James Gordon (Upper Canada politician)

Last updated April 10, 2019

James Gordon (August 26, 1786 – April 10, 1865) was a merchant and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West.

The Province of Upper Canada was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Quebec since 1763. Upper Canada included all of modern-day Southern Ontario and all those areas of Northern Ontario in the Pays d'en Haut which had formed part of New France, essentially the watersheds of the Ottawa River or Lakes Huron and Superior, excluding any lands within the watershed of Hudson Bay. The "upper" prefix in the name reflects its geographic position along the Great Lakes, mostly above the headwaters of the Saint Lawrence River, contrasted with Lower Canada to the northeast.

He was born in Inverness, Scotland in 1786 and studied at the Inverness Royal Academy. He came to Amherstburg in Upper Canada. He served in the local militia, becoming lieutenant in 1809 and lieutenant colonel in 1822. He represented Kent in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1820 to 1828. In 1822, he was named justice of the peace in the Western District. He was appointed to the Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1829 and to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada in 1845.

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Inverness lies near two important battle sites: the 11th-century battle of Blàr nam Fèinne against Norway which took place on the Aird and the 18th century Battle of Culloden which took place on Culloden Moor. It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and lies within the Great Glen at its north-eastern extremity where the River Ness enters the Moray Firth. At the latest, a settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim in the 12th century. The Gaelic king Mac Bethad Mac Findláich (MacBeth) whose 11th-century killing of King Duncan was immortalised in Shakespeare's largely fictionalized play Macbeth, held a castle within the city where he ruled as Mormaer of Moray and Ross.

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Sharing a border with England to the southeast, Scotland is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the North Sea to the northeast and by the Irish Sea to the south. In addition to the mainland, situated on the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland has over 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Inverness Royal Academy is a comprehensive secondary school in the city of Inverness in the Highland area of Scotland.

He died in Toronto in 1865.

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References

Becoming Prominent: Leadership in Upper Canada, 1791-1841, J.K. Johnson (1989)

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