Lieutenant-Colonel John Corry Wilson Daly (24 March 1796 – 1 April 1878) was a Canadian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

officer, and the first

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River (Ontario), Avon River within Perth County, Ontario, Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population of 33,232 in a land area of . Stratford is the County seat, s ...

. Daly was born in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

, and educated in

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 served as a

surgeon's assistant An assistant surgeon, also known as a surgical assistant, surgeon's assistant, assistant in surgery or first assistant, is a healthcare professional who provides direct manual and/or instrumental assistance to meet the in-procedure demands of a s ...

in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. He moved to Stratford in 1833, becoming post-master and opening the town's first store. He is often regarded as Stratford's founder, although he was not the first person to live there. Until 2017, Daly was mistakenly credited with watercolour work by

Caroline Louisa Daly Caroline Louisa Daly (1832–1893) was a Canadian artist born in Lower Canada, whose work is featured in one of eastern Canada's prominent galleries, the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Her watercolours ...

held in Confederation Centre Art Gallery on

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, despite a lack of evidence that he ever painted.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1796 births 1878 deaths Mayors of Stratford, Ontario Pre-Confederation Ontario people Irish Anglicans Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Politicians from Liverpool Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent 19th-century mayors of places in Ontario {{Ontario-mayor-stub