Early Life
Arthur Meighen was born on a farm near Anderson, Ontario, to Joseph Meighen and Mary Jane Bell. He was the only farm boy ever to become prime minister (although others made it into the higher circles.) He attended primary school at Blanshard SS# 1 Anderson, where, in addition to being the grandson of the village's first schoolmaster, he was an exemplary student. In 1892, during his final high school year at St. Marys Collegiate Institute, which later became North Ward Public School in St. Marys (now known as Arthur Meighen Public School) Meighen was elected secretary of the Literary Society and was an expert debater in the school Debating Society in an era when debate was in high repute. He received first class honours in Mathematics, English, and Latin.
He then attended University College at the University of Toronto, where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics in 1896, with first-class standing. While there, he met and became a rival of William Lyon Mackenzie King; the two men, both future prime ministers, did not get along especially well from the start. Meighen then graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School.
In 1904 he married Isabel J. Cox, with whom he had two sons and one daughter.
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“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
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