(died 23 Oct. 1935, aged 76), cheesemaker. (J. Brighton May, John B. May, John May) Born at Drayton, Wellington County, Ont. Parents: Mr and Mrs George May. He “came to this locality 55 years ago,” aged 21. (obituary, Standard Freeholder) Employed for a time by D.M. Macpherson, he then bought his own factory, May’s Fancy Factory, east of Eamers Corners (Eamers Corners was between St. Andrew’s and Cornwall). He sold the factory about 23 years before his death, therefore about 1912, but when May died the factory was still manufacturing May’s Fancy cheese.The 1920 cheese board history, which gives the names of several farmers who were currently sending milk to “Mays Fancy Cheese Factory,” notices also that M. E. Kyer, “a cheesemaker by trade… has operated the Mays Fancy Cheese Factory for two years.” May was said in his obituary to have been “a cheesemaker whose product over almost half a century earned for him the reputation of being one of the outstanding makers in Ontario.” He died in Cornwall General Hospital. His place of residence at the time of his death is described as the South Branch. He was married (1) to Annie McKay, and (2) to Lily Bush, with children by both marriages. (seven children, five surviving him) He was the brother of James R. May

Standard Freeholder 25 Oct. 1935 * Stiles 181, 267 (two refs.), 280 * HHCT 152-153: article on Eamer’s Corners with group photo of John May and others at May’s Fancy Cheese Factory