Thomas Charles Paxton (November 27, 1820July 3, 1887) was a Canadian politician, businessman and sheriff. As a partner in industrial business ventures, he was one of the founding fathers of

Port Perry Port Perry is a community located in Scugog, Ontario, Canada. The town is located northeast of central Toronto and north of Oshawa and Whitby. Port Perry has a population of 9,453 as of 2016. Port Perry serves as the administrative and commerc ...

. He helped establish the first steam-powered sawmill on

Lake Scugog Lake Scugog is an artificially flooded lake in Scugog, Regional Municipality of Durham and the unitary city of Kawartha Lakes in central Ontario, Canada. It lies between the communities of Port Perry and Lindsay. The lake has been raised and l ...

in 1846, then later operated a flour mill and was a partner in a foundry which manufactured machinery for agriculture and mills. He turned to politics in 1854, served as the second reeve of Reach and Scugog Townships, and he was the first person to represent the Ontario North electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He won four elections to the provincial parliament, where he served in office from 1867 to 1881, and took interest in legislation for railways and the timber industry. He partnered with other local businessmen in 1867 to construct the

Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway The Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway (PW&PP) was a railway running from Whitby to Port Perry, running north–south about 50 km east of Toronto. It was built to connect local grain and logging interests with the railway mainlines on the s ...

which was completed in 1872. He resigned from the legislature in 1881 to serve as sheriff of Ontario County until 1887, when succeeded by his son, J. F. Paxton.

Port Perry businessman

Thomas Charles Paxton was born on November 27, 1820, in

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

, the eldest son of William Paxton and Elizabeth Dryden, who had emigrated earlier that year to

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 ...

from Walsingham, England.Mackintosh, C. H., '' The Canadian Parliamentary Companion and Annual Register'', 1877, p. 267 Paxton became one of the founding fathers of

,Hvidsten, J. Peter (2001), p. 265 where he settled in 1846. He was married to Eliza Huckins of Whitby on November 7, 1847. Paxton embarked on several industrial business ventures in Port Perry. In 1846, he and his brother George Paxton established the first

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 ...

to be operated by a stationary steam engine. Paxton later partnered with local postmaster Joseph Bigelow, with whom he operated a

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

for 20 years. They also became partners in the Paxton and Tate Foundry, which manufactured agricultural implements and mill machinery. Paxton was elected reeve of Reach and Scugog Townships in 1854; he was the second person to hold the position after the townships were founded in 1853. He was a member of the Municipal Council of Ontario County, and sat on the committees for finance and assessment, and county property. Paxton was the deputy reeve of Reach and Scugog Townships in 1856, a councillor for Reach Township in 1858, and was a grammar school trustee from 1857 to 1859, and again from 1867 to 1869. He petitioned the township council in 1867 for a license to operate a saloon in Port Perry, but the council did not have the authority to permit a saloon in a village at the time.

Ontario legislator

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario was established with

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...

, and Paxton became the first person to represent the Ontario North electoral district. He was elected as an

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser since August 2022. The party espouses the principles of li ...

candidate in the

1867 Ontario general election The 1867 Ontario general election was the first general election held in the newly created Province of Ontario, Canada. Previously, the territory was known as Canada West, a part of the Province of Canada. The election was held on September 3, 18 ...

, carried through a bill for the settlement of tax titles, and served in the legislature until 1881. Throughout his entire tenure in the legislature, he was a member of the Standing Committee on Railways, the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, and the Standing Committee on Standing Orders. Paxton and Bigelow began efforts in late 1867 to construct the

, which was chartered in March 1868.Farewell, J. E. (1907), p. 84 Bigelow became the railway's president and Paxton was named to its board of directors. During the

1st Parliament of Ontario The 1st Parliament of Ontario was in session from September 3, 1867, until February 25, 1871, just prior to the 1871 general election. This was the first session of the Legislature after Confederation succeeding the Legislative Assembly of the Pr ...

, Paxton sat on a committee for Bill 89 which made provisions for the registration of brands used in marking timber, and on a committee to explore the international export of Ontario timber products. Port Perry train station 1912

Paxton was returned to the legislature in the

1871 Ontario general election The 1871 Ontario general election was the second general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on March 21, 1871, to elect the 82 Members of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The Ontario Liberal Party, led ...

. During the

2nd Parliament of Ontario The Second Parliament of Ontario was in session from March 21, 1871, until December 23, 1874, just prior to the 1875 general election. The majority party was the Ontario Liberal Party led by Edward Blake; Oliver Mowat replaced Blake as premier in ...

, he sat on a committee to study protecting Ontario's timber resources from forest fires. Construction of the Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway was completed in early 1872, and it operated as a branch line for transporting grains and other goods during a period of growth in Port Perry. During the mid-1870s, Paxton built his private residence, "Buena Vista", which was one of the largest houses in Port Perry and featured a tower and large front porch on a property of . Paxton was returned to the legislature for a third term in the

1875 Ontario general election The 1875 Ontario general election was the third general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on January 18, 1875, to elect the 88 Members of the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The Ontario Liberal Party, ...

. The validity of many results for the

3rd Parliament of Ontario The 3rd Parliament of Ontario was in session from 18 January 1875 until 25 April 1879, following the 1875 general election in which the Liberal Party was returned as the majority party. Oliver Mowat was again the province's Premier. The Ontario L ...

were challenged on charges of bribery or corruption. Charges were dismissed in the Ontario North electoral district but a by-election was held. Paxton won the original election by 129 votes, and won the by-election by 185 votes to retain his seat. He was appointed secretary of the Port Perry United School Section in January 1878. Paxton was returned to the legislature for a fourth term in the

1879 Ontario general election The 1879 Ontario general election was the fourth general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 5, 1879, to elect the 88 members of the 4th Legislative Assembly ("MLAs"). The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver ...

. While serving in the

4th Parliament of Ontario The 4th Parliament of Ontario was in session from June 5, 1879, until February 1, 1883, just prior to the 1883 general election. The majority party was the Liberal Party led by Oliver Mowat. Charles Clarke Charles Rodway Clarke (born 21 Sep ...

, he was appointed sheriff of Ontario County upon the death of Nelson G. Reynolds in January 1881. Paxton resigned from the legislature on May 10, 1881.

Later life and legacy

Paxton began serving as sheriff of Ontario County on June 20, 1881, and soon after relocated his family to Whitby. He operated an iron ore mine in Lutterworth Township which supplied foundries in Canada and the United States during the early 1880s. Paxton died on July 3, 1887, following a lengthy illness. His funeral was well attended by people from Port Perry with many businesses closed for the day. He was interred at Dryden's burial ground – later known as the Pioneer Baptist Cemetery – in

Brooklin, Ontario Brooklin is a community in the town of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, north of Central Whitby, at the south junction of Ontario Highways 12 and 7. Brooklin was located primarily in rural area about two decades ago, but it is now part of the urban Wh ...

.Hvidsten, J. Peter (2001), p. 155 His son, J. F. Paxton, was appointed to succeed him as sheriff of Ontario County. Historian J. Peter Hvidsten opined that it was common knowledge that Paxton had too many business interests at once and entrusted too much to the decisions of others, but would have died one of the wealthiest men in Ontario County had he not put public affairs before his own business ventures.

Sources

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paxton, Thomas 1820 births 1887 deaths 19th-century Canadian businesspeople 19th-century Canadian politicians Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian industrialists Canadian manufacturing businesspeople Canadian mining businesspeople Canadian people of English descent Canadian railway entrepreneurs Canadian sheriffs Mayors of places in Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Scugog People from Whitby, Ontario Upper Canada people