George Kingsmill (1808–1852) was the

High Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peop ...

of Toronto in 1835 and from 1837 to 1846. Kingsmill was born in Queen's County,

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 ...

. 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, after being decommissioned, settled in

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 1829 and ran a provision store on Market Street where he supplied sailing vessels and steamers passing through the city's port. He was appointed High Constable in 1835, was succeeded by James Stitt in 1836 and was then re-appointed to the position in 1837. In 1835, he was appointed the second High Constable of Toronto, however, he was the first to not also be the city's only constable. During his tenure, in 1835, the

Toronto Police Department The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police se ...

was first organized when the city retained five full-time constables, the first organized police force in Canada. Kingsmill was a member of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

and he recruited his constables from the Order's ranks, a practice later found by a provincial commission of inquiry to have led the police to take a highly

sectarian Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or religious conflicts between groups. Others conceive of sectarianism a ...

character. This was a period of sectarian conflict in Toronto between the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

majority and the largely Irish

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

minority and the police often supported their fellow Orangemen during anti-Catholic rioting. During the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the Oligarchy, oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the Lower Canada Rebe ...

of 1837, Kingsmill aided the

Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada The following is a list of lieutenant governors of Ontario and the lieutenant governors of the former colony of Upper Canada. The office of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario was created in 1867, when the Province of Ontario was created upon Confed ...

, 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 ...

, in putting down the uprising. and in the years following the

1837 Rebellion Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February 4 – Seminoles attack For ...

also were used by incumbent

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

politicians to break up meetings of

Reformers A reformer is someone who works for reform. Reformer may also refer to: * Catalytic reformer, in an oil refinery *Methane reformer, producing hydrogen * Steam reformer * Hydrogen reformer, extracting hydrogen *Methanol reformer, producing hydrogen ...

. Kingsmill retired from business in 1842 and died in Galt in 1852. Kingsmill's nephew, Thomas Frazer Kingsmill, settled in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

and established Kingsmill's Department Store in 1865 which remained in operation until 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsmill, George 19th-century police officers Businesspeople from County Laois Toronto police chiefs Pre-Confederation Ontario people Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Irish Protestants Upper Canada Rebellion people 1808 births 1852 deaths 19th-century British Army personnel 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Immigrants to Upper Canada Irish soldiers in the British Army Police officers from County Laois Military personnel from County Laois