Alfred Thomas Gurd

Alfred Gurd
Ontario MPP
In office
1894–1898
Preceded byCharles MacKenzie
Succeeded byFrederick Forsyth Pardee
ConstituencyLambton West
Personal details
Born(1846-03-30)March 30, 1846
Moore Township, Lambton County, Canada West
DiedAugust 15, 1919(1919-08-15) (aged 73)
St. Clair, Michigan
Political partyProtestant Protective Association
Spouse
Dell Shaw
(m. 1879)
OccupationFarmer

Alfred Thomas Gurd (March 30, 1846 – August 15, 1919) was an Ontario farmer, entrepreneur and political figure. He represented Lambton West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1894 to 1898 as a Conservative-Protestant Protective Association member.[1]

He was born in Moore Township, Lambton County in 1846, the son of William Gurd, an Irish immigrant, and was educated in Sarnia. He was an oil producer and also manufactured explosives. In 1879, he married Dell Shaw. Gurd was mayor of Petrolia in 1890, 1891 and 1894. He defeated Charles MacKenzie in the 1894 provincial election. Gurd was a master in the Masonic Order. In 1902, he drilled in Raleigh Township, producing the so-called "Gurd gusher". In 1910, Gurd moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he continued to be involved in the oil industry.

  1. ^ "Obituaries: Alfred T. Gurd," New York: Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter, Vol. 96, No. 8, August 25, 1919, pg. 18; OCLC 6066864