Charles Magill (March 1, 1816 – December 1, 1898) was a member of the 1st Canadian Parliament and mayor of

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 1854–55, 1865–66 and 1882–3. He was born in

Westport, County Mayo Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on th ...

, Ireland, the son of Robert Magill and Catherine Benner, in 1816 and came to

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 ...

with his family in 1832.''A Cyclopæedia of Canadian biography being chiefly men of the time ...'', GM Rose (1886)
/ref> After moving to Hamilton in 1833, he worked for a time in a store owned by

Isaac Buchanan Isaac Buchanan (July 21, 1810 – October 1, 1883) was a businessman, political figure and writer in Upper Canada, then Canada West, Province of Canada (now Ontario). Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he emigrated to British North America in 1830 ...

,Charles Magill, Hamilton Public Library
who represented the city in the Legislative Assembly. He established himself as a merchant in 1840. In 1848, Magill married Ann Eliza Wright. He was elected to the city council in 1852 and later served several terms as mayor. Magill also served as chairman of the Board of Health, a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Wentworth County and chairman of the Board of Water Commissioners. He was elected to the last parliament of the Province of Canada in a by-election in 1866 and was re-elected in 1867 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for the riding of Hamilton. Magill was defeated when he ran for reelection to the House of Commons in 1872. He served as lieutenant-colonel in the militia. Magill was also a prominent member of the local

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...

lodge. He died in Hamilton in 1898.

References

*
''The Canadian parliamentary companion'', HJ Morgan (1871)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magill, Charles Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Mayors of Hamilton, Ontario Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Politicians from County Mayo 1816 births 1898 deaths Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian justices of the peace