Patrick Hughes (March 26, 1831 – March 24, 1899) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born merchant and political figure 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 represented

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

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 1878 to 1879 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member. He was born in

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, the son of Bernard Hughes and Anne Fegan, and came to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

with his family in 1847. Hughes entered the dry goods business with his brother Bernard under the combined name of Hughes Brothers. He was married twice: to Mary Eliza Donohoe in 1857 and to Margaret Louise Sheridan in 1876. Hughes served as a member of Toronto city council in 1877 and 1878. He was elected to the House of Commons in the 1878 federal election for the riding of Niagara, defeating the incumbent Josiah Burr Plumb; his election was overturned on appeal the following year and he lost the subsequent by-election to Plumb. He was a director of the Imperial Bank in Toronto, the Bristol and West of England Loan and Investment Company and the Toronto Savings Bank.

References

*
''The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1879''
CH Mackintosh 1831 births 1899 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs {{Liberal-Ontario-MP-stub