William Hamilton (died 1822 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 ...

) was a lumber merchant and political figure in

. He was born in

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 ...

and came to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

with his brother

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

sometime before 1807. They were originally in the business of importing goods but later became involved in the timber trade. In 1811, they took over the operation of a

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 ...

near the current location of

Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to: People *Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman Places ;Geography *Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada * Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...

when the original owners were unable to repay funds paid in advance for lumber. William moved to Hawkesbury to take charge of the operation. He served as a captain in the local militia 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 ...

. He was named justice of the peace in the Eastern District in 1812 and in the

Ottawa District The Ottawa District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was created in 1816 by splitting the counties of Prescott and Russell from the Eastern District. The district town was L'Orignal. In 1838 Gloucester towns ...

in 1816. In 1816, he retired from the lumber business. 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 Lis ...

in 1820, but was unseated in the following year when it became evident that the electoral officer, an associate of his brother, had tampered with the results.

References

* ''Becoming Prominent: Leadership in Upper Canada, 1791-1841'', J.K. Johnson (1989) 1822 deaths Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Canadian businesspeople in timber People from Hawkesbury, Ontario Year of birth unknown Immigrants to Lower Canada {{UpperCanada-politician-stub