Jamie Crooks (April 15, 1778 – March 2, 1860) 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 th ...

and

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. He was born in Kilmarnock,

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 ...

in 1778 and came to

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

in 1791 where his half-brother, Francis, was operating as a merchant. In 1795, Francis, James and his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

moved to Newark ( Niagara-on-the-Lake). The business expanded into supplying goods to the military, shipping, the production of beer and spirits and

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

production. In 1811, they built their own schooner, the Lord Nelson. He served as a captain in the local 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 ...

, his property was destroyed and the schooner was taken over by the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

and sank during a storm. He was never fully compensated for these losses. He fought at the Battle of Queenston Heights and later served on the jury at the Bloody Assize of 1814. In 1814, he relocated to West Flamborough Township, which was located further from the border with the United States, and set up a small industrial centre there. He became a justice of the peace and was elected to the

8th Parliament of Upper Canada The 8th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 31 January 1821. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in July 1820. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada and sat in the second Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada. This parliament wa ...

representing Halton in 1820. In 1822, he became a director of the

Bank of Upper Canada The Bank of Upper Canada was established in 1821 under a charter granted by the legislature of Upper Canada in 1819 to a group of Kingston merchants. The charter was appropriated by the more influential Executive Councillors to the Lt. Governor, t ...

. He was also part of a committee tasked with improving

inland navigation Inland navigation, inland barge transport or inland waterway transport (IWT) is a transport system allowing ships and barges to use inland waterways (such as canals, rivers and lakes). These waterways have inland ports, marinas, quays, and wharfs. ...

. By this time, he was again operating a number of ships transporting goods along the lower

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

. In 1823, with

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

, he lobbied for the recognition of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

as an official state church of Upper Canada. In 1825, he established the first paper mill in the province and in the next decade built mills on the

Trent Trent may refer to: Places Italy * Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom * Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany * Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States * Trent, California, ...

(at Crooks' Rapids) and Speed Rivers. In 1830, he was re-elected as a representative for Halton and, in 1831, he was appointed to the Legislative Council for the province. As a moderate Tory, he opposed the

Family Compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in ...

, but also opposed responsible government. He supported union with

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 ...

, although he opposed the use of French in the legislature, and he was re-appointed to the Legislative Council for the united province. In November 1843, he was one of a group of members who walked out of the council to protest the movement of the capital from Kingston to

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 ...

. He died on his estate in West Flamborough Township in 1860. His son, Adam Crooks, went on to serve in the Ontario legislature, becoming attorney general and provincial treasurer.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crooks, James 1778 births 1860 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Kilmarnock People from Niagara-on-the-Lake Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Papermakers Immigrants to Upper Canada