John Small (August 27, 1746 – July 18, 1831) was a 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 ...

Life and career

Small was born in 1746 at

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1792, he was appointed clerk of the

Executive Council of Upper Canada The Executive Council of Upper Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Executive Council were not necessarily members of the Legislative Assembly but were usually ...

. 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 John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...

and built one of the first residential homes in the town 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 ...

(now

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

). His son Charles Coxwell Small 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 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 ...

. His younger son, Charles Coxwell Small, 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