Joseph-Ignace Aumond (March 21, 1810 – November 9, 1879) was a lumber merchant in

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 ...

, Canada. He was considered a prominent

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 ...

timber baron of his time. The son of Ignace Aumon and Euphrosine Robichaud, he was born in

L'Assomption L'Assomption () is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption. It is located on the outer fringes of the Montreal urban area. ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

and went to work as a store clerk in Montreal after completing his schooling. He came to

Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod ...

to operate a store for his employer and later opened his own

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

there. Around 1830, Aumond began operating in the timber business in the Ottawa Valley. He held timber cutting rights along the Madawaska,

Petawawa Petawawa ( ) is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. History The earliest se ...

and

Gatineau River The Gatineau River (, ) is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The river is long and drains an area of . Toponomy Ac ...

s. During the late 1840s, Aumond built one of the largest steam-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s in Canada at the time. He later suffered a major financial setback but continued on in the timber trade at a reduced level. In 1833, Aumond married Jane Gumming. They had eight children. Aumond was president of the Bytown and Montreal Telegraph Company. He helped establish the

Bytown and Prescott Railway The Bytown and Prescott Railway (B&PR) was a railway joining Ottawa (then called Bytown) with Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River, in the Province of Canada. The company was incorporated in 1850, and the first train ran from Prescott into Bytow ...

and served as one of its first directors. He was a partner with John Egan in the operation of two

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s on the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

and also partnered with Egan and Ruggles Wright in constructing a horse-drawn railway to provide an overland connection around rapids to link the two steamship routes. He was also a director with

Robert Conroy Joseph Robert Conroy (August 24, 1938 – December 30, 2014) was an author of alternate history novels. Life After he got an MBA, Conroy was a professor at Macomb Community College and taught business and economic history. Following his early ...

and Richard McConnell of the Bytown and Aylmer Union Turnpike Company which completed the road linking Bytown and

Aylmer Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP * Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer * Felix Aylmer, English stage actor * Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Arm ...

in 1850; Egan was company president. He helped organize the first fire company in Bytown in 1838, also serving on the first school board and on the Board of Health for the town. He was also a prominent member of the Ottawa Association of Lumber Manufacturers. In 1874, he ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative for the Ottawa City seat in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

. Aumond served in the Carleton County militia, reaching the rank of colonel. He died in Ottawa at the age of 69. The township of

Aumond, Quebec Aumond is a township municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality. The township is named after Colonel Joseph-Ignace Aumond (1810–1879), a native of l'Assomption, who w ...

was named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aumond, Joseph-Ignace 1810 births 1879 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario 19th-century Canadian merchants