Augustus Warren Baldwin (October 1, 1776 – January 5, 1866) was a naval officer 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 ...

. He was born near Lisnagat in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1776 and joined the merchant navy in 1792, eventually being given command of his own ship. He retired to Upper Canada near York (

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

) in 1817. He named his estate Russell Hill after his family's farm in Ireland. In 1822, he became a magistrate of the Home District. In 1832, he was appointed to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

for the province. When the Executive Council resigned to protest actions taken by Lieutenant Governor Sir

Francis Bond Head Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet KCH PC (7 December 1793 – 20 July 1875) was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837. Biography Head was an officer in the corps of Royal Engineers of the British Army from 181 ...

, Baldwin accepted an appointment as a new member of the council. In 1841, he was re-appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada, but he resigned some time later. He was a director of the Bank of Upper Canada and the British America Assurance Company. Although retired from the navy, he was promoted to admiral in 1862. Like his brother William Warren Baldwin and his nephew Robert Baldwin, Augustus was conservative in his politics, though his relatives were associated with the reform branch of conservatism. He died on his estate near Toronto in 1866.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Augustus 1776 births 1866 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Politicians from County Cork Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian magistrates