Robert Harwood
Encyclopedia
Robert William de Lotbinière-Harwood (October 27, 1826 – June 29, 1897) was a Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 landowner and political figure representing Vaudreuil
Vaudreuil (electoral district)
Vaudreuil was a federal electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1914, and from 1968 to 1997.-History:...

 in 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...

 as a Liberal-Conservative member from 1872 to 1878.

Career

Harwood was born in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

, the son of Robert Unwin Harwood
Robert Unwin Harwood
The Hon. Robert Unwin Harwood was the last Seigneur of Vaudreuil and a political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East.-Arrival in Canada:...

 and Marie-Louise-Josephte de Lotbiniere,, daughter of Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière
Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière
Colonel The Hon. Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière , de jure 2nd Marquis de Lotbinière...

. He was a brother of Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière Harwood
Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière Harwood
Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière Harwood was a Quebec lawyer and political figure. He represented Vaudreuil in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to 1871....

 and Henry Stanislas Harwood
Henry Stanislas Harwood
The Hon. Henry Stanislas de Lotbiniere Harwood was a Quebec farmer and political figure. He represented Vaudreuil in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member from 1891 to 1892 and 1893 to 1904....

, and a first cousin of Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière
Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière
Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, served as the fourth Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec, a federal Cabinet minister, and the seventh Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.- Early years :...

 served as the Prime Minister of Quebec and Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia is the viceregal representative in British Columbia of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared with equally the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest...

. He was educated at the Collège Saint-Sulpice in Montreal, and became a Captain in the Vaudreuil Militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

, also serving as a warden for the County of Vaudreuil
Vaudreuil
-Places:Canada* Vaudreuil-Dorion, a city located west of Montreal, Quebec* Terrasse-Vaudreuil, Quebec, a small Quebec municipality located near Montreal* Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality, Quebec...

. Harwood ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Quebec assembly in 1871. He was defeated in a bid for re-election to the federal seat in 1878 by Jean-Baptiste Mongenais
Jean-Baptiste Mongenais
Jean-Baptiste Mongenais was a Quebec businessman and political figure. He was a Conservative member representing Vaudreuil in the Canadian House of Commons from 1879 to 1882....

.

He lived at, and shared ownership of the old Seigneury of Vaudreuil with his siblings and lived there with his wife, Mary Charlotte McGillis (1836-1918). They were married in 1856. She was the daughter of John McGillis (1805-1897), a lawyer of St. Johns, Quebec, by his wife Elizabeth (1820-1893), daughter of William Caldwell of Caldwell. John McGillis was the heir to his uncle Hugh McGillis (1767-1848), one of the partners in the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...

, who bought the house of Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet in Williamstown, Ontario, which John McGillis inherited and where the future Mrs Harwood was brought up. Harwood's sister, Marie-Louise, also married into the McGillis family. Her husband, Antoine Eustache de Bellefeuille MacDonald was a son of Emily McGillis, Mrs Harwood's aunt. MacDonald was a brother-in-law of William McGillivray
William McGillivray
William McGillivray was a Scotland-born fur trader and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Dunlichity, Scotland in 1764. In 1784, he travelled to Montreal with his uncle Simon McTavish and began work with the North West Company...

, nephew of Simon McTavish
Simon McTavish
Simon McTavish was a Scots-Quebecer entrepreneur and the pre-eminent businessman in Canada during the second half of the 18th century.-Biography:...

 and Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet
Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet
General Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet GCB was an officer of the British Army, and from 1831 to 1837, the administrator of the colony of New Brunswick. From 1824 to 1826, Gen...

.

Harwood died at his home in Vaudreuil, Quebec at the age of 70.. His son, Charles-Auguste de Lotbiniere-Harwood (1869-1954) of Vaudreuil, married Marie-Adelaide Masson, granddaughter of Joseph Masson
Joseph Masson
Joseph Masson was Canadian businessman, who is considered the first French Canadian millionaire.Seigneur of Terrebonne, Quebec, president of Masson societies, president of the City Gas, he was also vice-president of the Banque de Montréal, president of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society of Montreal...

 of Manoir Terrebonne, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. His daughter, Marie-Elizabeth de Lotbiniere-Harwood (1859-1951), married Major-General Sir Sam Steele
Sam Steele
Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele, CB, KCMG, MVO was a distinguished Canadian soldier and police official...

 of Lord Strathcona's Horse.

Photographs

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