William James Armstrong (October 31, 1826 – December 8, 1915 ) was a merchant, miller and politician in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented

New Westminster District New Westminster District was a Canadian federal electoral district created when the province of British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871. Like other ridings established in that year, a byelection was called to fill the seat until the genera ...

from 1871 to 1878 and

New Westminster City New Westminster City was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1871 to 1912. For other electoral districts in New Westminster, please see New Westminster (electoral districts). Demographics Politica ...

from 1881 to 1884 in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

. He was born in

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

, the son of William Armstrong, a native of

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 Elizabeth Brown, and was educated there. He moved to

Grass Valley, California Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this northern Gold Country city is by car from Sacramento, from Sacramento I ...

, where he was involved in mining, with his family in 1852. In 1858, the family moved to Langley, British Columbia. The following year, Armstrong settled in Queensborough (later New Westminster) and opened a general store. He was elected to the first municipal council for New Westminster in 1860. In 1861, he married Honor Chenhalls Ladner. Armstrong was president of the municipal council (mayor) for New Westminster from 1866 to 1867 and from 1869 to 1871. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Finance and Agriculture from 1872 to 1876. Armstrong was defeated when he ran for the New Westminster City seat in the assembly in 1878. He was reelected in a by-election held in 1881 after

Ebenezer Brown Ebenezer Brown ( – June 5, 1883) was an English-born wholesale merchant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented New Westminster from 1875 to 1878 and New Westminster City from 1878 to 1881 in the Legislative Assembly of Bri ...

resigned his seat due to ill health. From 1881 to 1882, he served in the cabinet as Provincial Secretary. In 1884, he resigned his seat in the assembly to accept an appointment as sheriff for Westminster County. Armstrong built a flour mill at New Westminster in 1867 and a sawmill in 1876. He also served as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He died in New Westminster at the age of 89.

Electoral results

References

1826 births 1915 deaths Independent MLAs in British Columbia Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia Mayors of New Westminster People from Peterborough, Ontario {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub