Alexander Thom (October 26, 1775 – September 26, 1845) was a military surgeon, judge 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 ...

Early life and career

He was born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1775, the son of a farmer named Alexander Thom, and studied at King's College in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. He joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and became a surgeon in 1799. He served with the 41st Foot in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

from 1803 to 1813. Thom was taken prisoner 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 was chosen as the surgeon for the military settlement at

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in 1815 and served as the doctor there until 1822. Thom built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, 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 ...

and

gristmill 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 grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

on the

Tay River The Tay River is a river in Lanark County in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river on a topographic map. It is in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Rideau River. The Tay River watershed, cov ...

at Perth. He was named a justice of the peace and became a judge in the district court in 1835. Thom 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 Li ...

in a February 1836 by-election but defeated in the general election that followed later that year.

Personal life

He married Harriet E. Smythe (Hannah Smith?) at Niagara in 1811. After the death of his first wife, he married Eliza Montague and then Betsy Smythe after Eliza died in 1820. His daughter Harriett, married Perth lawyer

James Boulton James Thompson Boulton, FBA (17 February 1924 – 18 July 2013) was a British academic. He was a leading scholar of eighteenth-century literature and of D. H. Lawrence. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulton, James 1924 births 2013 deaths British ...

, the son of judge

Henry John Boulton Henry John Boulton, (1790 – June 18, 1870) was a lawyer and political figure in Upper Canada and the Province of Canada, as well as Chief Justice of Newfoundland. Boulton began his legal career under the tutelage of John Beverly Robins ...

. Another daughter of his, Catherine Rosamund, married Chief Justice John Godfrey Spragge.

Death

He died at

in 1845.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Alexander 1775 births 1845 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Alumni of the University of Aberdeen British Army regimental surgeons Scottish surgeons Place of birth missing 19th-century Canadian physicians 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Upper Canada judges Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian justices of the peace