James Durand
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James Durand (1775 – 22 March 1833) was a businessman 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 born in Abergavenny,
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in 1775 and came to Upper Canada in 1802 to deal with delinquent accounts on behalf of a group of
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merchants. Having seized the Bridgewater Works at Chippawa, Durand purchased the operation from his employers. He also established a trading depot near Long Point. In 1810, he sold the operation at Chippawa due to a downturn in the produce market. He served in the
Lincoln Militia , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , march = "The Lincolnshi ...
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 ...
. In 1815, he became the representative for West
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in the
6th Parliament of Upper Canada The 6th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 27 July 1812. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in June 1812. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada. The first Parliament buildings (located at the intersection of Front and Parli ...
in a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
after Abraham Markle joined the
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. Durand criticized the introduction of
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
during the war. With
John Willson John Willson (August 5, 1776 – May 26, 1860) was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New Jersey in 1776. He arrived in the Niagara District around 1789 and settled in Saltfleet Township, where he became a farmer, in 17 ...
, he drafted the ''Common Schools Act of 1816'', which introduced public support of elementary schools. He also helped establish the Gore District with Hamilton as the district town. In 1817, he was elected in the riding of
Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...
and served until 1820. He was a partner in the Desjardins Canal Company, expanded his land holdings and built
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 ...
s to process his timber holdings. He died in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
in 1833. His son, James Durand, Jr., also became a member of the Legislative Assembly.


Tribute

In Hamilton, ''Durand Park'' and the ''Durand Neighbourhood'' are both named after him. The ''Durand Neighbourhood'' is bounded by Main Street West (north), Queen Street South (west), James Street South (east) and the Niagara Escarpment (south). Landmarks in this neighbourhood include Hamilton City Hall,
Central Presbyterian Church Central Presbyterian Church may refer to: ;in Canada: * Central Presbyterian Church (Hamilton) ;in the United States: * Central Presbyterian Church (Little Rock, Arkansas), listed on the NRHP in Arkansas * Central Presbyterian Church (Denver, ...
, ''Whitehern Museum'', and the ''James Street South Shopping District''.


References

* MapArt
Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The ...
Atlas - Page 647 - Grids H11, H12


External links


Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, James Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada 1775 births 1833 deaths People from Hamilton, Ontario Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople History of Hamilton, Ontario People from Abergavenny