John Henry McConnell

Who was John Henry McConnell?

John Henry McConnell was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to 1922, as a member of the Liberal Party.

The son of John McConnell and Catherine Delaney, McConnell was educated at common school in St. Mary's, Ontario. He first worked on a farm and then came to Manitoba in 1882. He acquired a homestead in the Hamiota area which he later sold to purchase property in Winnipeg. After eight years in the wood business, McConnell entered the lumber business at Hamiota. He worked as an implement agent, auctioneer, undertaker and real estate agent. In 1887, he married Minnie Ann Brown. During his political career, McConnell lived in Hamiota. In religion, he was a Presbyterian.

He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1899 provincial election, in the riding of Saskatchewan. He lost to Conservative candidate William Ferguson by fifteen votes. He ran again in the 1914 election, and defeated Ferguson by 398 votes in the renamed Hamiota constituency. The election was won by Rodmond Palen Roblin's Conservatives, and McConnell sat in the legislature as a member of the opposition.