Henry Corby (1806 – 25 October 1881) 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 C ...

baker, businessman, and politician. Born and raised in England, Corby immigrated to

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

in 1832. After building businesses in

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its populat ...

, he served as the 9th mayor of Belleville from 1867 to 1868 and represented Hastings East in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

from 1867 to 1874.

Life and career

Corby was born in

Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...

, England, in 1806. He was apprenticed to a baker in London. In 1832, Corby married Alma Williams and moved to Belleville, then in

, where he opened a general store and bakery, and secured a contract to supply the local militia. On 24 December 1835, Alma and their three children drowned in the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

after the ice broke while the family were riding a sleigh. In 1838, Corby became involved in shipping goods between Belleville and Kingston, and selling grain. Corby served for a number of years on the Belleville village council and continued to be politically active as a

. In 1855, he purchased a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

and foundeded his distillery in 1859. In 1867, Corby was elected as the mayor of Belleville and an Ontario MPP representing Hastings East. He helped promote the development of railways in the area, which were a catalyst to increasing trade and residents. He left the office of mayor in 1868. Corby retired from politics in 1875 due to declining health. He died on 25 October 1881. He was survived by his son, Henry Jr. (1851–1917).

Legacy

The town where Corby's distillery was located was renamed as Corbyville in 1882, in his honour.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
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Legislative Assembly of Ontario
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corby, Henry 1806 births 1881 deaths 19th-century Canadian businesspeople 19th-century Canadian merchants 19th-century Canadian politicians Businesspeople from Belleville, Ontario Businesspeople from London Canadian bakers Canadian drink distillers English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada Mayors of Belleville, Ontario People from Hanwell Politicians from Belleville, Ontario Politicians from London Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs