James Norris (1809 – August 1, 1891) was an

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 ...

businessman and political figure. He represented Lincoln in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

as a Liberal member from 1874 to 1878. He was born in Argyleshire,

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 1809 and came to Peel County,

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 ...

with his parents around 1834. He moved to

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

, where he formed a partnership with Sylvester Neelon in shipping, milling and the timber trade. After the partnership dissolved, Norris continued to be involved in transporting goods to foreign markets, primarily

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He served on the town council, serving a term as mayor. In 1847, he married Sophronia Neelon, his partner's sister; in 1863, he married Elizabeth Waud, after his first wife's death. He was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1874 federal election but was unseated after an appeal. He won the

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 ...

that followed later that year. Norris resigned his seat in April 1877 and then was reelected in a May 1877 by-election. He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1878 and 1882. Norris died in St. Catharines at the age of 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, James 1809 births 1891 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Mayors of St. Catharines Immigrants to Upper Canada 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century mayors of places in Ontario