Beniah Bowman (March 14, 1886 – April 13, 1941) was an

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

farmer and political figure. He represented

Manitoulin Manitoulin District is a district in Northeastern Ontario within the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1888 from part of the Algoma District. The district seat is in Gore Bay. It comprises Manitoulin Island primarily, as well as a ...

in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from October 24, 1918 to October 18, 1926 and

Algoma East Algoma East was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968. It was created in 1903 from parts of Algoma riding. It initially consisted of the territorial district ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1926 to 1930 as a United Farmers member.

Early life

He was born in Wilmot Township in

Waterloo County, Ontario Waterloo County was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1853 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Situated on a subset of land within the Haldimand Tract, the traditional territory o ...

, and his parents were of

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America du ...

stock. He attended schools in Doon and Hespeler. In 1908, he went to

Owen Sound Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attractio ...

for a year to serve as an assistant to a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

minister, and then went to Hespeler to preach. In 1911, he moved to

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...

and became a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

, while still preaching occasionally at the Mennonite church at Little Current. He was also involved in lumbering and fishing.

Political career

He was elected in a 1918 by-election held after the death of

Robert Roswell Gamey Robert Roswell Gamey (August 29, 1865 – March 19, 1917) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Manitoulin in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1902 to 1917 as a Conservative member. He was born in Maxwell ...

, becoming the first member of his party to sit in the provincial assembly. He was re-elected in the 1919 provincial election in which the UFO staged an upset victory to form a coalition government with Independent Labour MLAs. Bowman was Minister of Lands and Forests in the provincial cabinet from 1920 to 1923. He broke with the majority of UFO MLAs in Ontario following the 1923 provincial election when what had become known as the Progressive Party chose non-farmer William Edgar Raney as its leader. Instead, he and two other UFO MLAs sat as their own rump caucus, apart from the Progressives. Bowman left provincial politics in 1926 to enter federal politics and was elected as a UFO MP for

to the House of Commons of Canada. In the 1930 federal election, he ran unsuccessfully for re-election as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate in 1930.

Later years

Bowman later became president of a lumber company in

Blind River, Ontario Blind River is a town situated on the North Channel of Lake Huron in the Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. The town, named after the nearby Blind River, celebrated its centennial in 2006. History French explorers discovered the North Channe ...

. He died on

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

in 1941, and was buried in Preston.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Beniah 1886 births 1941 deaths United Farmers of Ontario MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario United Farmers of Ontario MPs Candidates in the 1930 Canadian federal election Progressive Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons