Joseph was born at Fisher's Mills, near Hespeler, now part of Cambridge, Ontario. He was the son of Octavius Augustus Seagram and Amelia Stiles, who emigrated to Canada from Wiltshire, England in 1837. His parents died when he was eleven leaving him and his brother Edward Frowde to be raised by clergy. For several years, Joseph lived at William Tassie's boarding school in the city ofGalt. He studied for a year at Bryant & Stratton Collegebusiness college in Buffalo, New York.
Career
He returned home where he worked for a time as a bookkeeper at a grist mill. Later, offered the opportunity to manage a flour mill in Waterloo, Ontario, he learned about the distilling process at Waterloo Distillery, a small aside to the George Randall Company's flour business, using extra grain stocks to make alcoholic beverages. In 1869, five years after joining the company, Joseph Seagram bought out one of the firm's three partners to become Seagram and Roos, then in 1883 became the one hundred percent owner（buying out William Hespeler and William Roos）and renamed it Seagram. Making whisky became the most important part of the business and Seagram built it into one of the country's most successful of its kind. His 1907 creation, Seagram's VO whisky, became the largest-selling Canadian whisky in the world. Seagram was the director of the Economical Mutual Insurance Company for several years. He was also known for his philanthropic activities including the donation of 13 acres of land for the construction of the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital, a gift that was dependent on the facility being "open to everyone regardless of race color or creed." in 1957 the Seagram distillery donated $250,000 to construct Seagram Stadium at the University of Waterloo.
Political life
He served as a Waterloo town councilor from 1879 to 1886. In the 1896 Canadian federal election, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Conservative Party member for Waterloo North. In the 1900 election he was acclaimed and was reelected in 1904, serving until September 1908 when he chose not to seek another term. He was a benefactor to the City of Waterloo. Among his donations to the community was a parcel of land occupied today by the Grand River Hospital. His gift specified that the property was to be used solely for hospital services and open to everyone regardless of race, colour or creed.
Thoroughbred racing
Seagram bought his first racehorse at the age of 16 and arranged to have it compete in races in Galt. He founded Seagram Stables in 1888, building its bloodlines by importing mares in foal from English sires. Between 1891 and 1898, his stables won eight consecutive Queen's Plates, Canada's most prestigious horse racing event. In total, during his lifetime Joseph Seagram won the race fifteen times, plus his heirs who took over the stable won it another five times. Joseph Seagram also served as president of the Ontario Jockey Club from 1906 to 1917 and in 1908 helped found the Canadian Racing Association. On its formation in 1976, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inducted Joseph E. Seagram as part of its inaugural class in the builders category.
Personal life
Seagram married Stephanie Urbs, the niece of Jacob Hespeler, and together they had six children: Edward F., Thomas W., Joseph H., Norman, Alice and Marie, who died as an infant.
Death
He died in Waterloo in 1919. His heirs sold the company to Samuel Bronfman in 1928.
