Peter Gow 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....

 businessman and political figure. He was a member of 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...

 from 1867 to 1876.

He was born in Johnstone

Johnstone

Johnstone is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire and larger historic county of the same name in the west central Lowlands of Scotland.The town lies three miles west of neighbouring Paisley and twelve miles west of the centre of the city of Glasgow...

, 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...

 in 1818, the son of a shoemaker, and came to Brockville

Brockville, Ontario

Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...

 in Canada West in 1842. He later 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...

, where he built mills on the Speed River

Speed River

The Speed River is a river that flows through Wellington County and the Region of Waterloo in western Ontario, Canada. It flows south from its source near Orton, through Guelph, where it is joined by the Eramosa River, then through the towns of Hespeler and Preston, finally uniting with the Grand...

, operated a tannery

Tanning

Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

 and produced shoes. He served on the school board and the town council in Guelph; he became reeve in 1857 and served as mayor in 1866 and 1867.

In 1867, he was elected to represent Wellington South

Wellington South (provincial electoral district)

Wellington South was one of the original provincial electoral districts in Ontario,Canada created in 1867, remaining in existence through the 1985 general election. It was succeeded by the Guelph electoral district for the 1987 general election....

 in the 1st Parliament of Ontario

1st Parliament of Ontario

The 1st Parliament of Ontario was in session from September 3, 1867 until February 25, 1871, just prior to the 1871 general election. This was the first session of the Legislature after Confederation succeeding the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada...

 as a Liberal member; he was reelected in 1871 and 1875. He served as Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario

Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario

The Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario was a senior position in the provincial cabinet of Ontario from before Canadian Confederation until the 1960s....

 from December 1871 to October 1872. In 1876, he resigned due to health reasons and was appointed sheriff 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...

, continuing to serve until his death in Guelph in 1886.