John Andrew Mara (July 21, 1840 – February 11, 1920) was a Canadian merchant, rancher and a politician at both the provincial and federal levels. Mara was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He sat in the provincial legislature as the member from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. He ran for election as well as sat as both Government and Opposition - this was before political parties were allowed in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

. Federally, Mara was 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 i ...

and was twice acclaimed as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the federal riding of

before being defeated by

Hewitt Bostock Hewitt Bostock, (May 31, 1864 – April 28, 1930) was a Canadian publisher, businessman and politician. He was born in Walton Heath, Epsom, England and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge graduating with honours in mathematics. Bostock t ...

in the 1896 election in the new riding of

Yale—Cariboo Yale–Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1917. This riding was created in 1896 by combining the former Yale and Cariboo ridings. A redistrib ...

. Mara's greater claim to fame (or infamy) is the alleged seduction and pregnancy of Annie McLean, the sister of the " Wild McLean Boys". The McLeans were the halfbred children of the former HBC factor at Kamloops, Donald McLean, who had died in the

Chilcotin War The Chilcotin War, the Chilcotin Uprising or the Bute Inlet Massacre was a confrontation in 1864 between members of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people in British Columbia and white road construction workers. Fourteen men employed by Alfred Wadd ...

. Mara's alleged outrage of their sister led to the McLean brothers' bloody rampage across the Nicola Country and the death of provincial magistrate and gold commissioner

Johnny Ussher John Tannatt Ussher, usually known as Johnny Ussher, was a settler, provincial magistrate and Gold Commissioner in the Thompson Country of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada in the 1870s. John Tannatt Ussher was the son of Samuel ...

. Mara owned the large ranchlands between Enderby and Sicamous where the Okanagan and Shuswap countries meet. Mara Mountain east of the original ranch, and Mara Lake south of Sicamous, bear his name. Today Mara Lake Provincial Park on

Mara Lake Mara Lake is a lake in the Shuswap Country of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located immediately south of the community of Sicamous and to the north of the community of Enderby. It is the outlet of the Shuswap River, which beg ...

is now a popular tourist destination during the summer months. The village of Mara still exists south of

along the

Shuswap River The basin of the Shuswap River (pronounced /ˈʃuːʃwɑːp/) lies northeast of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, originating in the central Monashee Mountains. It is the upper part of the drainage better known to British Columbians as belo ...

. Mara's wife Alice was the daughter of Frank Barnard, founder of the Barnard's Express Co. or "B.X.". Her brother, and therefore Mara's brother-in-law, was Sir Francis Stillman Barnard, 10th

Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

(1914–1919).

References

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External links

* 1840 births 1920 deaths Politicians from Toronto Canadian civil servants Gold commissioners in British Columbia Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Canadian ranchers {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub