Samuel Bickerton Harman (20 December 1819 – 26 March 1892) was a Canadian lawyer, accountant, politician, civil servant, and Mayor of Toronto from 1869–1870.

Early life

Harman was born in

Brompton, London Brompton, sometimes called Old Brompton, survives in name as a ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Until the latter half of the 19th century it was a scattered village made up mostly of market gardens in the county of ...

, England, to Samuel Harman, West Indian planter and office holder, and Dorothy Bruce Murray. After graduating from King's College School in London, he became a clerk with the Colonial Bank at its Barbados branch in 1840, and in 1843 became

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

and later manager of its

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branch. He married Georgiana Huson, the daughter of a Barbadian planter, in Toronto in 1842. He returned to England in 1847 and moved to Upper Canada the following year in order to tend to some investments of his wife's family. By the early 1850s, he was reading law, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1855. He would serve as a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada from 1869 to 1871. Harman was involved in many significant activities concerning Toronto's upper class: :* member of the first

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto in 1853, eventually being appointed as its treasurer and then as its registrar; :* helping to form the Toronto Boat Club (the predecessor of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club) in 1852; :* serving on the executive of the Saint George's Society, eventually becoming its president in 1860; :* being a master

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

from 1842, and instrumental in introducing the

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into Toronto in 1854 (in which he would act as a senior officer until 1882). :* he was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada. When the Institute of Accountants and Adjusters of Ontario failed to secure an Act of incorporation from the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

, Harman was named as its president. His political skills and stage-managing of the Toronto business élite enabled its incorporation as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario in 1883.

Political career

Harman held many elected and appointed positions with the City of Toronto: :* alderman for St Andrew’s Ward (18661868, 18711872) :* Mayor of Toronto (18691870) :* assessment commissioner (18721874) :* city treasurer (18741888)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Samuel 1819 births 1892 deaths Mayors of Toronto Lawyers in Ontario Canadian accountants British emigrants to Canada People from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People educated at King's College School, London