Israel Wood Powell (Province of Canada politician)

Israel Wood Powell (1801 – 1852) was a merchant, land surveyor and political figure in Canada West, Province of Canada. He represented Norfolk in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1848.[1]

Israel Wood Powell
Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Norfolk
In office
1841–1847
Preceded byNew position
Succeeded byHenry John Boulton
Personal details
Born1801
Windham Township, Upper Canada
Died1852
Political partyModerate Reformer
SpouseMelinda Boss
ChildrenWalker Powell
Israel Wood Powell
Residence(s)Port Dover, Ontario
ProfessionMerchant, surveyor

Powell was born in Windham Township, Norfolk County, Upper Canada.[1] He worked as a clerk in a store in Waterford, later opening his own store in Colborne. Powell married Melinda Boss.[1]

Powell prepared the village plan for Port Dover,[2] where he opened a store and built a new home. He also served as warden for the Talbot District and as a member of the municipal council for Norfolk County.[1]

In 1841, Powell was elected to the first Parliament of the Province of Canada,[3] and re-elected in the general election of 1844.[4] He was a moderate Reformer who supported the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the new Province of Canada.[5] Although not originally a supporter of Robert Baldwin, the "ultra" Reform leader, he gradually joined with Baldwin and other Reformers to form a more cohesive group.[6] He did not stand for re-election in the general election of 1848.

His son Walker Powell also served in the legislature for the Province of Canada.[7] Another son, also named Israel Wood Powell, served in the colonial Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island and later as British Columbia's Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and is the namesake of the city of Powell River.[8]

References
  1. Egbert Americus Owen, Pioneer Sketches of Long Point Settlement: Or, Norfolk's Foundation Builders and Their Family Genealogies. W. Briggs, 1898. p. 156.
  2. "THE NATIONAL BIRTHDAY: Loyal Canadians Everywhere Celebrate and Rejoice". The Globe, July 2, 1909.
  3. J.O. Côté, Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860, (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), pp. 43–45.
  4. Côté, Political Appointments and Elections, pp. 46–48.
  5. Paul G. Cornell, Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, 1841–67 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962; reprinted in paperback 2015), pp. 7, 93.
  6. Cornell, Alignment of Political Groups in Canada, pp. 94–99.
  7. Morton, Desmond (1998). "Walker Powell". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  8. Lutz, John (1998). "Israel Wood Powell". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
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