John Cawthra (1789–1851) was a merchant, distiller 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 represented Simcoe from 1828 to 1830 in 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 ...

as a Reformer. He was born in

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 ...

somewhere near

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

, the son of Joseph Cawthra and Mary Turnpenny, and came to

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 ...

with his father while still young. He served in the militia 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 ...

and in this war he helped to save the life of Lieutenant Archibald McLean. After the battle he was offered reward money for the capture of Detroit however he did not take it. Cawthra settled in Newmarket about 1822. Cawthra died in Newmarket. A heritage marker in Newmarket marks the site of his trading post, later replaced by

Cawthra House Cawthra House is the name of two of three homes associated with the Cawthra family in the Greater Toronto Area. William Cawthra House The first Cawthra house was a mansion completed in 1853 for businessman William Cawthra by architect Joseph She ...

, his residence, a general store and the town's first bank. His son was Henry Cawthra (1830–1904), a barrister, and his daughter Mary (d. 1882) was the mother of

William Mulock Sir William Mulock (19 January 1843 – 1 October 1944) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, educator, farmer, politician, judge, and philanthropist. He served as vice-chancellor of the University of Toronto from 1881 to 1900, negotiating the f ...

. Another son, Joseph, built a house called ''Guiseley House'' at Elm Avenue and Mount Pleasant named after his father's birthplace and has since been demolished.

References

John Cawthra 1789 births 1851 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario {{UpperCanada-politician-stub