John Cook (November 28, 1791 – November 8, 1877) was a merchant 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 ...

and

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. He was born on what was later known as Crysler's Farm in Williamsburgh Township in

in 1791; he later sold that property to

John Crysler John Crysler (July 24, 1770 – January 18, 1852) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Schoharie, New York in 1770, the son of German immigrants; the family name was originally spelled Krausler or Kruessler. ...

. He served with the

Dundas County Militia The Dundas County Militia was a regiment of the provincial militia of Upper Canada that was raised in Dundas County, Ontario in the 1780s. The battle honours and legacy of the Dundas Militia are perpetuated by the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry ...

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 fought at the

Battle of Crysler's Farm The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812 (the name ''Chrysler's Farm'' is sometimes used for the engagement, but ''Crysler'' is the proper spelling). A Briti ...

. Cook exchanged his land at Crysler's Farm, which fronted on the Saint Lawrence, with a tract of land in Williamsburg Township, owned by

. He operated a timber business and ran a general store in North Williamsburg. A vigorous man, he was known to walk to Montreal when he had business there, rather than travel by boat on the Saint Lawrence. He was generous to the poor and needy, and contributed a large sum towards the building of the first Lutheran church in the area. He represented

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...

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 ...

from 1830 to 1840. Cook was appointed

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 ...

in the Eastern District in 1835. He was sympathetic to

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...

and the

Reform movement A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...

. During the 1837 Rebellion, his home was searched late one night because Mackenzie was rumoured to have paid Cook a visit. The militia officer commanding the troops was John Crysler, who told Cook that he could be hanged if they found he was sheltering Mackenzie. Following the union of

and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

into the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

in 1840, Cook was elected to represent

in the first

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

which met from 1841 to 1844. In the first session, he was one of the ultra-Reformers, who supported the union, but consistently voted against the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, Lord Sydenham. In later sessions, he was a dependable vote for Reform. Cook stood for re-election in the 1844 general election, but was defeated by George Macdonell, who supported the Governor-General's government.Cornell, ''Alignment of Political Groups in Canada'', p. 16. The sons of his brother George,

James William James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, Hermon Henry and

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, became merchants and political figures 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 ...

. Three of his grandsons, John William Cook (1834-1864), Ira Jacob Cook (1838-1910), and Rufus George Cook (1843-1924), were born in Dundas county and moved to Iowa, fighting with the 31st Iowa Infantry Regiment in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. John W. Cook died of wounds from the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Uni ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, John John Cook 1791 births 1877 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Canadian justices of the peace People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry