David Pattee (July 30, 1778 – February 5, 1851) was a businessman, judge 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 the ...

. He was born in

Goffstown, New Hampshire Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2020 census. The compact center of town, where 3,366 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffst ...

in 1778. He studied medicine but never practiced. In 1803, he left New Hampshire for the lower

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

in Upper Canada because he was in debt and accused of

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...

. He set up a farm and formed a partnership with

Thomas Mears Thomas Mears (1775 – October 16, 1832) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in the Thirteen Colonies in 1775. He settled in West Hawkesbury Township. He set up a sawmill and gristmill on the Ottawa River in tha ...

to operate a water-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

near the Long Sault Rapids on the river. This was the first sawmill on the western side of the Ottawa River. They established a contract to supply lumber to

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

and William Hamilton; when they were unable to repay advances, the Hamiltons took over the operation of the mill and Pattee returned to farming. He was named

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 ...

in the Eastern District in 1812 and in the

Ottawa District The Ottawa District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was created in 1816 by splitting the counties of Prescott and Russell from the Eastern District. The district town was L'Orignal. In 1838 Gloucester towns ...

in 1816. In the same year, he became a judge in the Ottawa District, serving until 1849. He also served in the local militia. In 1820, he ran against William Hamilton for a seat in 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 Prescott. Hamilton was elected mainly because an associate of his brother was the returning officer. When electoral fraud was uncovered, Pattee was declared elected in 1821. The Hamiltons had uncovered the original accusations of forgery against Pattee and attempted to unseat him on that basis. Pattee was able to defend himself against these charges. He died at his home near

Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places ;Geography *Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...

in 1851.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattee, David 1778 births 1851 deaths Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from Goffstown, New Hampshire People from Hawkesbury, Ontario Upper Canada judges Province of Canada judges Canadian justices of the peace