Joseph Gould (December 29, 1808 – January 29, 1886) was a farmer, businessman and political figure in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He was born in Uxbridge Township,

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 ...

in 1808, the son of

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

s who had come from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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 ...

. He bought a farm and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

there. He became interested in the Reform movement of

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 ...

and took part in 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 ...

. Gould was captured and sentenced to be exiled to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

but his sentence was reduced to 9 months in prison. He was pardoned as part of a general amnesty in 1838. After his release, his farm prospered; he also owned mills and factories and operated the Whitby, Lake Scugog, Simcoe and Huron Road. He also promoted the development of railway links in the region. Gould served on the district council from 1842 to 1854 and became the first reeve of Uxbridge Township and the first warden for Ontario County. He was elected to the Legislative Council for the North Riding of Ontario in 1854 and 1857; he was defeated in 1861. While in office, he helped pass measures to abolish seigneurial tenure and secularize the

clergy reserves Clergy reserves were tracts of land in Upper Canada and Lower Canada reserved for the support of "Protestantism, Protestant clergy" by the Constitutional Act of 1791. One-seventh of all surveyed Crown lands were set aside, totaling and respectivel ...

. After he left politics, he helped other members in his community by supporting the building of churches and primary schools. Having received very little schooling himself, he did not believe in higher education. He died in Uxbridge in 1886. His son Isaac James later served as a member of the legislative assembly for the province of Ontario and in the federal parliament. His daughter Alma Gould Dale was a founding member of the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in western Canada.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Joseph 1808 births 1886 deaths Recipients of British royal pardons Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Uxbridge, Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West