Thomas David McConkey (July 29, 1815 – February 21, 1890) 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 ...

businessman and political figure. He represented Simcoe North 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 ...

as a Liberal member from 1867 to 1872. He was born in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

, Ireland in 1815, the son of Thomas McConkey, and came to Innisfil Township in

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 ...

with his family in 1828. McConkey was a merchant in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

.''A History of Simcoe County'', AF Hunter (1909)
He served as reeve there and was warden for

Simcoe County Simcoe County is a county and census division located in the central region of Ontario, Canada. The county is located north of the Greater Toronto Area, and forms the north western edge of the Golden Horseshoe. The county seat is located in Mi ...

from 1860 to 1861. McConkey was an unsuccessful candidate for the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

in 1861. He was elected to that assembly for the North riding of Simcoe in 1863 and served until

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

; he was re-elected in 1867. From 1875 until his death, he served as sheriff for Simcoe County''Historical review, June 23-24, 1951 : a record of 100 years of progress : Innisfil Township centennial, 1850-1950'' (1951)
in Barrie.

References

1815 births 1890 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Mayors of Barrie People from County Tyrone Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{Ontario-mayor-stub