Robert Nichol (ca 1780 – May 3, 1824) was a businessman, judge 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 th ...

. Born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

around 1780, he arrived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

in 1792 after becoming a seaman at an early age and headed west to the Niagara Peninsula. He found work on one of Robert Hamilton's ships, worked for several years as clerk for John Askin at

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

and, in 1800, entered business transporting goods in partnership with Thomas Clark. In 1802, Clark returned to Scotland, leaving Nichol to run the business; this caused him financial hardship. In 1806, he was appointed justice of the peace in the

Niagara District The Niagara District was a historic district in Upper Canada. Created in 1798 from the Home District, it existed until 1849. Historic evolution The District was formed by an Act of the Parliament of Upper Canada in 1798, and was described as cons ...

. In 1808, he took over the operation of several mills, a distillery and other businesses in Woodhouse Township; he also secured contracts supplying the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

garrisons in the region. In 1811, he was accused by Joseph Willcocks in the Legislative Assembly of having mishandled public funds as a road commissioner;

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he c ...

, administrator of the province, felt that this accusation was retaliation for Nichol's actions in support of the administration. He was jailed but later released and filed suit for damages against the speaker of the house,

Samuel Street Samuel Street (January 2, 1753 – February 3, 1815) was a Canadian judge, merchant and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Wilton, Connecticut and traded with indigenous people during the American Revolution. He moved to Fort Niag ...

. In 1812, he became lieutenant-colonel in the

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

militia. In the same year, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Norfolk and he was appointed quartermaster general of militia. Besides transporting and supplying food and clothing to the troops, Nichol is also believed to have provided useful advice in coordinating troop movements during 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 ...

. His home and businesses suffered extensive damage during the war. Compensation for these losses was only approved after his death. During the later sessions of

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 Parli ...

, Nichol acted as government house leader. He was re-elected in 1816; during the next parliament, he introduced a motion demanding increased power for the legislature and later introduced resolutions against the

clergy reserves Clergy reserves were tracts of land in Upper Canada and Lower Canada reserved for the support of "Protestant clergy" by the Constitutional Act of 1791. One-seventh of all surveyed Crown lands were set aside, totaling and respectively for each Prov ...

and restricting immigration from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, having shifted his position from government supporter to opposition. He also opposed the Sedition Act of 1804 that had been used to banish Robert Gourlay. He was re-elected in 1820; he helped establish a commission to improve transportation within the province and supported a proposal by

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

to united 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 ...

. In 1824, he was appointed surrogate judge for the Niagara District. Later that year, he died at Queenston Heights while on court business when his horse and carriage went over a cliff.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichol, Robert 1780 births 1824 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Upper Canada judges Immigrants to Upper Canada Immigrants to Lower Canada Canadian justices of the peace