Simeon Duck was a businessman and political figure in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. He represented Victoria City

Victoria City (provincial electoral district)

Victoria City was one of the first twelve provincial electoral districts in the province of British Columbia, Canada, upon its entry into Confederation that year. It was originally a four-member riding, and elected to the Legislature several prominent Members of the Legislative Assembly and...

 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

 from 1871 to 1875, from 1882 to 1886 and from 1888 to 1890.

He was born in St. Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...

, the son of William Duck and Mary Jackson, and left Ontario in 1859, arriving in British Columbia later that year by way of Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. After his arrival, Duck worked a claim in the mines on the Fraser River

Fraser River

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...

. In the fall of that year, he established a wagon and carriage

Carriage

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...

 factory in Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

. In 1865, he married Sarah Miller. Duck was defeated when he ran for reelection to the assembly in 1875. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Finance from 1885 to 1886. Duck was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1886 but was reelected in an 1888 by-election held after Edward Gawler Prior

Edward Gawler Prior

Edward Gawler Prior, PC was a mining engineer and politician in British Columbia. Prior worked as a mining engineer in England until 1873 when he moved to the province where he settled in Nanaimo and took employment as assistant manager of the Vancouver Coal Mining & Land Co., Ltd...

 was elected to the Canadian House of Commons. He was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1890. Duck was a member of the Victoria volunteer fire department, serving in various positions including chief engineer. He was also a prominent member of the local Masonic lodge and was provincial grand master from 1874 to 1875. He died in Victoria at the age of 70.