John Crysler (July 24, 1770 – January 18, 1852) 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

Schoharie, New York Schoharie ( ) is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Schoharie County, New York, United States. The population was 3,107 at the 2020 census. The Town of Schoharie has a village, also called Schoharie. Both are derived from the Mo ...

in 1770, the son of German immigrants; the family name was originally spelled Krausler or Kruessler. His father served in the

King's Royal Regiment of New York The King's Royal Regiment of New York, also known as Johnson's Royal Regiment of New York, King's Royal Regiment, King's Royal Yorkers, and Royal Greens, were one of the first Loyalist regiments, raised on June 19, 1776, in British Canada, durin ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

under Sir John Johnson; and John Crysler was a drummer boy with

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. T ...

. They both settled in Williamsburgh Township after the war. Crysler operated a tavern, cut timber to supply 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 ...

with masts and built

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

s and

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. In 1804, he was elected 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 ...

, representing Dundas for one term until 1808. In 1806, he was appointed justice of the peace in the Eastern District. He served with the

Dundas County Militia The Dundas County Militia was a regiment of the provincial militia of Upper Canada that was raised in Dundas County, Ontario, in the 1780s. The battle honours and legacy of the Dundas Militia are perpetuated by the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarr ...

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 ...

, becoming captain. His home was used as the British headquarters during the

Battle of Crysler's Farm The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812, in the British province of Upper Canada. A British and Upper Canadian force defeated a much larger American invas ...

, which gave the battle its name, though the battle itself was fought on the neighbouring properties to the east. He again represented Dundas in the Legislative Assembly from 1812 to 1820 and from 1825 to 1828. In 1825, some of his employees were jailed for cutting timber on

clergy reserve Clergy reserves were tracts of land in Upper Canada and Lower Canada reserved for the support of "Protestant clergy" by the Constitutional Act 1791. One-seventh of all surveyed Crown lands were set aside, totaling and respectively for each provin ...

s. He became lieutenant-colonel in command of the Dundas County Militia in 1838 and led his regiment into combat at the

Battle of the Windmill The Battle of the Windmill was fought in November 1838 in the aftermath of the Upper Canada Rebellion. Loyalist forces of the Upper Canadian government and American troops, aided by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy, defeated an invasion b ...

. He died in Finch Township in 1852. The village of Crysler was named after him. His son John Pliny served in the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

. The former location of his farm was submerged when the

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

was built; a monument erected in 1895 on the site of the battle was moved to

Upper Canada Village Upper Canada Village is a heritage park near Morrisburg, Ontario, which depicts a 19th-century village in Upper Canada. History Construction of Upper Canada Village began in 1958 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project, which required the p ...

in 1958.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crysler, John Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada United Empire Loyalists American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Canadian people of German descent American people of German descent People from Schoharie, New York 1770 births 1852 deaths