John K. Ryerson (July 16, 1820 – December 17, 1890) was a merchant and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. He represented Yarmouth County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1867 to 1871 and from 1872 to 1874 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. He was born in

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...

, the son of Stephen D. Ryerson, and was educated there and in

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

. He went to sea at the age of seventeen, later becoming a ship owner.''The Canadian biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men ...'' (1881)
/ref> In 1843, he married Abby Shaw. With his business partner Nathan Moses of Yarmouth, Ryerson was involved in trade with the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. He was also a member of the board of governors for Yarmouth Seminary and a director of the Atlantic Marine Insurance Company. Ryerson served as a captain in the Yarmouth Naval Brigade and was also 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 ...

. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1871 but was elected again in an 1872 by-election held after William H. Townsend resigned his seat due to poor health.

References

''The Canadian parliamentary companion'', HJ Morgan (1874)
1820 births 1890 deaths Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs {{Liberal-NovaScotia-MLA-stub