John Stevenson (August 12, 1812 – April 1, 1884) was the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1871[1] and served as Conservative MPP for Lennox from 1867 to 1871.[2]
John Stevenson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1867–1871 | |
| Preceded by | Riding established |
| Succeeded by | John Thomas Grange |
| Constituency | Lennox |
| 1st Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario | |
| In office 1867–1871 | |
| Succeeded by | Richard William Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 12, 1812 Hunterdon County, New Jersey |
| Died | April 1, 1884 (aged 71) Napanee, Ontario |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Phoebe Eliza Hall (m. 1842) |
| Occupation | Merchant |
Born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Stevenson's family moved to New York State (likely to the Albany, New York area and finally to Upper Canada. He was educated in Brockville and taught school briefly. Stevenson worked in various trades before entering politics:
- flour mill operator
- foundry owner
- axe shopkeeper
- brush factory owner
- lumberman
- shipping company owner
In 1842, he married Phoebe Eliza Hall.[1]
Stevenson also served as a justice of the peace and as reeve for Napanee. From 1863 to 1865, he was warden for Lennox and Addington County.[3]
After his defeat in 1871 by John Thomas Grange, he ran for the Lennox seat in the Canadian House of Commons in 1872 as an independent, losing to Richard John Cartwright, formerly a Conservative, now a Liberal. In 1878, he campaigned on behalf of Cartwright.[1] Stevenson died in Napanee, Ontario in 1884.[3]
Electoral history
edit| 1867 Ontario general election: Lennox | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Conservative | John Stevenson | 1,222 | 53.29 | |||||
| Liberal | T.W. Casey | 826 | 36.02 | |||||
| Independent | B.C. Davy | 245 | 10.68 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 2,293 | 66.35 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 3,456 | |||||||
| Conservative pickup new district. | ||||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[4] | ||||||||
| 1871 Ontario general election: Lennox | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Conservative | John Thomas Grange | 1,183 | 56.41 | +3.12 | ||||
| Conservative | John Stevenson | 914 | 43.59 | −9.71 | ||||
| Turnout | 2,097 | 62.95 | −3.40 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 3,331 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +6.41 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[5] | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c Eadie, James A (1982). "Stevenson, John". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XI (1881–1890) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved December 13, 2005.
- ^ "John Stevenson, MPP". ontla.on.ca. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ^ a b Dale, Clare A (1992). Whose servant I am" : speakers of the assemblies of the province of Upper Canada, Canada and Ontario, 1792-1992. Toronto: Ontario Legislative Library. pp. 136–41. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
- ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1867. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1871. Retrieved March 31, 2024.