- Robert McLaughlin
Robert McLaughlin (
November 16 1836 –November 23 1921 ) was anOntario manufacturer. He founded the McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car companies which later became part ofGeneral Motors .He was born in Cavan Township,
Upper Canada in 1836, the son of an Irish immigrant, John McLaughlin. He moved to Darlington Township with his family in 1837. He married Mary Smith in 1864. In 1869, he set up acarriage works at Enniskillen. McLaughlin also taught Sunday school in the Presbyterian church there. In 1877, he moved his business to Oshawa, feeling that moving to a larger urban centre with railway access was necessary for the growth of the business.He established the Oshawa Carriage Works, later known as McLaughlin Carriage. In 1878, he married Sarah Jane Parr; his first wife had died of consumption. His sons John James, George William and Sam also became involved in the business. McLaughlin served on the board of health and board of water commissioners at Oshawa and also served as mayor. He was first president of the local
YMCA . After a fire in 1899, he relocated to Gananoque but returned to Oshawa the following year. In 1901, he married Eleanor McCulloch after the death of his second wife. In 1907, on the advice of his sons Sam and George, he set up the McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited to manufacture automobiles. McLaughlin supported tarriffs restricting trade with theUnited States and opposed SirWilfrid Laurier 'sfree trade proposals in 1910-1. In 1915, he sold off his carriage manufacturing business.In 1918, his companies were taken over by General Motors. McLaughlin died at Oshawa in 1921 of
colon cancer .His brother James was a doctor and member of the Ontario assembly.
External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7941 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://www.oshawamuseum.org/virtualexhibits/industries/mclaughlin.htm Oshawa Museum]Persondata
NAME = McLaughlin, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = manufacturer
DATE OF BIRTH =November 16 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH = Cavan Township,Upper Canada
DATE OF DEATH =November 23 1921
PLACE OF DEATH =Oshawa, Ontario
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
