James Steen (died 1862) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born farmer and politician in

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 ...

. He served as the first reeve of

Fitzroy Township, Ontario Fitzroy is a former incorporated and present day geographic township (Canada)#Ontario, township originally part of Carleton County, Ontario, Carleton County in eastern Ontario, Canada. Fitzroy was located in the western part of the county, bordere ...

from 1850 to 1854. He came to Canada in 1818, settling in Drummond township. Steen later moved near the village of Pakenham. He subsequently returned to Ireland to marry Rose Ann McKibbon, returning to

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 new bride. In 1831, Steen moved again to a new location, soon known as Steen's Falls, near the current town of

Galetta Galetta is a dispersed rural community in West Carleton-March Ward in rural western Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Mississippi River near its mouth in the Ottawa River. Once part of Fitzroy Township and later West Carleton, it ...

and built a mill on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

there. After Dr. Hubbell was able to purchase the water rights for that location, Steen moved down river and built a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, shingle mill and

lumber mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. He served as 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 ...

for the area and also sat as a municipal councillor at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

until 1850, when he became reeve for the new township of Fitzroy. In 1862, Steen was caught in the machinery at one of his mills and died two weeks later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steen, James Year of birth missing 1862 deaths Mayors of West Carleton Township Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada