Charles H. Mackintosh
Encyclopedia
Charles Herbert Mackintosh (May 13, 1843 – December 22, 1931) was a journalist, mayor of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 from 1879–1881, represented Ottawa City
Ottawa (City of)
Ottawa was a federal electoral district in the province of Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935.It was created by the British North America Act of 1867. It consisted of the city of Ottawa...

 as a Liberal-Conservative
Liberal-Conservative Party
The Liberal-Conservative Party was the formal name of the Conservative Party of Canada until 1873, although some Conservative candidates continued to run under the label as late as the 1911 election and others ran as simple Conservatives prior to 1873...

 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...

 from 1882 to 1887, and from 1890 to 1893, and served as Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories from 1893 to 1898.

Parentage and Aristocratic Connexions

He was born in London, Canada West
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

 on May 13, 1843, the son of Captain William Mackintosh
Captain William Mackintosh
Captain William Mackintosh was an Irish-born British Army officer and Canadian surveyor and engineer.-Parentage and family:He was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, the son of Captain Duncan Mackintosh, an officer in the British Army's Highland regiment despatched to Ireland to suppress the Irish...

, of Wicklow, Ireland, an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

-born officer posted to Canada with the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

's Ordnance Department
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...

, who later served as County Engineer for Middlesex County, Ontario
Middlesex County, Ontario
Middlesex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario. Landlocked, the county is bordered by Huron and Perth counties on the north, Oxford County on the east, Elgin County on the south, and Chatham-Kent and Lambton County on the west.The seat is the city of London, although the city...

. Mackintosh's paternal grandfather was Captain Duncan Mackintosh, a Scotsman who had been sent to Ireland with the British Army's Highland regiment
Scottish regiment
A Scottish regiment is any regiment that at some time in its history has or had a name that referred to Scotland or some part, thereof, and adopted items of Scottish dress...

 during the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...

. After the Rebellion, he bought an estate in County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...

, and in 1802, married, at Dublin, Alicia Weldon, who is variously described as being the daughter of Lady Weldon, and a niece of the Earl of Dysart
Earl of Dysart
Earl of Dysart is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 for William Murray, who had earlier represented Fowey and East Looe in the English House of Commons. He was made Lord Huntingtower at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. He was succeeded by his daughter, the...

, though which ones are meant is not specified. C.H. Mackintosh's mother was Leonora Sophia (d. 1891), daughter of Col. Dickinson, of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

, British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

. Through the maternal line, Mackintosh claimed to be close kin to Sir Stamford Raffles
Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...

, founder of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, one of whose sisters was called Leonora, and one of whose half-aunts, Elizabeth Raffles, married William Carter, Esq., of Jamaica. Paternally, he claimed to be a near relation of the essayist and politician, the Right Honourable Sir James Mackintosh
James Mackintosh
Sir James Mackintosh was a Scottish jurist, politician and historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a journalist, judge, administrator, professor, philosopher and politician.-Early life:Mackintosh was born at...

, who was member of the Kellachie branch of the Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...

-based Clan Mackintosh
Clan MacKintosh
Clan Mackintosh is a Scottish clan from Inverness with strong Jacobite ties. The Mackintoshes were also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation.-Origins:...

, part of the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

 Chattan Confederation
Chattan Confederation
Clan Chattan or the Chattan Confederation is a confederation of 16 Scottish clans who joined for mutual defence or blood bonds. Its leader was the chief of Clan Mackintosh.-Origins:The origin of the name Chattan is disputed...

. In addition to C.H. Mackintosh's grand, if vague, ties to the ruling class
Ruling class
The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy - assuming there is one such particular class in the given society....

, there is occasional confusion with another Mackintosh author, Charles Henry Mackintosh
Charles Henry Mackintosh
Charles Henry MacKintosh was a nineteenth century Christian preacher, dispensationalist, writer of Bible commentaries, magazine editor and member of the Plymouth Brethren.-Early life:...

 (1820–1896), a prolific Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...

 author and evangelist, who was known principally by the initials, C.H.M., which happen to coincide with those of the present subject. Details in this second man's biography indicate that the elder and younger C.H. Mackintoshes were possibly uncle and nephew, or, at least, related (see References).

At any rate, in nineteenth century colonial Canada, these exalted family connexions in Britain and the empire may have played a rôle in fostering Mackintosh's ambitions, and aiding him in his later advancement. Coupled with his innate talents, they may also have served to mark him in Conservative party
Conservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...

 political circles where, in 1893, Canada's Prime Minister Sir John Thompson clearly viewed him as the more suitable vice-regal candidate over rival fellow Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

, Nicholas Flood Davin
Nicholas Flood Davin
Nicholas Flood Davin Nicholas Flood Davin was a lawyer, journalist and politician, born at Kilfinane, Ireland. The first MP for Assiniboia West , Davin was known as the voice of the North-West....

, whose own chagrin at Mackintosh's appointment is well documented.

Training and Journalism

Educated at Galt Grammar School and Caradoc Academy, he first began the study of law but instead, in 1862, entered the trade of journalism. He first served as city editor of the London Free Press
London Free Press
The London Free Press is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada.The London Free Press began as the Canadian Free Press, founded by William Sutherland in 1847. It first began printing as a weekly newspaper in 1849. In 1852, it was purchased for $500 by Josiah Blackburn, who renamed it...

