Thomas Dorland (1759 – March 5, 1832) was a farmer, soldier 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 ...

. Born in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later orga ...

, Dorland was a member of a family of Dutch

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; the family name was originally spelled "Dorlandt". 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 ...

, he broke with Quaker doctrines against violence and fought 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, ...

and became a member of a company of soldiers led by

Peter Van Alstine Peter Van Alstine (Vanalstine) (1743–1811) was a farmer, soldier and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1743. He served as a major in the Board of Associated Loyalists during the American Revolution. He h ...

. After the war, he settled in Adolphustown Township in Upper Canada and later joined the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. He was appointed

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

Midland District Midland District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and partitioned in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. Historical evolution The District, originally ...

in 1800 and also represented Lennox and Addington 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 ...

from 1804 to 1812. He was a captain in the local militia and served during 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 ...

. From 1802 to 1824, Dorland operated a ferry between Adolphustown and Van Alstine's Mills ( Glenora) in Prince Edward County. Dorland was reported to have enslaved as many as 20 people. He died at Adolphustown in 1832. His brother

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

had been elected to the

1st Parliament of Upper Canada The 1st Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 17 September 1792. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in August 1792. All sessions were held at Navy Hall in Newark, later Niagara-on-the-Lake. This parliament was dissolved 1 July 1796. Th ...

but was unseated because, as a practicing Quaker, he refused to take the oath of office.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorland, Thomas 1759 births 1832 deaths People from Dutchess County, New York British emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Canadian people of Dutch descent Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian justices of the peace Canadian slave owners