Augustus Warren Baldwin (October 1, 1776 – January 5, 1866) was a naval officer and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-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 th ...

. He was born near Lisnagat in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1776 and joined the merchant navy in 1792, eventually being given command of his own ship. He retired to Upper Canada near York (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

) in 1817. He named his estate Russell Hill after his family's farm in Ireland. In 1822, he became a magistrate of the Home District. In 1832, he was appointed to the Legislative Council for the province. When the Executive Council resigned to protest actions taken by Lieutenant Governor Sir

Francis Bond Head Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet KCH PC (1 January 1793 – 20 July 1875), known as "Galloping Head", was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837. Biography Head was an officer in the corps of Royal Engineers of ...

, Baldwin accepted an appointment as a new member of the council. In 1841, he was re-appointed to the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known ...

, but he resigned some time later. He was a director of the

Bank of Upper Canada The Bank of Upper Canada was established in 1821 under a charter granted by the legislature of Upper Canada in 1819 to a group of Kingston merchants. The charter was appropriated by the more influential Executive Councillors to the Lt. Governor, t ...

and the British America Assurance Company. Although retired from the navy, he was promoted to admiral in 1862. Unlike his brother

William Warren Baldwin William Warren Baldwin (April 25, 1775 – January 8, 1844) was a doctor, businessman, lawyer, judge, architect and reform politician in Upper Canada. He, and his son Robert Baldwin, are recognized for having introduced the concept of "respon ...

and his nephew

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. " ...

, Augustus was conservative in his politics. He died on his estate near Toronto in 1866.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Augustus 1776 births 1866 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Politicians from County Cork Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada