Joseph Henry Widdifield (June 12, 1845 – June 3, 1906) was a Canadian physician and political figure. He represented

York North York North was a federal riding in Ontario, Canada, that was in the House of Commons of Canada from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. The federal riding was eliminated in 2003 when it was redistributed between two new ridings of Newmarket� ...

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 ...

as a Liberal member from 1875 to 1888.

Life

Widdifield was born on June 12, 1845, in Whitchurch,

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 ...

, to Charles Ellis Widdifield, and studied medicine at Victoria College and

St Thomas's Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of GKT School of Medical Education. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. On his return to Canada, Widdifield set up practice in Newmarket. He served as a coroner and justice of the peace of Victoria County. He also served in the militia during the Fenian raids. He was whip for the provincial Liberal party from 1877 to 1883. Widdifield served as deputy Grand Master for the

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

order in the Toronto district and also served as provincial medical examiner for the order. In 1888, he resigned his seat in the assembly to accept the position of sheriff for York County. He died on June 3, 1906, aged 60. In 1965,

Widdifield Secondary School Widdifield Secondary School (WSS) was an English public high school in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was part of the Near North District School Board. Overview The school was founded in 1965 and named after Joseph Henry Widdifield, a nineteent ...

in the Widdifield District of North Bay was named after him.

Electoral history

References

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''Commemorative biographical record of the county of York, Ontario ...'' (1907)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widdifield, Joseph 1845 births 1906 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People of the Fenian raids People from Whitchurch-Stouffville Canadian justices of the peace Canadian coroners 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario