Richard Beasley (July 21, 1761 – February 16, 1842) was a soldier, political figure, farmer and businessman 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 th ...

Early life

He was born in the British

colony of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Unit ...

in 1761 and moved to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in 1777. In 1783, he formed a partnership with Peter Smith in the fur trade. In 1788, he settled in Barton Township on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

near the current city of Hamilton, still involved in trading furs. Richard Beasley became one of the founders of Ancaster when he gave millwright James Wilson half of the financial backing to build a grist-mill in 1791 and a sawmill in 1792. In 1797 Beasley sold his half share of the mills to fur trader and businessman Jean Rousseaux. Ultimately by 1800, after speculating on land originally granted to the Six Nations of the Grand River in 1784 by the Haldimand Proclamation along the Grand River, he was forced to sell part of his property to cover debts. At one time he owned of land in what is now

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

. Much of it was later sold to German-speaking Pennsylvania Dutch settlers.

Political career

In 1796, he was elected to the 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada, representing

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& 1st

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. He was also appointed magistrate in the same year. In the next Parliament, he represented West York, Lincoln & Haldimand and served as speaker from 1803 to 1804. In 1802, he became a lieutenant colonel in the York militia. In 1808, he was elected to represent West York in the 5th Parliament, but he was unseated because it was found that his agent had closed the polls too early. Beasley, like most of the members of the Upper Canada Legislative Assembly during this period, was a

slaveholder The following is a list of slave owners, for which there is a consensus of historical evidence of slave ownership, in alphabetical order by last name. A * Adelicia Acklen (1817–1887), at one time the wealthiest woman in Tennessee, she inh ...

. He owned several slaves in Hamilton. Beasley occupied Burlington Heights (now the site of Dundurn Castle and Harvey Park) in 1790, establishing a trading operation there. In May 1813,

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forces retreating from the Niagara area set up camp on his land, erecting earthworks and other fortifications. From this encampment the British launched a successful counter-attack against the Americans at Stoney Creek a week later. After the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

he regained his land from the British, and took part in a convention organized by radical reformer Robert Fleming Gourlay. As a result, he lost his post as magistrate. In addition, allegations regarding his participation in the

were raised. Financial difficulties forced Beasley to sell lands at Burlington Heights, but it was purchased by Sir Allan Napier MacNab who built Dundurn Castle on the foundations of Beasley's brick home. In 1824, he was elected to represent Halton and became a magistrate again in 1827. He died in Hamilton in 1842. His grave site is at the back of Christ Church Cathedral in Hamilton, Ontario.

Legacy

The Beasley neighbourhood in Hamilton is named after him. It is bounded by Barton Street East (north), Main Street East (south), John Street North (west) and Wellington Street North (east). Notable features of this neighbourhood include

Landmark Place Landmark Place is the tallest building in downtown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at the corner of Main Street East and Catharine Street South in the Corktown neighbourhood. This 43-storey building (130 metres/427 feet) was completed in 1974, and w ...

, Royal Connaught Hotel and Beasley Park, which was also named after him. Richard Beasley Public School, also named after him, is a primary school on Hamilton's east Mountain.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Richard 1761 births 1842 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian fur traders People of the Province of New York United Empire Loyalists Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Colonial American merchants Upper Canada judges Canadian slave owners

Early life

Political career

Legacy

See also

Further reading

References

External links