John Montgomery (probably February 29, 1788 – October 31, 1879) owned the tavern which served as a base for the rebels during the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...

. His establishment was the site of the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern. He was born in

Gagetown, New Brunswick Gagetown (2016 population: 711) is a village in Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated on the west bank of the Saint John River and is the county's shire town. History Acadians Gagetown was originally named Grimross by the Ac ...

, the son of Alexander Montgomery who came there from

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. In 1798, the family moved to

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 ...

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 ...

. Montgomery served on the Niagara frontier 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 in the

Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812. Resulting in a British victory, it took place on 13 October 1812 near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). The battle was fought between United States regulars wit ...

. He operated a number of taverns in the York area, including The Bird in the Hand at Yonge Street and

Finch Avenue Finch Avenue is an arterial thoroughfare that travels east–west in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The road continues west into the Regional Municipality of Peel as Regional Road 2 and east into the Regional Municipality of Durham as Regional ...

, in 1828. He leased this inn out in 1830, and that year began building Montgomery's Tavern further south on Yonge Street. Montgomery was also a road commissioner for York County and a director for the Mutual Insurance Company. Sympathetic with the concerns of the Reformers, Montgomery helped send William Lyon Mackenzie to England in 1832 to present petitions to the British Colonial Office. He also helped found the

Bank of the People The Bank of the People was created by radical Reform politicians James Lesslie, James Hervey Price, and Dr John Rolph in Toronto in 1835. It was founded after they failed to establish a "Provincial Loan Office" in which farmers could borrow s ...

in 1836. Although he signed a declaration of Toronto Reformers and joined a vigilance committee formed as a result in July 1837, Montgomery did not advocate open rebellion. In December, he was informed that his tavern would be the rebel base; Montgomery was to serve as commissary. John Linfoot, who had leased the tavern and would take possession in February 1838, had already moved in at the time and Montgomery was in the process of moving out. On December 7, on the orders of Francis Bond Head, the tavern was burned and Montgomery was arrested and charged with high treason. He was sentenced to be executed but his sentence was reduced and he was sent to Fort Henry to await exile to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He escaped to

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, where he became president of an association for Canadian refugees. After receiving a pardon, Montgomery returned to Toronto in 1843. He rebuilt a new tavern on the site of the old one and continued to operate a number of taverns in Toronto. He also operated a hotel at the north-east corner of Church Street and Colborne Street for over three years after his return. Montgomery moved to

Markham Township Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...

in 1871 and served as postmaster there. In 1873, he received $3000 in compensation for the loss of his tavern. He died in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

. Now the location of a post office, the site of Montgomery's Tavern was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, John 1788 births 1879 deaths Upper Canada Rebellion