Absalom Shade Allan was an Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 merchant and political figure. He represented Wellington West

Wellington West

Wellington West was a provincial electoral district in the province of Ontario, Canada. From c1875 to c1934 it elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario....

 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member from 1886 to 1894.

He was born near Preston

Preston, Ontario

Preston is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Prior to its amalgamation with the city of Galt, the town of Hespeler and the village of Blair to form the new city in 1973, it was an independent town. It is located near the confluence of the Grand River and Speed River...

, Canada West in 1843, the son of Alexander Allan, who came from Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. His uncle Absalom Shade

Absalom Shade

Absalom Shade was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania around 1793 and worked as a carpenter in Buffalo, New York. In 1816, he was hired by William Dickson to manage his lands in Dumfries Township in Upper Canada. Shade operated a general...

 founded Galt. Allan was educated in Preston, Elora

Elora, Ontario

Elora is a community in the township of Centre Wellington, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its 19th-century limestone architecture, its artistic community and the geographically significant Elora Gorge.-History:...

 and Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. He taught school and then worked as a bookkeeper in Elora.

In 1868, he moved to the village of Clifford

Clifford, Ontario

Clifford is a community in the Town of Minto in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada.The village of Clifford was founded around 1855 as Minto Village. After the opening of the post office in 1856, the settlement was renamed Clifford by the first postmaster Francis Brown after Clifford in West...

, where he opened a general store. He married Kate Bullock in 1871. Allan served as the first reeve for Clifford and was warden for Wellington County

Wellington County, Ontario

Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices...

 from 1884 to 1885. He was also a justice of the peace. Allan served as master in the local Masonic lodge and was a member of the Presbyterian

Presbyterian Church in Canada

The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...

 church, serving for a time as superintendent of the village Sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

. In 1893, he helped draft a Children's Protection Act. He was defeated in the 1894 election. In 1901, Allan was appointed sheriff for Wellington County and he moved to Guelph

Guelph

Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

.

External links

• The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1891 JA Gemmill
• The Way It Was : A History of Minto Township, CM Harrison (1978)
• Guelph : Perspectives on a Century of Change 1900-2000 (2000)
• The Canadian biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men ... (1880)
• Transcription from Wellington County Atlas, 1906