William Harrison (May 10, 1834 – March 2, 1922) was a harness and saddle maker who served as the second reeve of

Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and th ...

, in 1874. He was the community's first

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

. Born in

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, his family moved to a farm north of Richmond Hill in 1843. After the death of his father a mere nine months after the family arrived in Canada, the family moved into the Richmond Hill community. Harrison opened a saddle and harness maker's shop in Richmond Hill in 1856. In Richmond Hill, Harrison took an active role in society. He was involved in organising the community's first fire brigade. He was a founding member of the

Richmond Hill Mechanics' Institute and Literary Society Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Harrison closed his shop in 1908. Harrison was elected

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

of the village of Richmond Hill in 1874. He served on the Richmond Hill Village Council only a single year, and was replaced in 1875 by William Trench.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, William 1834 births 1922 deaths English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Mayors of Richmond Hill, Ontario Immigrants to the Province of Canada