Moses Springer

Who was Moses Springer?

Moses Springer was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Waterloo North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member from 1867 to 1881. He was also the first mayor of Waterloo, Ontario.

He was born in Doon in Upper Canada in 1824 and was orphaned during a cholera epidemic. He was then adopted and raised by Mennonite bishop Joseph B. Hagey. He worked as a farm hand, taught school and served as a provincial land surveyor in Woolwich Township. In 1854, he moved to Waterloo where he became the owner and publisher of the German language newspaper Der Canadische Bauernfreund. He opened a store there in 1856. He was the president of the Waterloo Mutual Fire Insurance Company and helped found the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Company, later Clarica Life Assurance, in 1868. He was the first reeve of the village of Waterloo and served as reeve for a total of 12 years, served 11 years on the county council and became the first mayor when Waterloo was incorporated as a town in 1876. In 1881, Springer became sheriff for Waterloo County and served in that post until his death in 1898.