James Durand (1775 – 22 March 1833) 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 ...

. He was born in

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1775 and came to Upper Canada in 1802 to deal with delinquent accounts on behalf of a group of

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 ...

merchants. Having seized the Bridgewater Works at Chippawa, Durand purchased the operation from his employers. He also established a trading depot near Long Point. In 1810, he sold the operation at Chippawa due to a downturn in the produce market. He served in 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 , ...

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 ...

. In 1815, he became the representative for 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 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 ...

in a

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 ...

after Abraham Markle joined the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

. Durand criticized the introduction of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

during the war. With John Willson, he drafted the ''Common Schools Act of 1816'', which introduced public support of

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s. He also helped establish the Gore District with

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

as the district town. In 1817, he was elected in the riding of Wentworth and served until 1820. He was a partner in the Desjardins Canal Company, expanded his land holdings and built

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 ...

s to process his timber holdings. He died in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

in 1833. His son, James Durand, Jr., also became a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Tribute

In Hamilton, ''Durand Park'' and the ''Durand Neighbourhood'' are both named after him. The ''Durand Neighbourhood'' is bounded by Main Street West (north), Queen Street South (west), James Street South (east) and the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...

(south). Landmarks in this neighbourhood include

Hamilton City Hall Hamilton City Hall is the chief administrative building for the city of Hamilton. Located in the downtown core, it is an 8-storey building (34.0 m) at the corner of Main Street West and Bay Street South, across the street from the FirstOntar ...

, Central Presbyterian Church, ''Whitehern Museum'', and the ''James Street South Shopping District''.

References

* MapArt

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. T ...

Atlas - Page 647 - Grids H11, H12

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, James Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada 1775 births 1833 deaths Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario 19th-century Canadian businesspeople History of Hamilton, Ontario People from Abergavenny