Herchmer, Lawrence William

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: S. W. Horrall, “HERCHMER, LAWRENCE WILLIAM,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. See full biography at: https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/herchmer_lawrence_william_14E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Farmer, businessman, office holder, and militia officer; b. 25 April 1840 in Shipton-on-Cherwell, England, son of William Macaulay Herchmer and Frances Turner; m. first 8 Nov. 1866 Mary Helen Sherwood (d. 1899) in Kingston, Upper Canada, and they had at least three sons and one daughter; m. secondly 1905 Jane Ashworth, and they had one daughter; d. 17 Feb. 1915 in Vancouver.
    • Although born in England, Lawrence William Herchmer was a descendant of United Empire Loyalists. The Herchmers had been among the Hessian troops who came to the American colonies in the 18th century to assist the British in their military contest with the French. They later settled in New York’s Mohawk valley. Members of the family fought on both sides during the American Revolutionary War, and those who remained loyal to the crown eventually received land grants in Kingston Township, Upper Canada. Through his father’s connections and his own marriage, Herchmer acquired close ties to the Conservative party and the élite of Upper Canadian society, and these were to have a significant influence on his later advancement in life. His father, rector of St George’s Church in Kingston for many years, was a long-time friend of John A. Macdonald, the future prime minister of Canada.
    • On 1 April 1886 Sir John A. Macdonald selected Herchmer to succeed Acheson Gosford Irvine as commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police. The change was greeted with general approval in the west; Herchmer’s experience as a soldier, businessman, and Indian agent was considered highly suitable for the position. Macdonald himself saw Herchmer as a man well qualified to transform the force into a more professional body. At this time, the force had serious internal problems. Not only were the men poorly trained, but there was a lack of discipline and no uniform system of control or organization. 
    • Herchmer was never a popular commissioner of the NWMP. His uneven and uncompromising temperament got him into frequent conflict with individuals, both inside and outside the police. He could at one moment express compassion for the welfare of those under his command and in the next explode into a fit of anger and punish them severely. The public exposure of his emotional outbursts earned him a reputation as a tyrant. This is unfortunate since it has tended to obscure his administrative achievements. Herchmer took over a dispirited and poorly organized police force. He raised the standards for enlistment, promoted better training, restored discipline and esprit de corps, improved the conditions of service, and created an efficient internal organization. He also started its transition from a frontier military force to an urban law-enforcement body. When Herchmer left the NWMP, it had attained a high reputation both at home and abroad and was beginning to be recognized as a symbol of Canada. His lasting legacies in this respect were the adoption of the wide-brimmed felt hat and the introduction of the first musical rides.
  • Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=3780
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26302527/laurence-william-herchmer