William Foster Cockshutt
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician.
Born in Brantford, Canada West, the son of Ignatius Cockshutt
Ignatius Cockshutt
Ignatius Cockshutt was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. The son of James Cockshutt and Mary Nightingale, he was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England...
, Cockshutt was educated in Brantford and at the Galt College Institute. He worked for a produce firm and in a tea warehouse in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
before returning to Ontario and entering the family business in partnership with his brother James
James G. Cockshutt
James G. Cockshutt was a Canadian manufacturer. The son of Ignatius Cockshutt, he was born in Brantford, Canada West and educated there....
. A merchant and manufacturer, he was a member of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission
Ontario Hydro
Ontario Hydro was the official name from 1974 of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara...
. He was president of the Cockshutt Plow Company
Cockshutt Plow Company
Cockshutt was a large tractor and machinery manufacturer based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.Originally founded as the Brantford Plow Works by James G. Cockshutt in 1877, the name was changed to the Cockshutt Plow Company when it was incorporated in 1882. After James died shortly thereafter, his...
from 1885 until 1888, stepping in after his brother's death from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at 34 years of age. In 1888, he was named president of the local Board of Trade.
Cockshutt was an unsuccessful candidate in the federal riding of Brant South in 1887. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
for the electoral district of Brantford
Brantford (electoral district)
Brantford was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1925 and from 1949 to 1968, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1986 to 1999....
in the 1904 general elections
Canadian federal election, 1904
The Canadian federal election of 1904 was held on November 3 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Canada...
. A Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
, he was defeated in 1908
Canadian federal election, 1908
The Canadian federal election of 1908 was held on October 26 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Liberal Party of Canada was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term in government with a majority government...
. He was re-elected in 1911
Canadian federal election, 1911
The Canadian federal election of 1911 was held on September 21 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Canada.-Summary:...
and 1917
Canadian federal election, 1917
The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "most bitter election in Canadian history", it was fought mainly over the issue of conscription...
. He was defeated again in 1921
Canadian federal election, 1921
The Canadian federal election of 1921 was held on December 6, 1921 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and replaced by a Liberal government under the young leader...
. He was an honorary colonel of the 125th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
125th Battalion, CEF
The 125th Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Brantford, Ontario, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 throughout Brant County. After sailing to England in August 1916, the battalion was absorbed into the 8th Reserve Battalion on...
.
In 1891, he married Minnie Turner Ashton.