James Lyons was a merchant and political figure in Upper Canada. He represented Northumberland in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1824 to 1834 as a Reformer.
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.
The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lieutenant Governor, Executive Council, and Legislative Council.
Lyons lived in the Niagara District, then Cramahe Township and later Murray Township. He served in the militia during the War of 1812, later reaching the rank of captain. Lyons was a justice of the peace for the Newcastle District. He was elected in 1824, but his election was overturned in January of the following year and Benjamin Ewing was declared elected. After another appeal, Lyons was declared elected a month later. Both Ewing and Lyons were elected in 1828; Lyons was reelected in 1830.
The War of 1812 was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies from June 1812 to February 1815. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theater of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right.
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.
Benjamin Ewing was a farmer, businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. He represented Northumberland in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada in 1825 and from 1828 to 1830.
Lyons was the son-in-law of James Richardson. [1]
