William Chisholm (October 15, 1788 – May 4, 1842) was a farmer, 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 th ...

. He was born in Jordan Bay,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in 1788, the son of a Scottish immigrant and

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America du ...

who originally settled in

Tryon County, New York Tryon County was a county in the colonial Province of New York in the British American colonies. It was created from Albany County on March 24, 1772, and was named for William Tryon, the last provincial governor of New York. The county's bound ...

. The family moved to Upper Canada and settled near the current site of the city of

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 ...

. William served in the York militia 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 ...

and became colonel in 1831. He settled in Nelson Township in 1816. In 1820, Chisholm 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 ...

for Halton. He was originally a Reformer and opposed the expulsion of

Barnabas Bidwell Barnabas Bidwell (August 23, 1763 – July 27, 1833) was an author, teacher and politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, active in Massachusetts and Upper Canada (now Ontario). Educated at Yale, he practised law in western Massachus ...

from the assembly. He had supported Robert Gourlay, and he acted as an agent for

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...

's newspaper, the ''Colonial Advocate''. He had opened a general store and later also ran an inn; he also was a lumber merchant. In 1825, he was named postmaster for Nelson Township. By 1826, he had a change of heart politically, and by 1837, he helped put down the revolt at

Montgomery's Tavern The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern was an incident during the Upper Canada Rebellion in December 1837. The abortive revolutionary insurrection, inspired by William Lyon Mackenzie, was crushed by British authorities and Canadian volunteer units ne ...

during the Upper Canada Rebellion. In 1827, Chisholm purchased a large land reserve formerly held for the Mississaugas; he began planning the town of Oakville and set up a shipyard and harbour there. He was appointed justice of the peace in the Gore District in 1829. He was reelected in Halton in 1830 and 1836. In the town of Oakville, Chisholm owned the first tavern,

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 ...

and

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and served as postmaster and customs collector there. He died at Oakville in 1842. His sons continued to be prominent in the town of Oakville: *

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (18 ...

became the town's first mayor in 1857. * Robert Kerr later served as postmaster and customs collector at Oakville, and also served a term as mayor in 1866.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, William 1788 births 1842 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from Oakville, Ontario Canadian people of the War of 1812 Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian justices of the peace