John McIntosh (March 4, 1796 – July 3, 1853) was a

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish descent or heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a large impact on Canadian culture sin ...

businessman, ship's captain 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 th ...

. He was a leading figure of the Upper Canadian reform movement, and was described by his contemporaries as a moderate reformer. He was elected to the province's legislature in 1834, but was unable to be elected to the parliament of the Province of Canada in 1841. He continued supporting reformers, allowing

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 ...

to stay in his home upon Mackenzie's return to Canada in 1849.

Early life and career

McIntosh was born in Colarich,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, on March 4, 1796. His parents were John McIntosh and Ann Ferguson. He emigrated to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in 1800 or 1801 with his family and moved to

York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of ...

, in 1803. He served in the 3rd Regiment of the York

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

and participated in the

siege of Detroit The siege of Detroit, also known as the surrender of Detroit or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the War of 1812. A British force under Major General Isaac Brock with Native American allies under Shawnee leader Tecums ...

and battle of Queenston Heights. He was captured by American forces during the Battle of York. After the war, McIntosh piloted ships on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

and was the caption of a schooner called ''The Three Brothers''. He married Catharine Stewart in 1824, and they had four children together. In 1828, McIntosh was given property by his father. He rented out these properties and a farm in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and these profits allowed him to devote more time to politics.

Provincial politics

In the 1830s, McIntosh was chairman of the Committee of House District Reformers. From 1832–1833 McIntosh was chairman of the Central Committee of One Hundred Freeholders of Upper Canada, a group that organized opposition to the provincial government of Upper Canada. In 1833 McIntosh married his second wife, Helen Ferguson ( Baxter) and they would have at least seven children together. In 1834, McIntosh was elected in the 4th riding of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

as a Reformer to the Upper Canadian legislature. He was reelected in 1836. He chaired a meeting in 1837 where Toronto reformers called on Upper Canadians to organize groups to oppose the provincial administration. In the fall of 1837, Mackenzie invited McIntosh to a meeting of reformers where Mackenzie proposed the Upper Canada Rebellion. Mackenzie's proposal was rejected and McIntosh did not participate in the rebellion. In 1841 McIntosh ran for the 1st Parliament of the Province of Canada in the 4th riding of York. Reformers asked McIntosh to not run in the election and

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. " ...

declared his intention to run in the same seat. McIntosh refused to quit the race so his reform colleague could be more easily elected and did not attend the election hustings in Newmarket. Baldwin won the election without opposition. Baldwin was also elected in Hastings, so a by-election was called in the riding and McIntosh stood as a candidate again. He attended the hustings but was defeated by

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Sir Louis-Hippolyte Ménard '' dit'' La Fontaine, 1st Baronet, KCMG (October 4, 1807 – February 26, 1864) was a Canadian politician who served as the first Premier of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible governmen ...

in a vote of 186-52. In 1849, he allowed

to stay at his home upon Mackenzie's return to Toronto. That evening a mob assembled at the McIntosh property and burned an effigy of Mackenzie. McIntosh asked the Toronto City Council for help protecting him and his property. Many city councilors suggested that McIntosh should ask Mackenzie to leave his home, and the council passed a declaration saying the people would only be rioting at McIntosh's home if they were "deeply insulted" over the situation. Reformers encouraged McIntosh to run in the 1851 provincial election in the 4th riding of York, but McIntosh decided to support the Reform candidate Joseph Hartman. McIntosh was ill in the last years of his life, limiting his political activities. He died in Toronto on July 3, 1853.

Philosophy and views

McIntosh was a reformer, a philosophy he obtained from his father. He supported William Lyon Mackenzie's political career but did not agree with Mackenzie's radical ideas. He supported incremental improvements to policies and was considered a moderate reformer by his contemporaries. He opposed the union of Upper 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 colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...

. McIntosh was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

References

Works cited

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McIntosh, John Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from Perth and Kinross People from Toronto Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario 1796 births 1853 deaths Immigrants to Lower Canada Immigrants to Upper Canada