Alonzo Wright (April 28, 1821 – January 7, 1894) was a Canadian member of Parliament and businessman commonly known as "King of the Gatineau".
He was born in
Hull, Quebec in 1821. He was a grandson of
Philemon Wright, and son of Tiberius Wright. He earned his fortune in the family's lumber business.
In 1848, he married Mary Sparks, who was the daughter of
Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and philanthropist. He has published twenty-three novels and two non-fiction books, some of which have been ''New York Times'' bestsellers, with over 115 m ...
and Sarah Olmstead Wright, the widow of his uncle.
In 1863, he was elected in the
County of Ottawa riding of
Canada East to the
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. He continued to represent this district until 1891, after 1867 as a member of the
House of Commons of Canada.
He died in 1894 at
Ironside, Quebec, now part of the city of
Gatineau.
The
Alonzo-Wright Bridge over the
Gatineau River
The Gatineau River (french: Rivière Gatineau, ) is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The river is long and drain ...
was named after him. Although Wright wasn't involved in the construction of this bridge, he did have a role in petitioning for the replacement of the ferry service at this location by a bridge. His original homestead became the
Collège Saint-Alexandre
Collège Saint-Alexandre is a private secondary school (high school) located in Gatineau, in the Outaouais region, in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on Rue Saint-Louis in the Gatineau sector in the Limbour neighbourhood.
Once exc ...
. According to the current owners, the log cabin now located at 893 av. Gatineau, known locally as the "Little Red House" built by Alonzo's father, Tiberius, served as the family residence in the 1830s. It dates from as early as 1824, possibly making it the oldest building in the
Outaouais
Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottaw ...
region in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
Electoral record
External links
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1821 births
1894 deaths
Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople
Pre-Confederation Quebec people
Businesspeople from Quebec
Canadian people of English descent
History of Gatineau
Politicians from Gatineau
Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec
Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East
Anglophone Quebec people
Canadian people of American descent
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