William Goodhue Perley (June 4, 1820 – April 1, 1890) was a

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 ...

businessman and member of 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 1887 to 1890. He was born in

Enfield, New Hampshire Enfield is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,465 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Enfield, Enfield Center, Upper Shaker Village, Lower Shaker Village, Lockehaven, and Montcalm. Enf ...

in 1820. His emigrant ancestor was Allan Perley. During the 1840s, he established a lumber business based on timber from northern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. As high quality wood became harder to find, Perley and his partner, Gordon B. Pattee, decided to relocate to 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 ...

and established

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 near

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

supplying wood to the

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. With other timber interests, in 1866, he helped establish the Ottawa City Passenger Railway Company, a system of horse-drawn trams, which provided transportation for people but also moved lumber from the sawmills to ships and trains. Perley, with J.R. Booth and others, helped develop railways in the region, including the

Canada Atlantic Railway The Canada Atlantic Railway (CAR) was a North American railway located in Ontario, southwestern Quebec and northern Vermont. It connected Georgian Bay on Lake Huron with the northern end of Lake Champlain via Ottawa. It was formed in 1897 through ...

and the Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway. He failed in an attempt to become the

Liberal-Conservative Party The Liberal-Conservative Party (french: le Parti libéral-conservateur) was the formal name of the Conservative Party of Canada until 1873, and again from 1922 to 1938, although some Conservative candidates continued to run under the label as la ...

candidate for Ottawa City in 1882, but was later elected 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 ...

in the same riding in 1887. Although his business had originally benefited from reciprocal trade agreements between Canada and the United States, later in life, he supported protective tariffs to help develop the economy of Canada. Perley died in Ottawa in 1890 while still in office.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perley, William Goodhue 1820 births 1890 deaths Canadian Anglicans Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople People from Enfield, New Hampshire American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario