Thomas Charles Cossitt
The
Cossitt Family Association gives credit to
Thomas Charles Cossitt for helping to found our association as it
exists today.
Thomas C. Cossitt was born in Brockville, Ontario,
Canada on November 15, 1923.
Cousin Thomas was the 6th great grandson of Rene and Ruth
Cossitt.
His Cossitt lineage
comes from François, the second son of Rene and Ruth.
His great great grandfather was Germain Mott Cossitt, a founder
of the Cossitt Bros. Agricultural Implement Factory. Cousin Thomas became a member of the Canadian
Parliament representing Leeds-Greenville in 1972.
He was re-elected in 1974, 1979 and 1980.
He was a man of the people who insisted that they be told the
truth.
He had a healthy
skepticism of the effect power has on individuals and this made it
difficult for him to entirely trust the players and politicians in
government.
He believed in
democracy and the ability of the people to govern themselves wisely if
they were given the chance.
He acquired a reputation for controversy, but that was a consequence of
his actions, not the motive for his actions.
He delighted in being a thorn in the side of Prime Minister
Trudeau. At a reunion for the Cossitt Family Association
held in North Granby, CT in 1977, Cousin Thomas, and his wife Jennifer,
dedicated new grave markers for Rene and Ruth Cossitt as well as for
François, the second son of Rene and Ruth. As part of his official duties, he attended a
riding executive meeting in Brockville, on March 15, 1982 where he
suffered a heart attack and died that night. Many of Tom’s Cossitt materials were donated to the
Brockville Museum and are available for public viewing.
Their website is
www.brockvillemuseum.com
