Abraham Markle (October 26, 1770 – March 6, 1826) was a businessman and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, 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 the Province of Queb ...

and co-proprietor of

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

he defected to the United States.

Early life

He was born in

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...

in 1770. Four of his brothers served with

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. T ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

; they settled at Newark (

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York (state), New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the R ...

) after the war and he joined them for a time, but he later moved back to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

state. In 1806, he established a distillery at Ancaster in Upper Canada. In 1812, he was elected to the

6th Parliament of Upper Canada The 6th Parliament of Upper Canada was Opening of Parliament, opened 27 July 1812. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in June 1812. All Legislative session, sessions were held at York, Upper Canada. The first Parliament buildings (locate ...

representing West

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. In 1811, he had refused to serve with the

Lincoln Militia The Lincoln and Welland Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based in St. Catharines, Ontario. The regimental colonel-in-chief is the Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Duchess of Edinburgh and the regimental motto is , ...

War of 1812

In 1813, with

Joseph Willcocks Joseph Willcocks (1773 – September 4, 1814) sometimes spelt Wilcox was a publisher and political figure in Upper Canada. He was elected to the Parliament of Upper Canada in 1807 representing York, 1st Lincoln and Haldimand. He was re-elect ...

, he opposed the suspension of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

in the province. In June of that year, he was imprisoned because he had been accused of treason. He was released and by December had joined the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

side in the

. He was involved in a number of raids against settlements in Upper Canada.

Raid on Port Dover

Markle accompanied the American

Raid on Port Dover The Raid on Port Dover was an episode during the War of 1812. American troops crossed Lake Erie to capture or destroy stocks of grain and destroy mills at Port Dover, Ontario, which were used to provide flour for British troops stationed on ...

, in which the village was burned down. Markle witnessed the destruction of the property of Robert Nichol, who had moved for Markle's expulsion from the Legislature.

Later life

After the war, he settled in

Vigo County, Indiana Vigo County ( ) is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 106,153. Its county seat is Terre Haute. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropo ...

and was one of the original proprietors of the Terre Haute Company which platted the village of

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and its metropolitan area had a population of 168,716. Located along the Wabash River about e ...

. He built and operated a millronald.andrews - History of Markle's Mill
/ref> on Otter Creek north of that village and became involved in other businesses in the area. He died in 1826 while working on his farm there, apparently due to a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

References

External links

*
Abraham Markle collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markle, Abraham Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Canadian people of the War of 1812 1770 births 1826 deaths British defectors to the United States People from Ulster County, New York People from Vigo County, Indiana