Peter Howard (May 21, 1772 – November 24, 1843) was a farmer, businessman, medical doctor 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 the ...

. He was born in

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

in 1772. His father served with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

during 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 ...

. Peter settled in Elizabethtown Township in Upper Canada. In 1804, he was elected to represent

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lis ...

and served until 1812 when he was defeated by

Levius Peters Sherwood Levius Peters Sherwood (December 12, 1777 – May 19, 1850) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born at St. Johns in Lower Canada, the son of Justus Sherwood. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1803. In ...

. In 1806, he was named 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 ...

in the Johnstown District. In 1808, with Thomas Dorland and

David McGregor Rogers David McGregor Rogers (November 23, 1772 – July 18, 1824) was a farmer and Member of the 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada. He was born in Londonderry, Vermont, in 1772. the third son and second David born to Capt. James Rogers and Margaret McGr ...

, he withdrew from the house to protest an amendment to the District School Act. Later, he tended to support the more radical reformers, such as

Joseph Willcocks Joseph Willcocks (1773 – September 4, 1814) sometimes spelt Wilcox was a publisher and political figure in Upper Canada. He was elected to the Parliament of Upper Canada in 1807 representing York, 1st Lincoln and Haldimand. He was re-electe ...

, in the assembly. In 1816, he was reelected to represent Leeds and served until 1820. He practiced as a doctor after 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 ...

, although he was only licensed to practice medicine in 1830. He died in

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...

in 1843. He is buried in the Soperton Cemetery near Delta, Ontario. His son Matthew Munsel also represented Leeds in the Legislative Assembly.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Peter Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada 1772 births 1843 deaths Physicians from Ontario Canadian justices of the peace