James Norris (1809 – August 1, 1891) was an

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

businessman and political figure. He represented

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member from 1874 to 1878. He was born in Argyleshire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1809 and came to Peel County,

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 ...

with his parents around 1834. He moved to

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

, where he formed a partnership with

Sylvester Neelon Sylvester Neelon (January 7, 1825 – December 31, 1897) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Lincoln in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member in 1875 and from 1879 to 1886. He was born in New Yor ...

in shipping, milling and the timber trade. After the partnership dissolved, Norris continued to be involved in transporting goods to foreign markets, primarily

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He served on the town council, serving a term as mayor. In 1847, he married Sophronia Neelon, his partner's sister; in 1863, he married Elizabeth Waud, after his first wife's death.''The Canadian biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men'' (1880)
/ref> He was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1874 federal election but was unseated after an appeal. He won the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

that followed later that year. Norris resigned his seat in April 1877 and then was reelected in a May 1877 by-election. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1878 and 1882. Norris died in St. Catharines at the age of 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, James 1809 births 1891 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Mayors of St. Catharines Immigrants to Upper Canada