Caleb Hopkins (June 10, 1786 – October 8, 1880) was a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

and

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

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 the ...

and later in the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

Early life

Hopkins was born in

Frankford, New Jersey Frankford Township is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,565, reflecting an increase of 145 (+2.7%) from the 5,420 counted in the 2000 Census, which had ...

in 1785. His father, Captain Silas Hopkins, was a Loyalist who had been imprisoned for three years and fined £1,000 by American authorities for his loyalty to the Crown. The family emigrated to

in 1801, settling on land overlooking

Burlington Bay Hamilton Harbour, formerly known as Burlington Bay, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington Ba ...

.Burlington Historical Society: "Caleb Hopkins (1786 – 1880) - War of 1812".
/ref> (The area was later incorporated as Nelson Township in

Halton County Halton County is a former county in the Canadian province of Ontario, with an area of . It is also one of the oldest counties in Canada. History Halton County is named after Major William Mathew Halton (1746-1823), a British Army officer, who w ...

.) With his brothers, he founded a settlement called Hannahville (named for his wife, Hannah; later known as Nelson, Ontario), helped to set up the first school in the area, and chaired the first township meeting for Nelson Township in 1836.Michael S. Cross, "Hopkins, Caleb", in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', Vol. X 1871–1880.
/ref> He married Hannah Green, and was a prominent layman in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, Hopkins served for a short time as a private with an Upper Canada militia unit, the 5th Lincoln Regiment, 2nd Flank Company, employed building a barracks.

Political career

In 1828, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada 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 Lis ...

for Halton as a Reformer, and was considered radical enough to be endorsed by the ''

Colonial Advocate The ''Colonial Advocate'' was a weekly political journal published in Upper Canada during the 1820s and 1830s. First published by William Lyon Mackenzie on May 18, 1824, the journal frequently attacked the Upper Canada aristocracy known as the ...

'', the paper of the Reform radical,

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) 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 Yor ...

. He did not run in 1830 but was re-elected in 1834. Despite his radical views, he was not implicated in the 1837 Rebellion, thus enabling him to become one of the major Reform leaders. Following the Union of Upper Canada and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

in 1841 into the

, Hopkins was elected to the

1st Parliament of the Province of Canada The First Parliament of the Province of Canada was summoned in 1841, following the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada as the Province of Canada on February 10, 1841. The Parliament continued until dissolution in late 1844. The Parliament ...

for

Halton East Halton East is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, east of Skipton. The population of the parish was estimated at 90 in 2015. The place was first recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Haltone''. The name is derived from the ...

, and immediately associated with the "ultra-Reform" wing headed by

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canada, 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 ...

. With Baldwin's group, Hopkins voted against the principle of the union of the two Canadas into the Province of Canada, and he generally supported Baldwin on most issues throughout the first Parliament. However, he soon gained a reputation for being a

maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

within the party. In 1841, he supported the District Councils Act, which was opposed by the other Reformers. In stating his support, he declared, "I came here to build up a countrynot a party. I shall vote for the bill." In 1843, he sided with the

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

in opposing the move of the capital from Kingston to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, and also expressed his disapproval when the Reform government resigned in protest over a dispute with the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, Sir Charles Metcalfe. As a result, he was ostracized within the party, and later rejected for nomination in 1844 in favour of John Wetenhall. He decided to run as well, thus splitting the vote and allowing George Chalmers, the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate, to win. (Wetenhall was subsequently elected in the general election of 1848).J.O. Côté, ''Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860'', (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), pp. 48.
/ref> Upon the rise of the

Clear Grits Clear Grits were reformers in the Canada West district of the Province of United Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their name is said to have been given by David Christie, who said that only those were wanted ...

, Hopkins joined them and became one of the revered "old Reformers". When Malcolm Cameron resigned from the Baldwin-Lafontaine government to join them, he was replaced in the Cabinet by Wetenhall, who was obliged to run in a mandatory byelection in 1850. Hopkins, supported by Cameron, chose to run against him, and was the winner in what turned out to be a very vicious campaign. As one of the five Clear Grits in the Legislative Assembly, he was effective in opposition, and helped to bring down the Baldwin-Lafontaine ministry in 1851. Hopkins chose not to run in the resulting election and retired from politics, later moving to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

in 1870. Hopkins came to be known as "a grand old man of Ontario Liberalism." He died in

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 ancho ...

in 1880 at the home of his son-in-law William Leggo, a local barrister. At his death, he was the oldest parliamentarian in all of Canada. His pallbearers included a former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

, Alexander Mackenzie and

Oliver Mowat Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario and one of ...

, the

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

, both long-time Liberals. Hopkins was buried at the

Toronto Necropolis Toronto Necropolis is a non-denominational cemetery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the west side of the Don River valley, to the north of Riverdale Farm in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood. The cemetery was opened during the 1850s to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Caleb 1785 births 1880 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Canadian Methodists