Robert Unwin Harwood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Unwin Harwood (January 22, 1798 – April 12 1863 ) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East.
He was born in Sheffield, England in 1798 and came to Montreal in 1821, where he entered the family hardware business there which was being run by his brother. In 1823, he married Marie-Louise-Josephte, daughter of Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière and heiress to the seigneury of Vaudreuil. Harwood was named to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada in 1832 and served until the Lower Canada Rebellion led to the dissolution of the council. He was a member of the Special Council from August 1839 until it was dissolved in 1841. After several unsuccessful attempts, in 1858, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Vaudreuil; he resigned in 1860 to run (successfully) for a seat in the Legislative Council for Rigaud division. In 1853, Harwood helped found the Vaudreuil Railway Company.
He died in Vaudreuil in 1863.
His sons, Henry Stanislas and Robert William, became members of the Canadian House of Commons; his son, Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière Harwood, represented Vaudreuil in the legislative assembly for the Province of Canada in 1863 and then for Quebec in 1867. His nephew Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière served in the Canadian House of Commons and as Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia.
