Absalom Shade ( – March 15, 1862) 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 t ...

. He was born in

Wyoming County, Pennsylvania Wyoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,069. Its county seat is Tunkhannock. It was created in 1842 from part of Luzerne County. W ...

around 1793 and worked as a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tra ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. In 1816, he was hired by William Dickson to manage his lands in

Dumfries Township Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from ...

in Upper

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Shade operated a general store, a mill and a

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

in the area. The settlement that developed on the Grand River, originally known as Shade's Mills and later became Galt (now part of

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridge ...

). In 1819, he built a small bridge over the Grand River to serve customers on the other side; it lasted until 1932. Shade also secured a number of contracts to supply food and build roads for the

Canada Company The Canada Company was a private British land development company that was established to aid in the colonization of a large part of Upper Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter on August 19, 1826, under an act of the British parliament,, ...

. He helped establish the Grand River Navigation Company to help transport goods along the river. He helped establish the Gore Bank in Hamilton and also helped develop railroads in the area. He also helped to build Galt's Trinity Anglican Church in 1844 which still stands, and is in use, today. Shade also supplied food and built roads for the Canada Company. He helped establish the Grand River Navigation Company to help transport goods along the river and the Gore Bank in Hamilton. Shade also helped develop railroads in the area and was among those who funded the building of Trinity House Rectory in Galt as a major donor; he and William Dickson were also major donors toward the building of Trinity Anglican Church in 1844. In 1831, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lie ...

representing Halton; he served until 1841. Shade died at Galt in 1862.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shade, Absalom 1790s births 1862 deaths People from Wyoming County, Pennsylvania Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Year of birth uncertain American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada History of Cambridge, Ontario