Henry Sherwood, (1807 – July 7, 1855) was a lawyer and

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 ...

politician in the

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

. He was involved in provincial and municipal politics. Born into a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

family in

Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...

in Augusta Township,

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 studied law and was called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1828. In 1838, he was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. Sherwood was part of 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 L ...

, the inter-connected families of strong British and Loyalist sympathies which dominated the government of Upper Canada in the early years of the 19th century Sherwood was a member of the provincial

Parliament of Upper Canada The Parliament of Upper Canada was the legislature for Upper Canada. It was created when the old Province of Quebec was split into Upper Canada and Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791. As in other Westminster-style legislatures, it ...

, elected in 1836, and subsequently was elected to the

Parliament of the Province of Canada The Parliament of the Province of Canada was the legislature for the Province of Canada, made up of the two regions of Canada West (formerly Upper Canada, later Ontario) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada, later Quebec). Creation of the Parl ...

, although defeated in his first election attempt in 1841. He held the positions of Solicitor-General of Canada West and Joint Premier of the

. He was also involved in municipal politics 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 ...

. He was elected to the town council of Toronto in 1841, and was elected to three annual terms as

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the Municipal government of Toronto, municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; t ...

by the council, serving from 1842 to 1844. He was also a member of the

Orange Order in Canada The Loyal Orange Association in Canada, historically the Loyal Orange Association in British America and also known as the Loyal Orange Association of Canada, Grand Orange Lodge of Canada, or simply Orange Order in Canada, is the Canadian branch ...

. Sherwood was involved in two political riots. While serving his articles under the Attorney General of Upper Canada, he was one of the rioters in the

Types Riot The Types Riot was the destruction of William Lyon Mackenzie's printing press and movable type by members of the Family Compact on June 8, 1826, in York, Upper Canada (now known as Toronto). The Family Compact was the ruling elite of Uppe ...

, which destroyed the printing press of

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify the establishment of Upper Canada. He represe ...

, publisher of the reform newspaper, the ''Colonial Advocate''. The second riot occurred after his initial defeat in provincial elections in 1841, in which a man was shot dead. The assailant fired the shot from a tavern owned by Sherwood's brother, Samuel Sherwood. Suffering from ill health, Henry Sherwood died in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in 1855 while travelling in Europe, at the age of 48.

Family and early life

Sherwood was born in 1807 in Augusta Township,

. He was the oldest son of Levius Peters Sherwood and Charlotte Sherwood, daughter of

Ephraim Jones Ephraim Jones (April 17, 1750 – January 24, 1812) was a soldier, judge, and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Weston, Massachusetts, in 1750. His father, Elisha, and five of his brothers served with the British during the America ...

. Sherwood was of Loyalist stock on both sides of his family, mainly centred in the town of

.Donald Robert Beer, "Sherwood, Henry", ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', Vol. VIII (1851-1860).
/ref> One of his brothers, George Sherwood, also was a lawyer and involved in politics, while another brother, Samuel Sherwood, became High Constable of the Toronto Police Department. The Sherwoods were aligned with the

, an interconnected

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or throug ...

group which controlled the government of Upper Canada. He was educated at the Home District Grammar School, operated by the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest,

John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada, an "elite member" of the Family Compact, and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government posit ...

, who later became the first

Anglican Bishop of Toronto The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the Anglican Church of Canada covering the central part of southern Ontario. It was founded in 1839 and is the oldest of the seven dioceses comprising the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. ...

.Russell Victor Loring, ''Mayors of Toronto'' Vol. 1 (1834–1899), (Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1982), pp. 36–38.
/ref> In 1829, Sherwood married Mary Graham Smith, also of Loyalist background. The couple had eighteen children.

Participation in the Types Riot

After his schooling, Sherwood went to

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 ...

(now

), the capital of Upper Canada, to read for the bar. He was taken on as an articled clerk by his uncle,

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 ...

, the Solicitor General of Upper Canada. While engaged in his legal studies, at age 19, Sherwood participated in the

, organised by members of the Family Compact. The rioters destroyed the printing press of the '' Colonial Advocate'', a political newspaper published by the radical reformer,

. Mackenzie sued eight of the rioters, including Sherwood, and obtained a jury verdict of civil damages for $2,500 and court costs against the group. The rioters were subsequently charged criminally and convicted, paying fines of five shillings each.

