Sous-fonds SFB - Charles O. Ermatinger

Charles Oakes Ermatinger (variously written Charles O.Z. Ermatinger and Charles Oaks Ermatinger) was born on February 5, 1851 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The youngest child of Edward and Achsah (née Burnham) Ermatinger, Charles was educated in St. Thomas and at Galt Grammar School. After articling with H.F. Ellis and D.B. Read, Charles Ermatinger was called to the bar in 1873. He practiced law in St. Thomas, and from 1883 to 1886 represented East Elgin as a Member of Provincial Parliament. A member of the Conservative Party, Ermatinger ran unsuccessfully in the riding of East Elgin during the 1887 federal election.

Charles Ermatinger was named Queen's Counsel in 1885, and appointed Junior Judge for Elgin County in January, 1890. Borrowing from his father's earlier history of the Talbot Settlement, Charles wrote The Talbot regime: or, the first half-century of the Talbot Settlement, published in 1904. He also served as Elgin County Historical Society president and wrote many short articles on Canadian history.

In 1873, Charles Oakes Ermatinger married Charlotte (née Richardson) Dickson, daughter of Judge Hugh Richardson, justice of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. Charles and Charlotte had two children:
Blanche Muriel Ermatinger (b. 1875)
Charles Percy Ermatinger (b. 1879)

Charles Oakes Ermatinger died on December 16, 1921; his wife Charlotte died in January, 1916. Charles and Charlotte Ermatinger are buried at the Old St. Thomas Church (Anglican) in St. Thomas, Ontario.