Joseph-Ignace Aumond (March 21, 1810 – November 9, 1879) was a lumber merchant in

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 ...

, Canada. He was considered a prominent

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

timber baron of his time. The son of Ignace Aumon and Euphrosine Robichaud, he was born in

L'Assomption L'Assomption () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption. It is located on the outer fringes of the Montreal urban area. ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

and went to work as a store clerk in Montreal after completing his schooling. He came to

Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a Grou ...

to operate a store for his employer and later opened his own general store there. Around 1830, Aumond began operating in the timber business in the

Ottawa Valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surroundi ...

. He held timber cutting rights along the Madawaska,

Petawawa Petawawa is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. Geography The town lies on the west b ...

and

Gatineau River The Gatineau River (french: Rivière Gatineau, ) is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The river is long and drains ...

s. During the late 1840s, Aumond built one of the largest steam-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s in Canada at the time. He later suffered a major financial setback but continued on in the timber trade at a reduced level. In 1833, Aumond married Jane Gumming. They had eight children. Aumond was president of the Bytown and Montreal Telegraph Company. He helped establish the Bytown and Prescott Railway and served as one of its first directors. He was a partner with John Egan in the operation of two

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s on the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

and also partnered with Egan and

Ruggles Wright Ruggles Wright (1793 – August 18, 1863) was a Canadian lumber merchant, the second youngest son of Philemon Wright. He was born in Woburn, Massachusetts but moved to Canada with his parents while still young. He later joined the family busine ...

in constructing a horse-drawn railway to provide an overland connection around rapids to link the two steamship routes. He was also a director with Robert Conroy and Richard McConnell of the Bytown and Aylmer Union Turnpike Company which completed the road linking Bytown and Aylmer in 1850; Egan was company president. He helped organize the first fire company in Bytown in 1838, also serving on the first school board and on the Board of Health for the town. He was also a prominent member of the Ottawa Association of Lumber Manufacturers. In 1874, he ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative for the Ottawa City seat 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 ...

. Aumond served in the Carleton County militia, reaching the rank of colonel. He died in Ottawa at the age of 69. The township of

Aumond, Quebec Aumond is a township municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality. The township is named after Colonel Joseph-Ignace Aumond (1810–1879), a native of l'Assomption, who wa ...

was named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aumond, Joseph-Ignace 1810 births 1879 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario 19th-century Canadian businesspeople