Solomon White
Encyclopedia
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....
lawyer and political figure. He represented Essex North 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...
from 1878 to 1886 and from 1890 to 1894 as a Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
member.
He was born on the Huron reserve near Amherstburg
Amherstburg, Ontario
Amherstburg is a Canadian town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario. It is approximately south of the U.S...
, Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and was the son of Joseph White, a chief of the Wyandot. White was called to the bar in 1865 and entered practice at Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
with John O'Connor
John O'Connor (Canadian politician)
John O'Connor, PC was a Canadian politician and cabinet minister.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Irish immigrants John and Mary O’Connor, he moved with his family to Essex County, Upper Canada in 1828....
. He married Mary L. Drew in 1867. In 1868, he moved to Cooksville
Cooksville, Ontario
Cooksville is a neighbourhood in the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Dundas Street and Hurontario Street.-History:...
, where he purchased the Claire House vineyards and established a winery. White ran unsuccessfully in Peel for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1873. In 1876, he returned to Windsor where he resumed the practice of law and also operated a farm. He was first elected in a 1878 by-election held after James Colebrooke Patterson
James Colebrooke Patterson
James Colebrooke Patterson , PC was a Canadian politician. He served as a federal cabinet minister from 1892 to 1895 and as the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1895 to 1900....
was elected to the federal parliament. White was defeated by Gaspard Pacaud
Gaspard Pacaud
Gaspard Pacaud was an Ontario journalist and political figure. He represented Essex North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1886 to 1890 as a Liberal member....
in 1886 but elected again in 1890. He married Elizabeth Whitmore in 1898.
Unlike other Conservatives, White supported French language instruction in Ontario schools and annexation to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He also defended native land claims in Ontario and voting rights for native peoples. White served as mayor of Windsor in 1890.
In 1905, White moved to the silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mining town of Cobalt
Cobalt, Ontario
Cobalt is a town in the district of Timiskaming, province of Ontario, Canada, with a population of 1,223 In 2001 Cobalt was named "Ontario's Most Historic Town" by a panel of judges on the TV Ontario program Studio 2, and in 2002 the area was designated a National Historic Site.-History:Silver was...
and set up a law practice there. He was named a King's Counsel in 1908. In 1911, he was elected mayor of Cobalt but died later that year.