William Buell (February 28, 1792 – April 29, 1862) was a journalist 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 th ...

Life

Buell was born in Elizabethtown (later

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Le ...

) in 1792, the son of

William Buell William Buell (October 5, 1751 – August 8, 1832) was an American-born jurist, miller and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Hebron, Connecticut in 1751, to Timothy Buell and Mercy Peters. He was descended from William Buell (160 ...

and his wife Martha Naughton. He fought at the

Battle of Crysler's Farm The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812 (the name ''Chrysler's Farm'' is sometimes used for the engagement, but ''Crysler'' is the proper spelling). A Brit ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. He operated a book store in Brockville and also served as editor of the Brockville Recorder from 1823 to 1849. The paper expressed his reform-oriented political views and also helped promote the development of the town by campaigning for improvements to transportation links. His brother Andrew Norton also contributed material to the newspaper and supported William in his political career. He was elected to 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 Lie ...

for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

as a Reform candidate in

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organized. * January 22 – Arth ...

and again in 1830. In the next series of elections, violence at the polls by

Ogle Robert Gowan Ogle Robert Gowan (July 13, 1803 – August 21, 1876) was a farmer, Orangeman, journalist and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West. He was born in County Wexford, Ireland in 1803, the son of Hunter Gowan, an Orangeman and small ...

's Orangemen resulted in the election results being declared invalid. Buell was eventually elected in

1836 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. * January 5 – Davy Crockett arrives in Texas. * January 12 ** , with Charles Darwin on board, re ...

. However, Gowan and the Conservatives prevailed in the following election. During the Upper Canada Rebellion, Buell served with the local militia. He was appointed justice of the peace in the Johnstown District in 1840. In 1848, he helped elect his nephew

William Buell Richards Sir William Buell Richards (May 2, 1815 – January 26, 1889) was the first Chief Justice of Canada. Richards was born in Brockville, Upper Canada, to Stephen Richards and Phoebe Buell. He earned law degree at the St. Lawrence Academy in Po ...

in Leeds. In 1849, he sold the newspaper and retired to his farm. He served as Brockville mayor in 1856 and 1857. He died in Brockville in 1862. His son Jacob Dockstader Buell served in the House of Commons and also served as mayor of Brockville.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buell, William 1792 births 1862 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Mayors of Brockville Canadian newspaper editors