William Dickson (July 13, 1769 – February 19, 1846) was a businessman, lawyer 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 ...

. He was born in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1769. In 1785, he emigrated to the Niagara peninsula, where he managed mills and a store for Robert Hamilton, his cousin. In 1793, with

Samuel Street Samuel Street (January 2, 1753 – February 3, 1815) was a Canadian judge, merchant and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Wilton, Connecticut and traded with indigenous people during the American Revolution. He moved to Fort Niag ...

, he arranged the sale of Six Nations lands along the Grand River, acting as an agent for

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

. In 1806, he took issue with remarks made during a trial by William Weekes against the former Lieutenant Governor Peter Hunter, who had died in 1805. Weekes challenged him to a duel and, on October 10, was fatally wounded by Dickson and died the next day. He was taken prisoner by the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

at Niagara 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 ...

and his house was burned during the American withdrawal. He was appointed to Upper Canada's Legislative Council in 1815. In 1816, he began developing a block of land he had acquired along the Grand River, which later became Dumfries Township and the town of

Galt Galt or GALT may refer to: Biology and biochemistry * Galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, an enzyme * Gut-associated lymphoid tissue, a subset of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue People and fictional characters * Galt (surname), a list o ...

. He encouraged Scottish immigration into that area and is also the namesake of the Dickson Hill neighbourhood in West Galt.https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/resources/Dickson-Hill-HCD-Plan.pdf He died at Niagara in 1846. One son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, served in the Legislative Assembly and another,

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, later became a member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, William 1769 births 1846 deaths Dickson, Will Canadian lawyers Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Dickson, Will Dickson, Will History of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo