The Grange was built by D’Arcy Boulton, Jr. (1785–1846) and his wife, Sarah Anne, (1789–1863) for their family of eight children. D’Arcy trained as a lawyer but worked as a merchant with his brother-in-law, Peter Robinson. Once settled in The Grange he retired and became a land owner. He also had minor government positions.
Their eldest surviving son, William (1812–1874), continued to live in the house. He also trained and practised as a lawyer. William was also an alderman, was appointed mayor of Toronto four times and was a member of parliament. In 1846, he married Harriet Dixon (1825–1909), a Bostonian from a wealthy family. They had no children. After William’s death, Harriet married scholar and political writer Goldwin Smith (1823–1910).
The Grange was also home to a number of servants. While we don’t know much about most of the servants, we do know about William Chin, who was on staff for over fifty years and eventually served as the butler. Because of his long connection with the house and with the family, Chin was interviewed on several occasions by newspapers of the day.
