York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of Upper Canada,while he made plans to build a capital near today's London,Ontario. Simcoe renamed the location York after Prince Frederick,Duke of York and Albany,George III's second son. Simcoe gave up his plan to build a capital at London,and York became the permanent capital of Upper Canada on February 1,1796. That year Simcoe returned to Britain and was temporarily replaced by Peter Russell.
William Lyon Mackenzie was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact,a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented York County in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and aligned with Reformers. He led the rebels in the Upper Canada Rebellion;after its defeat,he unsuccessfully rallied American support for an invasion of Upper Canada as part of the Patriot War. Although popular for criticising government officials,he failed to implement most of his policy objectives. He is one of the most recognizable Reformers of the early 19th century.
The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years,it was the rebellion in Lower Canada,which started the previous month,that emboldened rebels in Upper Canada to revolt.
Sir Francis Hincks,was a Canadian businessman,politician,and British colonial administrator. An immigrant from Ireland,he was the Co-Premier of the Province of Canada (1851–1854),Governor of Barbados (1856–1862),Governor of British Guiana (1862–1869) and Canadian Minister of Finance (1869–1873).
James FitzGibbon was a public servant,prominent freemason of the masonic lodge from 1822 to 1826,member of the Family Compact,and an Irish soldier in the British Army in Europe before and in the Canadas during the War of 1812 who received messages of warning from two Canadian folk heroes:Laura Secord (Ingersoll) and Billy Green.
John Strachan was a notable figure in Upper Canada,an "elite member" of the Family Compact,and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common schools to helping to found the University of Toronto.
Henry Sherwood,was a lawyer and Tory politician in the Province of Canada. He was involved in provincial and municipal politics. Born into a Loyalist family in Brockville in Augusta Township,Upper Canada,he studied law and was called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1828. In 1838,he was appointed Queen's Counsel. Sherwood was part of the Family Compact,the inter-connected families of strong British and Loyalist sympathies which dominated the government of Upper Canada in the early years of the 19th century
Samuel Lount was a blacksmith,farmer,magistrate and member of the Legislative Assembly in the province of Upper Canada for Simcoe County from 1834 to 1836. He was an organizer of the failed Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837,for which he was hanged as a traitor. His execution made him a martyr to the Upper Canadian Reform movement.
Thomas David Morrison was a doctor and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Quebec City around 1796 and worked as a clerk in the medical department of the British Army during the War of 1812. He studied medicine in the United States and returned to York in 1824 to become a doctor in Upper Canada. He treated patients and served on the Toronto Board of Health during the 1832 and 1834 cholera outbreaks and co-founded the York Dispensary. In 1834 he was elected to the 12th Parliament of Upper Canada,representing the third riding of York County as part of the reform movement. That same year he was elected as an alderman to the Toronto City Council and reelected the subsequent two years. In 1836,he served a term as mayor of Toronto.
John Rolph was a Canadian physician,lawyer,and political figure. As a politician,he was considered the leader of the Reform faction in the 1820s and helped plan the Upper Canada Rebellion. As a doctor,he founded several medical schools and incorporated new teaching techniques and medical practices into his lectures. However,his actions against rival medical schools decreased public confidence in the ability of medical professionals to regulate themselves.
Old Toronto is the part of Toronto,Ontario,Canada,that corresponds to the boundaries of the City of Toronto prior to 1998. It was incorporated as a city in 1834,after being known as the town of York,and being part of York County. Toronto periodically grew in size by annexing adjacent land and municipalities.
Robert Sympson Jameson was a lawyer and politician in Upper Canada,and later in the Province of Canada. He served as the first Speaker of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1843.
John Tucker Williams was a British naval officer and political figure in Canada West.
Sir Adam Wilson was a lawyer,judge and political figure in Canada West. He served as mayor of Toronto in 1859 and 1860 and in the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada for York North from 1860 to 1863. After his political career,he served as a judge and was named Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench. At the time of his retirement,he was the longest-serving judge in Ontario and was subsequently knighted.
John George Bowes was a railway promoter and politician in the Province of Canada. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada.
George Okill Stuart was a Canadian lawyer,political figure,and judge.
James Lesslie was an Ontario bookseller,reform politician and newspaper publisher. His career was closely associated with - and somewhat overshadowed by - William Lyon Mackenzie,the Reform agitator,mayor of Toronto,and Rebellion leader. However,as a leader himself,Lesslie took a prominent role in founding the Mechanics Institute,the House of Refuge &Industry,the Bank of the People,as well as the political parties known as the Canadian Alliance Society and Clear Grits. In many way,he defined the Reform movement in Upper Canada without having reverted to the violent methods of Mackenzie. His legacy may thus have lasted longer.
Charles-Séraphin Rodier was a Canadian merchant,lawyer,mayor of Montreal and legislative councillor of Quebec.
Robert Nugent Watts was a political figure in Canada East,Province of Canada. He represented the electoral district of Drummond for ten years in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. He was a supporter of the union of Lower Canada and Upper Canada and a Tory.
William Higgins was the first high constable of the Toronto Police Department,appointed as High Bailiff after Toronto's incorporation in 1834.
