Henry Corby
Encyclopedia
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
businessman and political figure. He represented Hastings East
Hastings East
Hastings East was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario...
in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
as a Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
from 1867 to 1874.
He was born in Hanwell
Hanwell
Hanwell is a town situated in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, between Ealing and Southall. The motto of Hanwell Urban District Council was Nec Aspera Terrent...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1806 and came to Belleville
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
in Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
in 1832. He opened a general store and bakery there; he secured a contract to supply the local militia. In 1838, he became involved in shipping goods between Belleville and Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
and selling grain. Corby served for a number of years on the village council. In 1855, he purchased a gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
and opened a distillery
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
in 1859. He served as mayor of Belleville in 1867 and 1868. He also helped promote the development of railways in the area. He retired from politics in 1875 due to declining health.
He died in Belleville in 1881.
The town where the family's distillery was located was renamed Corbyville
Corbyville, Ontario
Corbyville began when a Mr. Henry Corby immigrated to Canada. Mr. Corby had been a baker in England and when he arrived in Belleville in 1832, set up a small food shop. After serving in the Rebellion of 1837 he bought a St...
in 1882. His son, Henry Jr.
Henry Corby, Jr.
Henry "Harry" Corby was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Hastings West as a Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1888 to 1901....
, helped expand the family distillery, later known as the H. Corby Distillery and now part of Corby Distilleries
Corby Distilleries
Corby Distilleries Limited is an alcohol manufacturing and distribution company in Canada.It was founded in 1859 in Corbyville, Ontario. As of 2008, the company is 46% owned by Pernod Ricard SA. The company distills several Canadian specialities, as well as marketing Pernod Ricard's products in...
, and also later served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
and a member of the Senate of Canada.