Elijah Leonard (September 10, 1814 – May 14, 1891) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He was a Liberal member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the ...

from 1867 to 1891. He was born on a farm near

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

in 1814, the son of Elijah Leonard. In 1830, he moved with his family to

Normandale Normandale is a semi-rural suburb of Lower Hutt City, New Zealand, on the western hills of the Hutt Valley. It consists of two main roads – Normandale Road and Miromiro Road – and the hills between, and is a five minute drive from the Lower ...

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North Americ ...

, where his father was working at a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

owned by Joseph Van Norman. In 1834, with his father and a partner, he established a foundry at St. Thomas. The partner was bought out and his father retired, leaving him in charge of the business. In 1840, Leonard set up a machine shop and foundry at

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximat ...

, on York street where he began to manufacture agricultural equipment and then cars, tracks and other equipment for railways. The company now known as E. Leonard and Sons, went on to manufacture steam boilers and steam-powered equipment. In 1847, he married Emeline, the daughter of Elijah Cocker Woodman. He was elected to the London municipal council in 1854 and became

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in 1857. In 1862, he was elected to the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as ...

for Malahide division; Leonard was named to the Senate after

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 iss ...

. Besides his manufacturing interests, he also helped found the London and Lake Huron Railway, the London Savings Bank and the Huron and Erie Savings and Loan Society. Leonard died in London, Ontario in 1891. After his death, his two sons continued to operate the company, which remained family-run until 1945.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Elijah 1814 births 1891 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Canadian senators from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada senators Mayors of London, Ontario