Hugh Nelson (politician, 1830)

Hugh Nelson

Hugh Nelson (born May 25, 1830 in Larne , County Antrim , Ireland , † March 3, 1893 in London , England ) was a Canadian politician . From 1871 to 1874 he was a member of the House of Commons , from 1879 to 1887 he represented British Columbia in the Senate , after which he was the fourth lieutenant governor of this province until 1892 .

biography

Nelson emigrated to California in 1854 , where he worked as an accountant . In 1858 he came to British Columbia during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush . However, he did not go looking for gold like most newcomers, but worked in the transport industry. After building a department store in Yale , he founded the British Columbia and Victoria Express company in 1862 , which carried goods and mail between Victoria , Yale and Lillooet . In 1867 he sold his transport company and entered the wood processing industry. Until 1882 he ran a sawmill on the north bank of Burrard Inlet , in what is now the city of North Vancouver .

In 1868 Nelson joined the Confederation League of Amor De Cosmos , which campaigned for British Columbia to join the Canadian Confederation . From 1870 he was a member of the Legislative Council of British Columbia, after joining Canada he represented the constituency of New Westminster in the Canadian lower house from October 1871 . The representative of the Liberal Conservative Party managed to defend the seat in the general election in 1872 . After the Pacific scandal was exposed , he waived re-election in 1874.

Prime Minister John Macdonald named Nelson a senator in December 1879 . According to the Prime Minister's recommendation, Governor General Lord Lansdowne swore in him on March 18, 1887 as Lieutenant Governor. Nelson held this representative office until November 9, 1892. He then moved to London, where he died a few months later.

The city of Nelson on the Kootenay River was named after him.

Web links

• Hugh Nelson . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• Biography on the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia website
• Hugh Nelson - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)