Law practice and business activities

After being called to the bar in 1828, Sherwood returned to Brockville and opened a law practice, in partnership with his younger brother George. He was also involved in local businesses, including land development and banking. In 1835 he moved to York and continued to practise law there for the rest of his life, although he maintained connections to the business and legal matters in the Brockville area. He was appointed

on January 23, 1838. Although his finances were initially stretched, by 1843 he was in comfortable circumstances, and by the time of his death ten years later, he was said to have "the best professional practice of any lawyer in Toronto."

Militia service

Sherwood joined the 4th Regiment of the Leeds Militia on March 15, 1824, as an Ensign. On May 16, 1827, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the West York Militia, and on January 22, 1838, commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel in the 2nd Regiment of the North York Militia. Upon the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1837, Sherwood was appointed aide-de-camp to 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 Royal Guelphic Order, KCH Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (7 December 1793 – 20 July 1875) was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the Upper Canada Rebellion, rebellion of 1837. Biography Head wa ...

. He marched with the militia force of some 1200 troops which attacked and dispersed a group of some 200 (150 plus "several dozen") rebels a
Gallows Hill
on December 7, 1837 whilst marching towards

Montgomery's Tavern The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern was an engagement which took place on December 7, 1837 during the Upper Canada Rebellion. The abortive revolutionary insurrection, inspired by William Lyon Mackenzie, was crushed by British authorities and Canad ...

, where they would engage the remaining forces using the tavern as headquarters. Gallows Hill was located just north of Toronto and a few miles at most from the tavern. The rebel leaders had placed sentries on the hill to watch for marching troops, so when the government troops marched through Gallows Hill the rebels had been waiting in ambush and ready to attack. A group of 150 rebels had taken up an ambush position in a field on the west side of Younge Street, some half-mile from the tavern, and a group of "several dozen" rebels took up position in a field on the east side of Younge Street, behind a fence made from tree stumps. The rebels would be the first to open fire upon the government/militia troops. This event is known as the Battle of Gallows Hill. Sherwood was involved in the prosecutions in several trials from December 1838 to January 1839 which arose from the Rebellion, and also the subsequent incursions from the United States in the

Patriot War The Patriot War was a conflict along the Canada–United States border in which bands of raiders attacked the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times between December 1837 and Decemb ...

. In his capacity as a militia officer, he was the

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

in the

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

of some 44 rebel prisoners (including Joshua Doan) in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

accused of participating in a Patriot incursion in December 1838. Several were found guilty and sentenced to death. Sherwood's conduct of the trials was praised by members of the court and also by the prisoners.

Provincial politics

Upper Canada

Sherwood had political ambitions, with an affiliation for the

Upper Canada Tories The Upper Canada Tories were formed from the elements of the Family Compact after the War of 1812. The movement was an early political party and merely a group of like-minded conservative elite in the early days of Canada. The Tories would later ...

. In 1830 he stood for election 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 ...

for the district of Leeds, but came in last. In 1834, he tried again, this time for the town of Brockville, but lost by one vote to David Jones. In 1836, Sherwood was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the

13th Parliament of Upper Canada The 13th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 8 November 1836. Elections in Upper Canada had been held 20 June 1836. All sessions were held at Toronto. The House of Assembly had five sessions 8 November 1836 to 10 February 1840.Archives of On ...

. This was the last Parliament of the province of Upper Canada, which in 1841 was united with the province of

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 ...

into the new

by the

Act of Union 1840 The ''British North America Act, 1840'' ( 3 & 4 Vict. c. 35), also known as the ''Act of Union 1840'', () was approved by Parliament in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10, 1841, in Montreal. It abolished the legislatures of Lower Canada and ...

, enacted by the British Parliament. In his term in the Assembly, Sherwood favoured measures to increase economic development, but at the same time, argued for a decentralised banking system, to avoid financial dominance from Toronto. After the

Rebellions of 1837–1838 The Rebellions of 1837–1838 (), were two armed rebellion, uprisings that took place in Lower Canada, Lower and Upper Canada in 1837 and 1838. Both rebellions were motivated by frustrations with lack of political reform. A key shared goal was r ...

, he took a strong position against proposals for joining the provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada into a single province with a legislative union, a position which was more extreme than that of many other Tories, who were prepared to consider such a union. He acquired a reputation for hostility towards French-Canadians. He was opposed to the implementation of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

and an elective upper house, but also rejected British interference in the internal affairs of the province.

