John Small (August 27, 1746 – July 18, 1831) was a political figure in Upper Canada.

Life and career

Small was born in 1746 at Cirencester in England. In 1792, he was appointed clerk of the Executive Council of Upper Canada. He 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 ...

and a lieutenant in the militia. He came to Canada with John Graves Simcoe and built one of the first residential homes in the town of York (now Toronto). His son

Charles Coxwell Small Charles Coxwell Small (b 1801) was a wealthy farmer and public official in Upper Canada. Like his father, John Small (Canadian politician, born 1746), John Small, Small was the Clerk (legislature), Chief Clerk of Upper Canada's Privy Council. I ...

expanded the home, which was later called Berkeley House. It was a prominent local building until it was torn down during the 1920s and turned into a brewery. In January 1800, he fought a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

with John White, the attorney general for the province. White had insulted Small's wife's honour after a quarrel between the two men's wives. Small shot White in the hip, a wound he died from a few days later. He was charged with and acquitted of murder, even though the presiding judge,

Henry Allcock Henry Allcock (baptised January 26, 1759 – February 22, 1808) was a judge and political figure in Upper and Lower Canada. His family was from Edgbaston and he was born in Birmingham, England in 1759 and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in Lon ...

, claimed to be a friend of White. Small's reputation in the elite society of York was ruined by the affair. As a result of

land speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many s ...

, Small was able to achieve some level of prosperity. He died at York in 1831. His elder son,

James Edward Small James Edward Small, (February 1798 – May 27, 1869) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West. He was born in York, Upper Canada in 1798, the son of John Small. He attended the Home District School with Ro ...

, served in the legislative assemblies of Upper Canada and of the Province of Canada. His younger son,

, followed in his father's footsteps as Chief Clerk. His grandson, also named John Small, served in the parliament of the Province of Canada and in the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

after Confederation.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Small, John 1746 births 1841 deaths Pre-Confederation Ontario people People from Cirencester Canadian duellists Canadian justices of the peace