Thomas Marks was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

-born Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 businessman who served as the first mayor of Port Arthur, Ontario

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 :...

 (later part of Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay

-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...

).

He was born in Kilfinane

Kilfinane

Kilfinane is a small market town ) County Limerick, Ireland. The Town's name comes from the Irish words "Cill" and "Fhíonáin" , making its meaning "Church of Saint Finian." Kilfinane is located approximately 40 km southeast of Limerick, and approximately 70 km north-northwest of Cork...

, the son of Samuel Marks, and came with his family to Bytown

Bytown

Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Canada's capital city. It was founded on on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General...

 in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 in the 1840s

1840s

- Wars :*Mexican-American War was fought between Mexico and the United States of America. The latter emerged victorious and gained undisputed control over Texas while annexing portions of Arizona, California and New Mexico....

. In 1857, he opened a general store with his brother George at Bruce Mines

Bruce Mines, Ontario

Bruce Mines is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on the north shore of Lake Huron in the Algoma District along Highway 17. The town of Bruce Mines has a population of 584 residents. The current mayor of Bruce Mines is Gordon Post.- History :...

. In 1868, they opened a branch at the Landing (later Prince Arthur's Landing and then Port Arthur) and, in 1871, at Sault Ste Marie

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...

. Marks became a resident of Prince Arthur's Landing and lobbied for the establishment of a railway station there on the proposed transcontinental railway; however, nearby Fort William

Fort William, Ontario

Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...

 was favoured by the government as the site of the station. He then led the push for the construction of the Prince Arthur's Landing and Kaministiquia Railway which connected to the railway which later became 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...

. He supplied contractors working on the railway and also established warehouses and docks on the waterfront. Marks married Agnes Jane Buchanan in 1875. He was reeve of Shuniah

Shuniah, Ontario

Shuniah is a municipal township bordering the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada on the east. Shuniah was incorporated by an act of the Ontario legislature in 1873, and at that time included much of present-day Thunder Bay and its predecessor and surrounding municipalities...

 from 1875 to 1884 and became mayor of the newly incorporated town of Port Arthur in 1884. He also owned the Northern Hotel Company and the steamship Algonquin and was president of the Thunder Bay Colonization Railway (later the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway

Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway

The Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway is a defunct Canadian railway that operated in Northwestern Ontario.The PADW was built in 1889 by investors interested in extracting the mineral and timber wealth of the Whitefish River Valley, Silver Mountain Range and beyond into the Boundary Waters...

). He died in Toronto of kidney failure at the age of 66.

His nephew George Thomas Marks

George Thomas Marks

George Thomas Marks was a businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada. He was mayor of Port Arthur, Ontario from 1893 to 1899....

also served as mayor of Port Arthur.