William McGregor was a Canadian

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...

 businessman and political figure. He represented Essex

Essex (electoral district)

Essex is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1882 and since 1968.-Geography:...

 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 Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member from 1874 to 1878 and from 1891 to 1900.

He was born in Sarnia

Sarnia, Ontario

Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....

, 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...

 in 1836 and educated in 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...

. He supplied horses to the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. McGregor was president of the Walkerville Wagon Company Limited. He also owned the street railway in 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...

, a bank, a mill and a fence company. In 1866, he married Jessie L. Peden. McGregor served as reeve of Windsor for 6 years and as warden for Essex County

Essex County, Ontario

Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...

 from 1869 to 1870 and from 1872 to 1873. He also served as customs collector at Windsor. He died in Windsor at the age of 66.

His son Gordon

Gordon Morton McGregor

Gordon McGregor was a Canadian business man.McGregor founded Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited....

 took over his father's wagon factory and later became the first president of the Ford Motor Company of Canada. The town of McGregor, now part of Essex, Ontario

Essex, Ontario

Essex is a town with a population of 20,032 in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, whose municipal borders extend to Lake Erie. Essex is also the name of the largest community within the municipality. The present mayor is Ron McDermott...

, was named after William McGregor.

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