Chapter 6 - William Alexander Burr and Alice Maude Binkley

William Alexander Burr was born on May 19, 1879, to George Burr and Jennie Black. His mother died when he was four years old. William was influenced by the renowned local doctor, Dr. Alexander Groves. He attended the University of Toronto, graduating in 1904, and completed postgraduate medical studies in Great Britain to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1908.

William established a medical practice in Toronto, using his home on Roncesvalles Avenue as his office. In 1913, he married Alice Maude Binkley, a widow from a family of German origin that had settled in Canada in 1800. They had three children: Joan Arnot, William Ross (who died in infancy), and Elizabeth Archer. The death of their son Ross caused a permanent rift between William and Alice. William practiced medicine for over 40 years and served as a city coroner and President of the Academy of Medicine before his death in 1957.