John White (Conservative MP)

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1833–1894)}}

{{hatnote|For other persons named John White, see John White.}}

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Image:JohnWhiteHastingsMP23.jpg

John White (May 6, 1833 – September 24, 1894) was an Ontarian machinist and political figure. He represented Hastings East in the House of Commons of Canada as a Conservative member from 1871 to 1887.{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=9804|2=John White|nolist=yes}}

He was born in Donegal, County Donegal, Ireland in 1833 and grew up there. In 1856, he married Esther Johnston. He operated a cheese factory on the Moira River near the town of Roslin. White served as reeve for Tyendinaga. He was elected to the House of Commons by acclamation in an 1871 by-election after the sitting member was named to the Senate. White was Grand Master for the Orange Lodge in Ontario East and, in 1874, became Deputy Grand Master for British North America.[http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?doc=32955 The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1881], CH Mackintosh

He died in Victoria, British Columbia at the age of 61.{{cite book |title=The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967 |last=Johnson |first=J.K. |year=1968 |publisher=Public Archives of Canada}}

History professor Donald Akenson of Queen's University, in his book At Face Value, proposed that this John White may have actually been Eliza McCormack White, John White's sister, and so, the first woman elected to the House of Commons.At Face Value: The Life and Times of Eliza McCormack/John White, Don Akenson McGill-Queen's University Press (1990) ({{ISBN|0-7735-0765-5}}) Akenson later revealed the book to be a hoax based on Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders.T. F. Rigelhof, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/piratical-political-prank-blurred-boundaries/article783478/ "Piratical, Political Prank Blurred Boundaries"]. The Globe and Mail, April 10, 2009.