Colonel James Givins (sometimes James Givens) (circa 1759 – March 5, 1846) was a British Army officer and militiaman who fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

and 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 ...

. He was also a senior officer in the

Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...

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 ...

, serving as Chief Superintendent from 1830 to 1837. He is the

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

of Givins Street in Toronto.

Early life

Home of James Givins, called Pine Grove,

Givins place of birth is unknown, but it has been suggested he was born in

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 ...

. He may have been related to Henry Hamilton, as

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...

referred to him as having been "bred up" by Hamilton. Givins came to

Fort Detroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...

when Hamilton was posted there in 1775. Part of a British unit that seized Fort Vincennes, Indiana, in 1778, Givins was captured by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

forces when they retook the post in 1779 and spent two years as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

. Givins was released in 1781. No record exists of his activities until he was appointed a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

with the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, they were named for Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. The Queen' ...

on November 30, 1791. Knowledgeable in

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, he served as a courier and interpreter for Lieutenant Governor Simcoe in Simcoe's dealings with the province's Indians. In June 1797 he was appointed the post of Indian Agent for the town of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

by Peter Russell. Among Givins's duties were various official interactions with Indian bands, such as the distribution of annual gifts due from land surrenders. He was also charged with the task of keeping the Six Nations of Upper Canada under

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

's leadership from forming a viable alliance with the

Mississaugas The Mississauga are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwe. The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning "hose ...

of Upper Canada. He married Angelica Andrews on December 29, 1797. In 1802 Givins built a large estate west of Toronto on land he received as a loyalist fighter in the American Revolution. He dubbed the estate ''Pine Grove''. The Queen's Rangers were disbanded in 1803, and Givins was made a captain of the 5th foot regiment on November 19, 1803.

War of 1812

Although Givins had retired from the military, he was recalled to active service at the outbreak of the

. He was given the rank of major in the

York Militia The York Militia was a volunteer militia unit in Upper Canada formed after the passage of the Militia Act of 1793. Members of the York Militia were drawn from the settlers of York County, an area mostly made up of present-day Greater Toronto. Th ...

and appointed Provincial Aide-de-Camp to General

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he c ...

. Givins fought in several battles, including the

Battle of Detroit The siege of Detroit, also known as the surrender of Detroit or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the War of 1812. A British force under Major General Isaac Brock with Native American allies under Shawnee leader Tecumseh ...

and on the

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. In his role as an officer in the Indian Department, Givins helped coordinate a band of Mississauga warriors during the

Battle of York The Battle of York was a War of 1812 battle fought in York, Upper Canada (today's Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on April 27, 1813. An American force supported by a naval flotilla landed on the lakeshore to the west and advanced against the town, whi ...

on April 27, 1813. His performance there was favourably noted by Sir

Roger Hale Sheaffe General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, 1st Baronet (15 July 1763 – 17 July 1851) was a Loyalist General in the British Army during the War of 1812. He was created a Baronet in 1813 and afterwards served as Commander and acting Lieutenant Governor of ...

, when the men under his command were the first to engage the landing American troops. After coming under fire from the Americans, and their own relief failing to arrive, he and his men retreated to ''Pine Grove'' where his wife Angelica attended to their wounds. Blood from the wounded stained the floors, which remained stained until the house was demolished in 1891.

Later life

Givins remained a militia member after the war's end, although his main focus was the Indian Department. He was promoted to Colonel of the 3rd Battalion of York Militia on January 21, 1820, and Colonel of the 1st Battalion of West York in 1821. After the war, the focus of the Indian Department changed, as military alliances with the Indians were no longer valuable. Instead, the Indian Department looked to convert the Indians to the British lifestyle. Givins was heavily involved with the

Credit Mission The Credit Mission was an Indian Mission on the Credit River in Upper Canada. Funded with the proceeds from Purchase #22 or #23, building began in 1826 under the leadership of Peter Jones. When construction began, about 200 Indians lived at the ...

, working with Mississauga leader Peter Jones to establish the settlement and pioneer it as an example Indian settlement. The success of the Credit Mission was noted in Henry Charles Darling's report on the state of the province's Indians, and the settlement became a model for the reserve system. Givins was given the job of Chief Superintendent of the Indian Department in Upper Canada in 1830. He retired in 1837, and was replaced by

Samuel Jarvis Samuel Peters Jarvis (November 15, 1792 – September 6, 1857) was a Canadian government official in the nineteenth century. He was the Chief Superintendent for the Indian Department in Upper Canada (1837–1845), and he was a member of the ...

. Givins died in 1846 at his estate ''Pine Grove'' in Toronto, and was buried in St. James Cemetery.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Givins, James 1759 births 1846 deaths British Indian Department 18th-century Canadian civil servants 19th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian people of the War of 1812 United Empire Loyalists