Lewis Wigle (March 10, 1845 – July 30, 1934) 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 Ca ...

farmer, businessman and political figure. He represented

Essex South ''For the defunct provincial electoral district, see Essex South (provincial electoral district).'' Essex South was a federal and provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1875 to 1882 and 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 ...

from 1882 to 1887 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 i ...

member. He was born in Gosfield Township, Essex County,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

in 1845, the son of

Solomon Wigle Solomon Wigle (May 14, 1822 – May 1, 1898) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Essex in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1871 as a Conservative member. He was born in Gosfield Township, Essex ...

. He owned a general store at Leamington and served as reeve of

Mersea Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word ''meresig'', meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is s ...

from 1867 to 1875. Wigle married Rebecca Hairaine in 1868. He was president of the Leamington and St. Clair Railway and a tobacco buyer for the Empire Tobacco Company. After the death of his first wife in 1898, Wigle married Bertha Smith, the widow of a Doctor Wray. After 1887, he ran unsuccessfully four times for the Essex South seat in the House of Commons and in the 1919 provincial election as an independent Conservative. Wigle served as mayor of Leamington from 1902 to 1904. His daughter Edith married Seger McKay, mayor of Kingsville.

External links

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''The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1877''
CH Mackintosh
''A Cyclopæedia of Canadian biography : being chiefly men of the time '' GM Rose (1886)''Commemorative biographical record of the county of Essex, Ontario ...'' (1905)
1845 births 1934 deaths Canadian Methodists Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Mayors of places in Ontario Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario People from Leamington, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs {{Ontario-mayor-stub