William Alfred Preston (July 26, 1848 – August 22, 1944) was a Canadian politician, who served as a Member of Provincial Parliament 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 ...

from 1907 to 1911.

Biography

William Preston was born July 26, 1848, in

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...

, Manvers Township,

Durham County, Ontario Durham County (area ) is a historic county in Ontario, Canada. It was named for the English County Durham and city of Durham. It was created in 1792 but was later merged Northumberland County to form the United Counties of Northumberland and ...

. He was the son of Major Isaac Preston Jr. (New Amsterdam, New York; Amherst Island, ON, Manvers Township, ON, and Vancouver, BC) and Mary Anne Woodside (Bellin,

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and Amherst Island, ON.) Preston was a merchant at Prince Arthur's Landing from 1875 to 1879 where some of his Woodside kin resided. He was acclaimed a councillor for the South Ward of Prince Arthur's Landing in the Municipality of Shuniah 1876/77-1877/78, then was elected at a by-election 10 June 1879 for Crooks Ward. He then became a railway contractor, and in later years was heavily involved in gold mining. He was elected to the

Ontario Legislature 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 ...

in 1905 as the (Conservative) member for the riding of

Port Arthur and Rainy River A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

and then re-elected in 1908 as the member for Rainy River. After James Arthur Mathieu won the Conservative nomination in 1911, Preston chose to run as a Liberal and was defeated. He, along with others, had applied for a charter to form the Rainy Lake Pulp and Paper Company in

Fort Frances Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2016 census was 7,739. Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Cham ...

. After living in California for a number of years, he returned to Winnipeg to live with his daughter Olive Elliott. He died in 1944 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

References

* F. Brent Scollie, ''Thunder Bay Mayors & Councillors 1873-1945'' (Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 2000), 125.

External links

* 1848 births 1944 deaths People from Kawartha Lakes Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs {{ProgressiveConservative-Ontario-MPP-stub