William Morris (October 31, 1786 – June 29, 1858) was a businessman 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 Paisley, Scotland in 1786, the son of a Scottish manufacturer. His family came to Upper Canada in 1801, where his father set up an import-export business. The business failed and his father retired to a farm near Elizabethtown (

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 city, independent of the county. It i ...

). After the death of his father, he opened a general store with his brother, Alexander. He joined the 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 ...

. In 1816, he opened a second store in the new settlement at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. In 1818, he was appointed justice of the peace in the area and, in 1820, he was elected to the

8th Parliament of Upper Canada The 8th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 31 January 1821. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in July 1820. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada and sat in the second Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada. This parliament wa ...

representing Carleton. He represented Carleton and then

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

until 1836, when he was appointed to the Legislative Council. He also served as lieutenant-colonel in the local militia. He was involved in setting up the first canal connecting the

Tay River The Tay River is a river in Lanark County in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river on a topographic map. It is in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Rideau River. The Tay River watershed, co ...

to Lower Rideau Lake in 1834. Although conservative, he was not part of the elite

Family Compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in L ...

, due in part to his strong affiliation with the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. His efforts to have the church recognized as one of the two national churches in the British Empire resulted in the creation of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. He also played a major role in establishing Queen's College, later Queen's University and was the first chairman of the board of trustees. He was appointed to the Legislative Council when Upper and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

were united in 1841. In 1842, he was appointed warden for the Johnstown District. In 1844, he became receiver general for the United Canadas. In 1846, he became president of the Executive Council. He suffered a stroke in 1853, at which point, he retired from active public life; he died at Montreal in 1858. He was the brother of

James Morris (Canada West politician) James Morris (November 1, 1798 – September 23, 1865) was a businessman, banker and political figure in Canada West. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, as a Reformer. He was later a member of the Legisl ...

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, William 1786 births 1858 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Leeds and Grenville United Counties Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire Immigrants to Upper Canada

See also

External links