highway 2...

, the son of Henry Jones Ruttan, who was the son of Henry Ruttan

Henry Ruttan

Henry Ruttan was a businessman, inventor and politician figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Adolphustown in 1792. At the age of 14, he left school to work in a store in Kingston. He served in the militia during the War of 1812. After the war, he remained in the militia and reached the rank of...

, and Margaret Pringle. Ruttan began work with the Post Office in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, later becoming involved in railway construction. In 1882, he opened a real estate office in Port Arthur, settling there the following year. Ruttan became real estate agent for the McVicar family, a large land-holder in the area. This brought him into conflict with the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

, who required land to build a railway station. Rutton served on the town council in 1884, 1888 and 1889. From 1889 to 1903, he was Crown Lands agent for the Thunder Bay District.

Rutton died of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 in Port Arthur at the age of 53. Farrand Street and Ruttan Street in Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario, and the second most populous in Northern Ontario after Greater Sudbury...

 were named in his honour.

His brother Henry Norlande

Henry Norlande Ruttan

Brigadier General Henry Norlande Ruttan was a Canadian engineer and Canadian Army Officer. In 1885, he became the first city engineer of Winnipeg, remaining in office until his retirement in 1914.-Career:...

served as Winnipeg's first city engineer.