The position of wealth and privilege accompanying land-ownership in Victorian Toronto afforded George Taylor Denison the opportunities that made these accomplishments possible.
[3] As Norman Knowles states in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Denison’s “identification with the South came naturally: it represented an idyllic society that embodied the social order, conservative values, and chivalric traditions he wished to see maintained in British North America.
He drew parallels between his loyalist ancestors, who had fought to uphold their principles against the demagoguery of American patriots, and the southerners, who were struggling to preserve their identity and way of life.
Fearing the consequences of a northern victory for the future of British North America, Denison actively backed the Confederate cause despite Britain’s official neutrality.
Denison’s farm home, Heydon Villa, on his father’s estate in west Toronto, became a haven for Confederate agents, exiles, and sympathizers and a clearing house for smuggled documents.
The diplomatic crisis and lawsuits that followed the discovery of this plan effectively ended his prospects for a full-time military career, a disappointment that repeated promises from politicians and his own tireless efforts could not reverse.”[4] The Denisons played a consistent role in public life, involving themselves in issues affecting the growth and direction of Canadian nationhood.