William Barber (March 1808 – August 25, 1887) was a Canadian businessman and politician.

Early life

His family came to Canada from County Antrim in Ulster, Ireland in 1822. The four Barber brothers built a woollen mill, foundry and sawmill in

Georgetown, Ontario Georgetown is a large unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Halton. The town includes several small villages or settlements such as Norval, Limehouse, Stewarttown and Glen William ...

. In 1854, they built a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...

on the Credit River near Streetsville, Ontario. In 1888, his nephew,

John Roaf Barber John Roaf Barber (July 5, 1841 – March 3, 1917) was a Canadians, Canadian businessman and politician, who represented Halton (provincial electoral district), Halton in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1898 to 1904. Early life and ...

, upgraded the mill to use hydroelectricity power, one of the early industrial applications of electricity in Canada. In 1862, Barber built a brick home near Streetsville, Ontario now known as The Old Barber House.

Political career

He was a member of 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 ...

for Halton from 1867 to 1875. In 1871 the Liberal Party dropped Barber as their candidate in the upcoming election, due to his support for

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

J. Sandfield Macdonald's self-described "Patent Combination" government. In his stead, the party selected

William Durie Lyon William Durie Lyon (; June 5, 1825 – October 18, 1893) was a merchant and political figure in Ontario, Canada. Lyon was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in 1875 to represent the riding of Halton. In 1879 ...

and the radical ' Clear Grits' platform he championed. Despite the withdrawal of Liberal support, Barber ran as an independent and successfully fended off Lyon's challenge, largely thanks to the significant Conservative support he had acquired. Four years after initially deselecting Barber, the Liberal Party readopted him at the 1875 election, thus preventing Lyon from contesting the riding of Halton on behalf of the party. Following the 1875 election, he was disqualified for having induced a voter to stay home, and a byelection was held on November 15, 1875 which was won by

Electoral record

References

External links

The Barber Mills, Barberton and the Barber Brothers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, William 1808 births 1887 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from County Antrim People from the Regional Municipality of Halton Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Pre-Confederation Ontario people Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada

Early life

Political career

Electoral record

Further reading

References

External links