Rifleman John Andrew Forin, was born in Belleville, Ontario on July 20, 1861, son of Architect John Forin.  He went to high school in Belleville and then attended Albert University and Osgoode Hall.  He was called to the Ontario bar in 1885 and practiced law in Belleville until 1889.  He was a member of the volunteer militia and served with the Queen’s Own Rifles during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.  [See Forin’s 1885 North West Rebellion Diary starting March 26.]

He moved to British Columbia where he was admitted to the bar in 1890.  From 1891 to 1895 he practiced law in New Westminster.  In 1896, he was appointed County Court judge for the Kootenay/West Kootenay District. He served as a judge until 1928 when he retired from the bench.  He then moved to Vancouver where he lived on Granville St.  in a home known as “The Bunkers”.  He died on September 14, 1957.

John Andrew Forin married Mary Dunn in 1896.   Mary Dunn was born in Kincardine, Ontario and lived in Vancouver.   She moved with her husband, first to Rossland, then to Nelson, BC, and finally to Vancouver.   The couple had two sons and three daughters, Isabel, Jean, Mollie, Douglas and Peter. Mary Forin died in 1955.

His brother Peter McLaren Forin also served briefly with the Queen’s Own in the 1880s.