George Littleton Allen (1811-1882) was

High Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

of Toronto from 1847 to 1852 and Governor of the Toronto Jail from 1852 to 1872. Allen was born to a Protestant family in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

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 ...

, United Kingdom, and emigrated to New York at the age of 15 before moving to Toronto. He was appointed High Constable or Chief Constable of the

Toronto Police Department The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

by the city in 1847 and served in that position for five years until 1852 when he was appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Toronto Jail and was the first governor of the

Don Jail The Don Jail was a jail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located to the east of the Don River, on Gerrard Street East in the Riverdale neighbourhood. The original building was completed in 1864 and was reopened in 2013 to serve as the administrative ...

when it opened in 1864, taking up residence in the jail's administrative wing.

References

Toronto police chiefs Canadian prison officials Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Irish Protestants 1811 births 1882 deaths {{Canada-gov-bio-stub