Ezra Butler Eddy

Ezra Butler Eddy

Ezra Butler Eddy, manufacturer (b near Bristol, Vt 22 Aug 1827; d at Hull, Qué 12 Feb 1906). Part of the influx of American manufacturers to the Ottawa Valley in the 1850s, Eddy moved his small friction-match factory from Burlington, Vermont, to Hull in 1851 and developed markets from Winnipeg to Halifax. Overcoming a series of disastrous fires, notably in 1883 and 1900, Eddy expanded, modernized and diversified to produce a wide range of wood and paper products. At his death his business was estimated to be worth more than $4 million. Elected mayor of Hull 6 times, he represented Ottawa County in the Québec Assembly 1871-75. An opponent of "racialism," he supported Catholic and Protestant institutions alike. A vocal promoter of the British Empire, he was buried in Bristol, beneath the impressive monument which he had built in his honour.