William James Parkhill (December 27, 1840 – May 26, 1913) was an Ontario political figure. He represented Simcoe South in 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 ...

from 1878 to 1883 as a Conservative member. He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland in 1839 and came to Canada West in 1856. He first settled in Toronto but later worked at lumber camps near Parry Sound. Around 1861, he was hired by William and Robert Henry who were timber merchants operating near King. He was promoted to manager and later ran their sawmill at Randwick. In 1862, he married Anne Jane Crossley, who later ran the general store in Randwick. Parkhill was the first postmaster for the village and served as reeve for Mulmur Township in 1877. Parkhill was elected to the provincial assembly in 1878 after William McDougall resigned to take a seat in the federal parliament and was reelected in the general election that followed. He was Grand Master for the Orange Lodge of Ontario West and Deputy Grand Master for the Grand Lodge of British America. In 1899, he was named customs collector at

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and served in that post until his death in 1913.

External links

''The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1883'' JA Gemmill
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''Mulmur : the story of a township'' (1951)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkhill, William J 1840 births 1913 deaths Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Politicians from County Tyrone Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs