Amos Wright (November 24, 1809 – March 31, 1886) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
farmer and politician.
Background in Richmond Hill and Markham, Ontario
Born in
Leeds County
Leeds County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county was first surveyed in 1792 as one of the nineteen counties created by Sir John Graves Simcoe in preparation for the United Empire Loyalists to settle here. The coun ...
, he moved with his family to
Richmond Hill, where he seemingly abandoned his education to become a farmer and mill-owner. In 1850 he becomes
reeve of
Markham Township, but lost in 1854.
In 1857, Wright chaired a meeting which pressed for Richmond Hill's incorporation as a village. This goal, though not immediately achieved, was eventually fulfilled in 1873.
Parliamentary career
From 1852 to 1867, Wright represented
East York
East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toron ...
as a Member of the
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, and was noted as an ally of
George Brown George Brown may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter
* George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist
* George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor
* G ...
. Following
Confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
, and after
William Pearce Howland
Sir William Pearce Howland, (29 May 1811 – 1 January 1907) served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, from 1868 to 1873. He was one of the Fathers of Confederation.
Biography
Born in 1811 in Pawling, New York, William Howland wa ...
resigned to become
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...
, Amos Wright gained his seat in the
House of Commons of Canada in a federal by-election on August 14, 1868, and came to represent
York West
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. He retired from politics on July 8, 1872, before the next election.
Later life
In 1875 Wright was appointed Federal
Indian Agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government.
Background
The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...
and Ontario's Crown Agent for the
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...
area; (Wright resided in the then-named
Port Arthur). While his Provincial appointment lasted until 1886, he was involved in a controversy due to an alleged conflict of interest in his Federal capacity of Indian Agent. In this controversy, religious issues are also said to have played a part; in any case, Wright, a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
from an essentially
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
background, was replaced as Federal Indian Agent in 1883.
Amos Wright was active in public life well into his seventies. Known as a well-liked figure with very wide connections, in his political life he was seen as a representative who, particularly in his earlier career, took a nuanced position on some of the key issues of the day: arguably, such a stance at times both smoothed and hindered his political advancement, but his popularity was undoubted. The ''Toronto Daily Patriot and Express'' even stated he was "as bewildered with unexpected honors as an interesting widow giving herself away in matrimony for the fourth time". While undoubtedly unfair, this comment serves to hint at the transition which his life encompassed from his early days in farming and involvement in local parish affairs, to the sometimes tumultuous political events of the Federal Parliament, as the new
Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
expanded westward.
He died at
Port Arthur on March 31, 1886, and was buried in
Richmond Hill.
Richmond Hill Heritage Centre
Amos Wright's house, an 1840s
Regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
-style dwelling in Church Street,
Richmond Hill, Ontario, is designated as
Richmond Hill Heritage Centre, adjoining a park named for Wright.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Amos
1809 births
1886 deaths
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Mayors of Markham, Ontario
Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West