William Cayley (May 26, 1807 – February 23, 1890) was a lawyer and political figure in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. He was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in 1807, the son of a British consul, and studied in England. He was called to the bar in 1835 and subsequently came 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 ...

where he was admitted to the bar in 1838. In 1836, he married Emma Robinson, the daughter of D'Arcy Boulton. He opened a practice in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, later partnering with

Matthew Crooks Cameron Sir Matthew Crooks Cameron, (2 October 1822 – 25 June 1887) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1878. He represented the riding of Toronto East. He served i ...

. In 1845, he was chosen as Inspector General, a post in the Executive Council, and elected to the Legislative Assembly in a by-election held in

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

in 1846 and was reelected in 1848. He was defeated in the 1851 election, but elected again in Huron and

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

in 1854, serving on the Board of Railway Commissioners and once again as Inspector General. In 1855, Cayley introduced the Audit Act which established an auditor of public accounts and the Audit Board, a new government department. He was elected one more time in an 1858 by-election for Renfrew; he retired from politics in 1861. He served as a director of the

Bank of Upper Canada The Bank of Upper Canada was established in 1821 under a charter granted by the legislature of Upper Canada in 1819 to a group of Kingston merchants. The charter was appropriated by the more influential Executive Councillors to the Lt. Governor, t ...

and was president in 1861. He served as

Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

for the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

from 1870 to 1877. Cayley died in Toronto in 1890. His son

Hugh Cayley Hugh St. Quentin Cayley (November 19, 1857 – April 13, 1934) was a Canadian lawyer, news reporter and politician. Early life Hugh St. Quentin Cayley was born on November 19, 1857 in Toronto. He was raised in Upper Canada and one of eleven chi ...

became a Member of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly serving from 1886 until 1894.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cayley, William 1807 births 1890 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Canadian auditors

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...