John Cawthra (1789–1851) was a merchant, distiller 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 ...

. He represented

Simcoe Simcoe may refer to: Geography Canada * Simcoe, Ontario, a town in southwestern Ontario, near Lake Erie, Canada * Simcoe County, a county in central Ontario, Canada * Lake Simcoe, a lake in central Ontario, Canada * Simcoe North, a federal and pro ...

from 1828 to 1830 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 ...

as a Reformer. He was born in

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 ...

somewhere near

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in t ...

, the son of Joseph Cawthra and Mary Turnpenny, and came to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

with his father while still young. He served in the militia 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 ...

and in this war he helped to save the life of Lieutenant Archibald MacLean. After the battle he was offered reward money for the capture of Detroit however he did not take it. Cawthra settled in Newmarket about 1822. Cawthra died in Newmarket. A heritage marker in Newmarket marks the site of his trading post, later replaced by

Cawthra House Cawthra House is the name for two homes owned by the Cawthra family. William Cawthra House The first was a mansion completed in 1853 for businessman William Cawthra by Joseph Sheard and William Irving. It is a now site of the Scotia Plaza offi ...

, his residence, a general store and the town's first bank. His son was Henry Cawthra (1830-1904), a barrister, and his daughter Mary (d. 1882) was the mother of

William Mulock Sir William Mulock (January 19, 1843 – October 1, 1944) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, educator, farmer, politician, judge, and philanthropist. He served as vice-chancellor of the University of Toronto from 1881 to 1900, negotiating th ...

. Another son, Joseph, built a house called ''Guiseley House'' at Elm Avenue and Mount Pleasant named after his father's birthplace and has since been demolished.

References

John Cawthra 1789 births 1851 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario {{UpperCanada-politician-stub