Robert Read (December 11, 1814 – June 29, 1896) was an

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

businessman and political figure. He represented

Hastings East Hastings East was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867 which divided the County of Hastin ...

in the

1st Canadian Parliament The 1st Canadian Parliament was in session from November 6, 1867, until July 8, 1872 (4 years and 252 days). The membership was set by the 1867 federal election from August 7 to September 20, 1867. It was prorogued prior to the 1872 election. ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

until February 24, 1871 when he was named to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

for Quinte division. He was born at

Fressingfield Fressingfield is a village in Suffolk, England, east of Diss, Norfolk, Diss, Norfolk. In 2015 it had a population of 1021, with one shop (Mace (retailer), Mace), a medical centre, public house, restaurant, primary school, and three churches, wi ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England in 1814, the son of Robert Read, and came to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

in 1836, settling at Belleville. Read was a farmer,

distiller Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

and tanner. He also served as director of the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

. He was elected to the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada () was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known ...

for Quinte in 1862 and then was elected to the House of Commons after

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. In 1840, Read married Margaret Campion. Read remarried in 1894 to Mary Jane Horsey, the eldest daughter of Kingston architect Edward Horsey. He died in office in 1896.

References

1814 births 1896 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Canadian senators from Ontario People from Fressingfield 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{HistoricalConservative-Ontario-MP-stub