James Gray Bethune (April 1, 1793 – October 13, 1841) was born 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 the son of the Reverend John Bethune of Williamstown, Ontario, the founding Church of Scotland minister for Upper Canada (Ontario). James Gray was from a large family and four of the brothers had notable careers in Canada.

Alexander Neil Bethune Alexander Neil Bethune (August 28, 1800 – February 3, 1879) was a Church of England clergyman and bishop. Early and Family Life The son of the Reverend John Bethune of Williamstown, Ontario, the founding Church of Scotland minister for Upper Ca ...

became the bishop of the diocese of Toronto. John Bethune was the acting principal of McGill University for over ten years.

Angus Bethune Angus Bethune may refer to: * Angus Bethune (fur trader) (1783–1858), Canadian fur trader * Angus Bethune (politician) (1908–2004), Australian politician * Angus Bethune, the titular character from the 1995 film, Angus Angus may refer to: M ...

was prominent in the fur trade and

Donald Bethune Donald Bethune (July 11, 1802 – June 19, 1869) was a lawyer, judge, entrepreneur and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Williamstown in Upper Canada in 1802, the son of Reverend John Bethune. Donald was part of a prominent ...

was an important political figure in Upper Canada. James had a career in business which began in 1812 after finishing school and moving 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 ...

, Upper Canada. By 1817 he was involved in a number of enterprises, namely; a store, sawmill, distillery and community postmaster. Bethune's enterprises in the community made him well known and often admired personality. He was 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 ...

, an officer of the court and lieutenant-colonel of the militia. He became an agent for the

Bank of Upper Canada The Bank of Upper Canada was established in 1821 under a charter granted by the legislature of Upper Canada in 1819 to a group of Kingston merchants. The charter was appropriated by the more influential Executive Councillors to the Lt. Governor, t ...

in 1830 and was promoted to cashier of the Cobourg branch. Bethune was also involved in the

Cobourg and Peterborough Railway The Cobourg and Peterborough Railway (C&PRy) was one of the first railway lines to be built in Central Ontario, Canada. The line was initially considered in 1831 as a way to bring the products from the burgeoning area around Peterborough to market ...

. His lending policies ran counter to bank policies and ended in bankruptcy in 1834. He subsequently made an unsuccessful foray into politics (losing one of two seats representing

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

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 ...

) and had a brief stay in debtors' prison in 1836. His reputation was ruined and he moved away to New York state where he died after a protracted illness in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. Bethune was buried in

Cobourg, Ontario 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 i ...

. Bethune married Martha Covert in 1830 and daughter Elizabeth Martha Bethune in 1831. He was predeceased by Elizabeth in 1831 and survived by Mary ( whom died in Toronto in 1843.). The Bethune are buried at St. Peters Anglican Church in Peterborough.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
Canadian businesspeople 1793 births 1841 deaths Canadian justices of the peace {{Canada-business-bio-stub