Willard Leroy "Deacon" Phelps (March 12, 1867 - March 27, 1951) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, lawyer and businessman."Phelps family connected to electrical business"
''

Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' was a newspaper in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. History The newspaper was founded in 1900 about a year after the Klondike Gold Rush ended. The paper was originally called the ''Northern Star'', by was later changed to th ...

'', November 12, 2008. He was a member of the

Yukon Territorial Council The Yukon Territorial Council was a political body in the Canadian territory of Yukon, prior to the creation of the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Although not a full legislature, the council acted as an advisory body to the Commissioner of Yukon, and ...

from 1909 to 1920, 1925 to 1934 and 1940 to 1943,Phelps
Hougen Group of Companies. and the owner and manager of the first

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

company in

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

. Originally from

Merritton Merritton is both a distinct community within and a council ward of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It was named after William Hamilton Merritt, a prominent local entrepreneur and founder of the Welland Canal Company. Until 1858, Merritton was n ...

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 ...

, he attended

Ridley College Ridley College may refer to * Ridley College (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia * Ridley College (Ontario), Canada See also * Ridley Hall, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK * * Ridley (disambiguation) {{schooldis ...

and

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart (architect), John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is n ...

before setting up a short-lived law practice in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He first moved to Yukon toward the end of the Klondike Gold Rush, but after falling short in that endeavour he became a business partner in Yukon Electrical Company in 1901, eventually becoming the company's sole owner and manager. He acquired the lifelong nickname Deacon after an incident when he caused the territory's first

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

to resign in frustration, by explaining that while he saw the value in the territory having a church he felt no need to personally attend it. His son John Phelps and his grandson

Willard Phelps Willard Leroy Phelps (born October 23, 1941) is a former Yukon politician, who briefly served as the second premier of Yukon in 1985. Background Born in 1941, he was the grandson of Willard "Deacon" Phelps and the son of John Phelps, both for ...

both continued in roles with Yukon Electrical Company, and also both served on the territorial council. Willard became Government Leader of Yukon in 1985.

References

1867 births 1951 deaths Businesspeople from St. Catharines Members of the Yukon Territorial Council Canadian prospectors Politicians from Dawson City Politicians from Whitehorse Politicians from St. Catharines Businesspeople from Yukon {{Yukon-politician-stub