Ruggles Wright (1793 – August 18, 1863) 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 ...
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
merchant, the second youngest son of
Philemon Wright.
[
He was born in Woburn, Massachusetts but moved to Canada with his parents while still young. He later joined the family business in the timber trade. Wright also served as justice of the peace and postmaster during the 1820s.]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 ...
to transport logs past the Chaudière Falls, creating Philemon Island. However, by 1840, a competing slide built on the opposite (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 ...
) side of the river had won over most of the business. He also took on management of the family cement manufactory and greatly expanded it during the construction of the Rideau Canal.
Wright was married twice: first to Hannah Chamberlain and later to Rosina McDowell. His daughter Hannah, married Joseph Merrill Currier, a lumber baron, in 1868. His son William McKay Wright served in the Canadian House of Commons.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 transporting goods on the Ottawa River.
External links
the Wright Family
References
;Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Ruggles
1793 births
1863 deaths
19th-century Canadian merchants
Settlers of the National Capital Region (Canada)
American emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec
People from Woburn, Massachusetts
Canadian people of English descent
Immigrants to Lower Canada
Canadian justices of the peace