George Strange Boulton (September 11, 1797 – February 13, 1869) was a lawyer 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 ...

Life and career

He was born near

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, in 1797, the son of D’Arcy Boulton, and came to Upper Canada with his family around 1800. He studied at

John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common sc ...

's school in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He served 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 ...

. In 1818, he was called to the bar and began work as a lawyer in Port Hope. In 1824, he was appointed registrar for Northumberland County and he moved to

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, the county seat. At the start of the 1837 rebellion, he became a member of the militia. He was first 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 Durham in 1824; his election was declared invalid in 1825. In 1830, he was elected in Durham and represented it in the legislative assembly until 1841. He was a loyal Conservative and supported the expulsion of

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 ...

from the assembly. In 1847, he was 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 as ...

. He died in Cobourg, Ontario, in 1869. His brother,

Henry John Boulton Henry John Boulton, (1790 – June 18, 1870) was a lawyer and political figure in Upper Canada and the Province of Canada, as well as Chief Justice of Newfoundland. Boulton began his legal career under the tutelage of John Beverly Robin ...

, was Attorney General in Upper Canada.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulton, George Strange 1797 births 1869 deaths Politicians from Albany, New York American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Canadian people of English descent Lawyers in Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Cobourg Politicians from Toronto Immigrants to Upper Canada