Alonzo Wright (April 28, 1821 – January 7, 1894) was a Canadian member of Parliament and businessman commonly known as "King of the Gatineau".
He was born in Hull, Quebec in 1821. He was a grandson of Philemon Wright, and son of Tiberius Wright. He earned his fortune in the family's lumber business.
In 1848, he married Mary Sparks, who was the daughter of Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Olmstead Wright, the widow of his uncle.
In 1863, he was elected in the Ottawa (County) riding of Canada East to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. He continued to represent this district until 1891, after 1867 as a member of the House of Commons of Canada.
He died in 1894 at Ironside, Quebec, now part of the city of Gatineau.
The Alonzo-Wright Bridge over the Gatineau River was named after him. Although Wright wasn't involved in the construction of this bridge, he did have a role in petitioning for the replacement of the ferry service at this location by a bridge. His original homestead became the Collège Saint-Alexandre. According to the current owners, the log cabin now located at 893 av. Gatineau, known locally as the "Little Red House" built by Alonzo's father, Tiberius, served as the family residence in the 1830s. It dates from as early as 1824, possibly making it the oldest building in the Outaouais region in Quebec.
Electoral record
edit| 1867 Canadian federal election: Ottawa (County of) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Alonzo Wright | acclaimed | ||||||
| Source: Canadian Elections Database[1] | ||||||||
| 1872 Canadian federal election: Ottawa (City of) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Alonzo Wright | acclaimed | ||||||
| Source: Canadian Elections Database[2] | ||||||||
| 1874 Canadian federal election: Ottawa (County of) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Alonzo Wright | 2,569 | ||||||
| Unknown | F. S. MacKay | 716 | ||||||
| Source: lop.parl.ca | ||||||||
| 1878 Canadian federal election: Ottawa (County of) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Alonzo Wright | 3,025 | ||||||
| Unknown | J. A. Cameron | 1,385 | ||||||
| 1882 Canadian federal election: Ottawa (County of) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Alonzo Wright | acclaimed | ||||||
| 1887 Canadian federal election: Ottawa (County of) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal–Conservative | Alonzo Wright | 2,630 | ||||||
| Liberal | A. S. C. Papineau | 1,784 | ||||||
References
edit- ^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1867 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024.
- ^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1872 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024.
External links
edit- "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
- "Alonzo Wright". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
- Alonzo Wright – Parliament of Canada biography
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