William Bowman Felton (1782 – June 30, 1837) was a British naval officer, political figure in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

, and in his time the most influential man at

Sherbrooke, Quebec Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

. He was born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1782. He was the son of John Felton (1752-1796), an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and Governor of the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

, by his wife Elizabeth (1765-1833), daughter of John Butt. He was descended from the mentally disturbed Naval officer John Felton, who murdered

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...

in 1628. The Feltons had a long association with the

, and William too served with the British fleet in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. In 1811, he married Anna Maria Valls at

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

and in 1814 he was appointed British Consul at

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

. He amassed a considerable fortune as naval storekeeper at

Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. In 1815/16, at the end of the

, he came to

where he was granted large tracts of land in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

. He brought with him his extended family and settled on property in Ascot Township near

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

. Felton raised livestock and also leased some of his land. He served in the local militia, becoming lieutenant-colonel, and also served as justice of the peace. In 1822, he was named to the

Legislative Council of Lower Canada The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The upper house consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly ...

. He attempted to establish a colonization company to encourage development of the region, without success. In 1827, he was named Commissioner of crown lands. He was suspended from this position in 1836, after having been accused of improperly selling crown property as if it were his own. There were also some irregularities in land grants issued to his children which had not been resolved at the time of Felton's death on his estate near Sherbrooke in 1837.

Family

William Bowman Felton and his wife Anna Maria Valls of

were the parents of eight children: * William Locker Pickmore Felton, Q.C. (who died in November, 1877), became a lawyer and politician who represented his native county in Parliament previous to the

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 Canada, Dom ...

. *Maria Antonia married, 1839, Sir Percy Arthur Fairlie-Cuningham, 10th Baronet of Castle Robertland. She died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, January 1897, aged 76. *Eliza Margaret married

Thomas Cushing Aylwin Thomas Cushing Aylwin (January 5, 1806 – October 14, 1871) was a Quebec lawyer, judge and political figure. He was born in Quebec City in 1806, the grandson of Thomas Aylwin, a merchant in Quebec City. Aylwin studied at Harvard University, t ...

, who served in the legislative assembly and was later named a judge. *Charlotte, died unmarried. *Frances Lucia married Josiah Hunt, Esquire, of

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 ...

. *Matilda Catalina married General Richard Burnaby-Dyott, of

Freeford Hall Freeford Manor (previously known as Freeford Hall) is a privately owned 18th-century country house at Freeford, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. It is the home of the Dyott family and is a Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a l ...

, Colonel-Commandant,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. *Octavia Sophia married Andrew Wingate McLimont, Esquire, of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. *Isabella Monica married Livingstone E. Morris, of

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

References

External links

* *
Madame Anna Maria (Valls) Felton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, William Bowman 1782 births 1837 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Military personnel from Gloucester Politicians from Gloucester