He married Mary Smith in 1864,[3] and bought a plot of land near the village of Tyrone from his father.

In 1877, he moved his growing business to Oshawa to take advantage of available labour and railway access in the larger urban centre.

His sons George William and Sam also became involved in the business (George later served as VP of GM Canada), but eldest son John James left to become a chemist, started a soft drink company in Toronto, and invented Canada Dry ginger ale.

After his carriage works was destroyed in a fire in 1899, he relocated to Gananoque but returned to Oshawa the following year, rebuilding the business with a loan from the city.

In 1907, on the advice of his sons Sam and George, he set up the McLaughlin Motor Car Company to manufacture automobiles.