John Robertson Dargavel (May 3, 1846 – January 28, 1930) 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 ...

farmer, merchant and political figure. He represented

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1905 to 1919 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 ...

member. He was born in Crosby Township,

Leeds County Leeds County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county was first surveyed in 1792 as one of the nineteen counties created by Sir John Graves Simcoe in preparation for the United Empire Loyalists to settle here. The count ...

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

, the son of Robert Dargavel, whose suggestion it was in 1827 to name the town of Elgin in honour of Lord Elgin, the one time Governor General. In 1870, John Robertson married Mary Jane Hopkins. Prior to his service as an MPP, he served as clerk for South Crosby Township and as a member of the Elgin School Board. Dargravel was a dairy farmer and was president of the Eastern Ontario Dairymen's Association. He owned a large general store in

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

. John Robertson's son was James Sawtell Dargavel, who took over the business when his father took office as MPP. James Sawtell expanded the business to include the cheese mill at Chaffey's Lock.

References

External links

''A cyclopædia of Canadian biography : brief biographies ...'', HW Charlesworth (1919)
*

1864 births 1930 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario {{ProgressiveConservative-Ontario-MPP-stub