Province of Canada

Electoral record

In March 1841, Sherwood stood for election to the new Parliament of the Province of Canada, this time in Toronto, with the

, George Monro, as his co-candidate on a Tory ticket. Despite having the full backing 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 the conservative establishment, they were defeated in the election by the

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

candidates, Isaac Buchanan and John Dunn. A riot ensued the next day when a victory parade by the Reformers was attacked by Orangemen carrying knives, sticks and firearms. The Orangemen were based at the Coleraine Tavern and had been brought in from

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

by the tavern's owner, Samuel Sherwood, who was Henry Sherwood's brother. One man was killed by a shot fired from the tavern. Samuel Sherwood went on to serve as the high constable of the Toronto Police Department from 1852 to 1859.

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, visiting Toronto at the time, observed: :''It is a matter of deep regret that political differences should have run high in this place, and led to the most discreditable results. It is not long since guns were discharged from a window in this town at the successful candidates in an election, and the coachman of one of them was actually shot in the body, though not dangerously wounded. But one man was killed on the same occasion; and from the very window whence he received his death, the very flag which shielded his murderer (not only in the commission of his crime but from its consequences), was displayed again on the occasion of the public ceremony performed by the Governor General, to which I have just adverted. Of all the colours in the rainbow, there is but one which could be so employed: I need not say that the flag was orange.'' In early 1843, Buchanan resigned from the Legislative Assembly, satisfied that his objective of securing responsible government had been secured. In the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, Sherwood again stood for election and this time was successful. He was re-elected to the second Parliament in 1844, and the third Parliament in 1848. He was not originally elected to the fourth Parliament in 1852, but was elected in 1853 in a by-election. He was defeated in the general election of 1854. During the Crisis of 1849, Sherwood both advocated for and became a prominent figure within the British American League, who wished to see a "federative union" of

British North American Colonies The British colonization of the Americas is the history of establishment of control, settlement, and colonization of the continents of the Americas by Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and, after 1707, Kingdom of Grea ...

. The British American League was juxtaposed to the

Montreal Annexation Manifesto The Montreal Annexation Manifesto was a political document dated September 14, 1849, and signed in Montreal, Canada East, calling for the Province of Canada's annexation by the United States. The manifesto was published in two versions (October 11, ...

, the latter of which wished to see the

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

into the United States following dissatisfaction from the governing and policies of the British Colonial government.

Executive positions

The Governor General, Sir Charles Bagot, had instructions from the British government to bring both English and French Canadians into his government, to solidify support for the new Province of Canada. At the same time, he was not to encourage developments towards

. To fulfill these instructions, he sought to create a ministry with members from across the political spectrum. Sherwood was invited to join the new ministry as solicitor-general for Canada West, although he did not hold a seat in the Assembly. However, he only held the position for six weeks, from July 23 to September 16, 1842, as Bagot found that he had to re-organise the ministry and Sherwood lost the position.J.O. Côté, ''Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada, 1841 to 1860'', (Quebec: St. Michel and Darveau, 1860), p. 66.
/ref> From May 28, 1847, to March 11, 1848, Sherwood served as

Joint Premier of the Province of Canada A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

for

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

along with his counterpart

Denis-Benjamin Papineau Denis-Benjamin Papineau (; November 13, 1789 – January 20, 1854) was joint premier of the Province of Canada for Canada East from 1846 to 1847. The joint premiers for Canada West during this period were William Henry Draper (1846 to 1847) a ...

who represented

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

Municipal politics

Sherwood was also involved in municipal politics in Toronto. In 1841, he was elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of St. David's ward. When the council met in January 1842, he was elected as the seventh

, succeeding Munro. He was re-elected mayor in 1843 and 1844. Toronto City Hall 1868

He was a successful mayor. Credit belongs to the committees of council, but Sherwood worked assiduously on the standing committees, with moderation and fairness. He oversaw the regulation of the market, paving the streets and collecting taxes. In 1842, 94 gas lights illuminated King and

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

s and a waterworks was underway. Sherwood saw that the Town Hall was too small for the growing civic government and the plans were drawn for Toronto's first municipal offices. Construction began on the new City Hall (now St. Lawrence Market South) in the summer of 1844 at Jarvis and Front Streets. Sherwood sat on city council after his final mayoralty term until 1849.

Death

Sherwood suffered from ill health later in life and died in

in 1855 while travelling in Europe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwood, Henry 1807 births 1855 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Premiers of the Province of Canada Members of the Executive Council of the Province of Canada Mayors of Toronto Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada