John Stevenson (August 12, 1812 – April 1, 1884) was the first

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the Legislative Assembly of

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 ...

from 1867 to 1871 and served as

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 ...

MPP for Lennox from 1867 to 1871. Born in

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

(likely to the

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

area and finally 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 the ...

. He was educated in

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...

and taught school briefly. Stevenson worked in various trades before entering politics: * flour mill operator * foundry owner * axe shopkeeper * brush factory owner * lumberman * shipping company owner In 1842, he married Phoebe Eliza Hall. Stevenson also served as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and as reeve for Napanee. From 1863 to 1865, he was warden for

Lennox and Addington County Lennox and Addington County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Greater Napanee. It is located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario. Around the middle of the 19th century, ...

. After his defeat in 1871 by

John Thomas Grange John Thomas Grange (January 30, 1837 – April 20, 1924) was an Ontario merchant and political figure. He represented Lennox (provincial electoral district), Lennox in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Ontario Progressive Conservative ...

, he ran for the Lennox seat in the Canadian House of Commons in 1872 as an independent, losing to

Richard John Cartwright Sir Richard John Cartwright (December 4, 1835 – September 24, 1912) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Cartwright was one of Canada's most distinguished federal politicians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a ...

, formerly a Conservative, now a Liberal. In 1878, he campaigned on behalf of Cartwright. Stevenson died in Napanee, Ontario in 1884.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, John 1812 births 1884 deaths American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Canadian people of English descent Immigrants to Upper Canada People from Brockville Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Canadian justices of the peace