William Henry Gibbs 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....

 manufacturer and political figure. He represented Ontario North

Ontario North

Ontario North was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867....

 in 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...

 as 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...

 member from 1872 to 1874 and from 1876 to 1878.

He was born in Terrebonne

Terrebonne, Quebec

Terrebonne is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shores of the Rivière des Mille-Îles and of the Rivière des Prairies, North of Montreal and Laval....

, Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

, the son of Thomas Gibbs and Caroline Tate who had come there from Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

shire, 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...

 in 1819. He was educated in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. With his brother Thomas Nicholson

Thomas Nicholson Gibbs

Thomas Nicholson Gibbs, PC was a Canadian parliamentarian.Born in Terrebonne, Lower Canada , the eldest son of Thomas Gibbs and Caroline Tate, his family moved to Oshawa, Upper Canada in 1832...

, he built a grist mill south of Oshawa

Oshawa

Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...

. The two brothers built other mills and also operated a distillery and 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...

. Gibbs was also president of the Oshawa Cabinet Company. He served on the town council for Oshawa, also serving as reeve and later mayor. He was also deputy reeve for Whitby Township

Whitby Township, Ontario

Whitby Township is a geographic township and former municipality in what was Ontario County , Ontario, Canada. It is now part of the Town of Whitby.The Township was established in as part of what was then York County...

 and warden for Ontario County

Ontario County, Ontario

Ontario County was the name of two historic counties in the Canadian province of Ontario.The original Ontario County existed from 1792 to 1800 as part of the Eastern District, and consisted of the islands in the St. Lawrence River...

. In 1845, he married Frances Colton.

Gibbs was defeated by Adam Gordon

Adam Gordon (Canadian politician)

Adam Gordon was a Scottish-born merchant and political figure in Ontario, Canada. He represented Ontario North in the Canadian House of Commons from 1874 to 1876 as a Liberal member....

 for the federal seat in 1874. Gibbs was reelected in an 1876 by-election held after Gordon's death. After his defeat by George Wheler

George Wheler

George Wheler was a mill owner and political figure in Ontario, Canada. He represented Ontario North from 1878 to 1882 and Ontario West from 1882 to 1884 as a Liberal member....

 in 1878, he made two more unsuccessful bids for reelection in 1880 and 1882. He died in 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...

at the age of 78.