, later acting as city editor of the Hamilton Times. He edited the Parkhill Gazette, and served as managing editor of the Chicago Journal of Commerce. During his time in Strathroy, Ontario, he was editor and proprietor of the Strathroy Dispatch. In 1873, he was also elected to the town council of Strathroy, Ontario, and it is interesting to note that at the time this was apparently not prohibited as a conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....

 in that era of openly partisan journalism.

In 1874, he acquired the Ottawa Daily Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...

, serving as its owner and editor-in-chief from 1874 to 1892. He was owner and editor of the Canadian Parliamentary Companion from 1877 to 1882.

During this period, he won the gold and silver medals during the O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...

 centenary for a prize poem entitled, The Irish Liberator. He was also president of the Parliamentary Press Gallery
Parliamentary Press Gallery
The Parliamentary Press Gallery is an association established to oversee rules and responsibilities of Canadian journalists when at Parliament Hill. The organization was formed the same year as Canada's Confederation in 1867, by The Honourable Thomas White. During the early years of the...

, Ottawa, in 1879.

Public Life

He served as chairman for the Dominion Exhibition in 1879, and as president of the Agricultural Association in 1881.

After only one year, 1873, on the Strathroy town council, he served as 13th Mayor of Ottawa from 1879 to 1881. Elected as a Conservative, he was returned as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the riding of Ottawa City 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...

 from 1882 to 1887 and again from 1890 to 1893. He was unsuccessful in contesting the constituency of Russell, Ontario
Russell, Ontario
The Township of Russell is a municipal township, located south-east of Canada's capital of Ottawa in eastern Ontario, in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, on the Castor River...

 in the 1887 Dominion election.

He was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories in 1893, serving in that capacity until his resignation in 1898. During his tenure of the territorial viceregal office, he promoted a great Territorial Exhibition which was opened by His Excellency the Earl of Aberdeen, Governor General of the Dominion of Canada at Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...

, district of Assiniboia, N.W.T., on 30 July 1895. For these services he was presented with an oil portrait of himself in August 1895.

Following his viceregency, he contested unsuccessfully the provincial seat of Rossland, British Columbia
Rossland, British Columbia
Rossland is a city in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia.Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains, Rossland is at an elevation of 1023 metres . Population today is approximately 3500; a number that fluctuates from season to season. The population is at its peak during the winter...

 in 1900, and the riding of Kootenay, British Columbia in the Dominion general elections of 1900 and 1904, all in the Conservative or Liberal-Conservative interest.

Later career

In 1898, he became Canadian manager of the British American Mining Company, Rossland, British Columbia, later becoming a broker and financial agent in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

. In 1898, he sold the Le Roi mining property.

In 1901, on behalf of the miners of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, he presented two unusual gold nuggets to King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

 and, his wife, Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...

.

Character

The Montreal Gazette described him as

"a tactful, capable and experienced public man"

while the Toronto Telegram
Toronto Telegram
The Toronto Evening Telegram was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...

 declared him to be

"warm hearted, amiable and altogether likeable."

Interests and Affiliations

He was a life director of the Carleton County Protestant Home for the Aged in Ottawa, Ontario.

In politics he was a Liberal-Conservative, being noted as "an imperialist of no uncertain sound", and served as vice-president of the British Empire League
British Empire League
The British Empire League was formed in London in 1894 in order to support the ideology of British imperialism and to promote loyalty to and the unity of the British Empire...

 in Canada. In religion, he was an Anglican. He was a member of two gentleman's clubs, the Union Club, Victoria, British Columbia, and of the Vancouver Club, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Publications

He was author of the Liberal-Conservative Handbook (1876), and wrote a prize essay entitled Potential Resources of British Columbia (1908). For the Canadian Magazine, he wrote various articles including one entitled, British America's Golden Gateway to the Orient.

Family and Death

Mackintosh married in April 1868, Gertrude Niles Cook, daughter of Timothy Cook, J.P., of Strathroy, Ontario and his wife, the daughter of Dr. Terry, ex-M.P. P., Niagara, Ontario. She was born at Strathroy, Ontario and educated at a convent at London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

. While wife of the mayor of Ottawa, in 1879, she assisted at the opening of the first Dominion Exhibition. She assisted at the opening of the great North-West Exhibition, held in Regina in 1895. She served as vice-president in the Territories of the National Council of Women.

The couple had two sons and seven daughters. One daughter, Gertrude, married Sandford Hall Fleming, son of Sir Sandford Fleming
Sandford Fleming
Sir Sandford Fleming, was a Scottish-born Canadian engineer and inventor, proposed worldwide standard time zones, designed Canada's first postage stamp, a huge body of surveying and map making, engineering much of the Intercolonial Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, and was a founding...

, the inventor of Standard Time
Standard time
Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a time zone to the same time rather than using the local meridian as in local mean time or solar time. Historically, this helped in the process of weather forecasting and train travel. The concept...

, while another, Marion, divorced wife of Alfred Louis Castellain, became, in 1906, the wife of Sir Frederick W.A.G. Haultain, the man her father had appointed as first premier of the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

 in 1897. Of the sons: the elder, Edward Compton Mackintosh, died of a fever, on 28 January 1901, at Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

, while his was serving as a private in the Canadian contingent with Lord Strathcona's Horse fighting in the South African War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

. The younger, Charles St Lawrence Mackintosh, who had served as his father's personal secretary and aide-de-camp when he was N.W.T. lieutenant governor, eventually married Lillie Tupper Cameron, whose mother was the eldest child of Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Sir Charles Tupper
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...

, 1st Baronet.

Mackintosh died in 1931 and was buried in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa, Ontario, alongside his wife who had predeceased him in 1925.

External links

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