Richard Beasley (July 21, 1761 – February 16, 1842) was a soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman 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 ...

Early life

He was born in the British

colony of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Unit ...

in 1761 and moved to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in 1777. In 1783, he formed a partnership with Peter Smith in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

. In 1788, he settled in Barton Township on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

near the current city of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, still involved in trading furs. Richard Beasley became one of the founders of Ancaster when he gave millwright James Wilson half of the financial backing to build a grist-mill in 1791 and a sawmill in 1792. In 1797 Beasley sold his half share of the mills to fur trader and businessman Jean Rousseaux. Ultimately by 1800, after speculating on land originally granted to the

Six Nations of the Grand River Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of w ...

in 1784 by the

Haldimand Proclamation The ''Haldimand Proclamation'' was a decree that granted land to the Mohawk (or Kanien'kehà:ka) (Mohawk nation) who had served on the British side during the American Revolution. The decree was issued by the Governor of the Province of Quebec, ...

along the Grand River, he was forced to sell part of his property to cover debts. At one time he owned of land in what is now

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

. Much of it was later sold to German-speaking

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

settlers.

Political career

In 1796, he was elected to the 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada, representing

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

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 ...

& 1st

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. He was also appointed magistrate in the same year. In the next Parliament, he represented West York, Lincoln & Haldimand and served as speaker from 1803 to 1804. In 1802, he became a lieutenant colonel in the York militia. In 1808, he was elected to represent West York in the 5th Parliament, but he was unseated because it was found that his agent had closed the polls too early. Beasley, like most of the members of the Upper Canada Legislative Assembly during this period, was a

slaveholder The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she inh ...

. He owned several slaves in Hamilton. Beasley occupied Burlington Heights (now the site of

Dundurn Castle Dundurn Castle is a historic neoclassical mansion on York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The house took three years and $175,000 to build, and was completed in 1835. The forty-room castle featured the latest conveniences of gas lighti ...

and Harvey Park) in 1790, establishing a trading operation there. In May 1813,

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, ...

forces retreating from the Niagara area set up camp on his land, erecting earthworks and other fortifications. From this encampment the British launched a successful counter-attack against the Americans at Stoney Creek a week later. 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 ...

he regained his land from the British, and took part in a convention organized by radical reformer

Robert Fleming Gourlay Robert Fleming Gourlay (March 24, 1778 – August 1, 1863) was a Scottish-Canadian writer, political reform activist, and agriculturalist. Early life and education Gourlay was born in Craigrothie in the Parish of Ceres, Fife, Scotland on 22 M ...

. As a result, he lost his post as magistrate. In addition, allegations regarding his participation in the

were raised. Financial difficulties forced Beasley to sell lands at Burlington Heights, but it was purchased by Sir Allan Napier MacNab who built

on the foundations of Beasley's brick home. In 1824, he was elected to represent Halton and became a magistrate again in 1827. He died in Hamilton in 1842. His grave site is at the back of Christ Church Cathedral in Hamilton, Ontario.

Legacy

The Beasley neighbourhood in Hamilton is named after him. It is bounded by Barton Street East (north), Main Street East (south), John Street North (west) and Wellington Street North (east). Notable features of this neighbourhood include

Landmark Place Landmark Place is the tallest building in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at the corner of Main Street East and Catharine Street South in the Corktown neighbourhood. This 43-storey building (130 metres/427 feet) was completed in 1974, and w ...

Royal Connaught Hotel The Royal Connaught Hotel is a 13-storey building in downtown Hamilton, Ontario. It was built by Harry Frost of Buffalo, New York in 1914, who also started up and owned the Frost Fence Company in Hamilton. It is located at the corner of King Str ...

and Beasley Park, which was also named after him. Richard Beasley Public School, also named after him, is a primary school on Hamilton's east Mountain.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Richard 1761 births 1842 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian fur traders People of the Province of New York United Empire Loyalists Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Colonial American merchants Upper Canada judges Canadian slave owners

Early life

Political career

Legacy

See also

Further reading

References

External links