Ebenezer Vining Bodwell was an Ontario

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 Oxford South

Oxford South

Oxford South was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario...

 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

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member from 1867 to 1874. His great-grandson, Garth Turner

Garth Turner

John Garth Turner, PC is a Canadian business journalist, best-selling author, entrepreneur, broadcaster, financial advisor and politician, twice elected as a Member of the House of Commons, former Minister of National Revenue and leadership candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada...

, is a former Canadian Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister.

He was born in Nissouri Township in Middlesex County

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...

, 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 1827 and later moved to a farm in Dereham Township with his family. He studied at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

. Bodwell served as clerk and treasurer for the township, later becoming a member of the township council, then reeve and later warden for Oxford County

Oxford County, Ontario

Oxford County is a regional municipality and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Southern portion of the province. The regional seat is in Woodstock...

. He married Esther D. Crandon. After the death of George Skeffington Connor

George Skeffington Connor

George Skeffington Connor, QC was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Canada West.He was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1810 and graduated with a law degree from Trinity College. He came to Canada in 1832 and settled near Orillia in Upper Canada...

 in 1863, he ran unsuccessfully in the South riding of Oxford; he was elected in 1867. In 1875, Bodwell was appointed superintendent for the Welland Canal

Welland Canal

The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada that extends from Port Weller, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, to Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie. As a part of the St...

 and served until 1879, when he was named government accountant for the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 and sent to 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...

. In 1887, he moved to Vancouver. He was the second president of the Vancouver Board of Trade

Vancouver Board of Trade

The Vancouver Board of Trade is a non-profit organization which seeks to "promote, enhance and facilitate the development of the region as a Pacific centre for trade, commerce and travel." It serves Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in a fashion similar to the Board of Trade or Chamber of...

. Bodwell died at Morley

Morley, Alberta

Morley is a First Nations settlement within the Stoney 142/143/144 Indian reserve in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located along the Canadian Pacific Railway between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Bow River, upstream from Ghost Lake. It has an elevation of .The settlement is located in census...

, 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 1889.