James Durand (1775 – 22 March 1833) 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

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1775 and came to Upper Canada in 1802 to deal with delinquent accounts on behalf of a group of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

merchants. Having seized the Bridgewater Works at Chippawa, Durand purchased the operation from his employers. He also established a trading depot near Long Point. In 1810, he sold the operation at Chippawa due to a

downturn In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

in the produce market. He served in the

Lincoln Militia , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , march = "The Lincolnshi ...

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 1815, he became the representative for West

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in the

6th Parliament of Upper Canada The 6th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 27 July 1812. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in June 1812. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada. The first Parliament buildings (located at the intersection of Front and Parlia ...

in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

after

Abraham Markle Abraham Markle (October 26, 1770 – March 6, 1826) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada and co-proprietor of Terre Haute, Indiana. Early life He was born in Ulster County, New York in 1770. Four of his brothers served with Butle ...

joined 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 ...

. Durand criticized the introduction of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

during the war. With

John Willson John Willson (August 5, 1776 – May 26, 1860) was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New Jersey in 1776. He arrived in the Niagara District, Upper Canada, Niagara District around 1789 and settled in Saltfleet Township, ...

, he drafted the ''Common Schools Act of 1816'', which introduced public support of

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

s. He also helped establish the Gore District with

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

as the district town. In 1817, he was elected in the riding of

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

and served until 1820. He was a partner in the Desjardins Canal Company, expanded his land holdings and built

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 ...

s to process his timber holdings. He died in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

in 1833. His son, James Durand, Jr., also became a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Tribute

In Hamilton, ''Durand Park'' and the ''Durand Neighbourhood'' are both named after him. The ''Durand Neighbourhood'' is bounded by Main Street West (north), Queen Street South (west), James Street South (east) and the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

(south). Landmarks in this neighbourhood include

Hamilton City Hall Hamilton City Hall is the chief administration (government), administrative building for the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. Located in the downtown core, it is an 8-storey building (34.0 m) at the corner of Main Street (Hamilton, Ontario) ...

Central Presbyterian Church Central Presbyterian Church may refer to: ;in Canada: * Central Presbyterian Church (Hamilton) ;in the United States: * Central Presbyterian Church (Little Rock, Arkansas), listed on the NRHP in Arkansas * Central Presbyterian Church (Denver, Col ...

, ''Whitehern Museum'', and the ''James Street South Shopping District''.

References

* MapArt

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The r ...

Atlas - Page 647 - Grids H11, H12

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, James Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada 1775 births 1833 deaths People from Hamilton, Ontario Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople History of Hamilton, Ontario People from Abergavenny