Thomas Dorland (1759 – March 5, 1832) was a farmer, soldier 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 ...

. Born in

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

, Dorland was a member of a family of Dutch

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

s; the family name was originally spelled "Dorlandt". 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 ...

, he broke with Quaker doctrines against violence and fought with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and became a member of a company of soldiers led by Peter Van Alstine. After the war, he settled in Adolphustown Township in Upper Canada and later joined the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. He was appointed justice of the peace in the

Midland District Midland District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and partitioned in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. Historical evolution The District, originally ...

in 1800 and also represented Lennox and Addington 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 ...

from 1804 to 1812. He was a captain in the local militia and served 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 ...

. From 1802 to 1824, Dorland operated a ferry between Adolphustown and Van Alstine's Mills ( Glenora) in Prince Edward County. Dorland was reported to have enslaved as many as 20 people. He died at Adolphustown in 1832. His brother

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

had been elected to the

1st Parliament of Upper Canada The 1st Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 17 September 1792. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in August 1792. All sessions were held at Navy Hall in Newark, later Niagara-on-the-Lake. This parliament was dissolved 1 July 1796. T ...

but was unseated because, as a practicing Quaker, he refused to take the oath of office.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorland, Thomas 1759 births 1832 deaths Politicians from Dutchess County, New York British emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Canadian people of Dutch descent Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian justices of the peace Canadian slave owners