Richard Hatt (September 10, 1769 – September 26, 1819) was a businessman, judge 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

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 ...

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 ...

, in 1769 and came to Upper Canada in 1792. He originally started business as a merchant at Niagara but later moved to Ancaster, where he opened a store and built a

grist mill 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 ...

. In 1800, he set up a number of enterprises known as the Dundas Mills north of Cootes Paradise; a settlement grew up around these industries. In the same year, he was named justice of the peace. 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 ...

, he served as a major in the local militia. After the war, he was appointed judge in the court for the Gore District. He also owned the ''Upper Canada Phoenix'', a newspaper. In 1817, he was elected to the

7th Parliament of Upper Canada The 7th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 4 February 1817. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in July 1816. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada at the home of Chief Justice of the Court William Henry Draper. This parliame ...

in a by-election. He died in Dundas in 1819, while still in office.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatt, Richard 1769 births 1819 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada 18th-century Canadian businesspeople British emigrants to Canada Businesspeople from London Upper Canada judges Canadian justices of the peace