Thomas Scott (February 16, 1841 – February 11, 1915) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

military figure,

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

, Member of Parliament and the third

Mayor of Winnipeg The mayor of Winnipeg is a member of Winnipeg City Council, but does not represent a ward. The position of mayor was created in 1873 following the incorporation of Winnipeg. Since 1998, the term of office has been for four years. The 44th and ...

in the 19th century. Scott was born in

Lanark County, Ontario Lanark County is a county and census division located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of on Ontario County. Corp ...

in what was then

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 ...

to Irish immigrant parents. He was the youngest of four children. His father died when he was an infant, and the family moved to

Perth, Ontario Perth is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Tay River (Ontario), Tay River, southwest of Ottawa, and is the seat of Lanark County. History The town was established as a military settlement in 1816, shortly after the War of ...

where Scott attended school and then apprenticed as a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

. He founded the '' Perth Expositor''

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

in 1861 and was its

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

, until 1872.Bryce, George, ''A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People,'' The Canadian History Company, 1906
published online by the Manitoba Historical Society
retrieved May 11, 2008 In 1860, Scott signed up for

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, during the Trent Affair. He was in

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

of the Perth Infantry and served for five months on the frontier during the Fenian Raids crisis on 1866. During the Red River Expedition of 1870, Scott – by this time a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

– was in command of the Ontario Rifles which arrived at Fort Garry following

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

's escape. He returned to

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, in December 1870, but was sent again to Fort Garry, in 1871, as part of the Second Red River Expedition. In 1874, he retired from military service but remained in

where he entered

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and was elected to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

's first

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; he became mayor in 1877. In 1878, he was elected to the

Manitoba legislature The Manitoba Legislature is the legislature of the province of Manitoba, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor of Manitoba, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada) and the unicameral assemb ...

from the district of

and, in 1880, he defeated

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Donald A. Smith to become the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP for Selkirk. He was re-elected in the 1882 federal election in the new riding of

. Scott returned to military service, in 1885, while still an MP, after the Minister of the Militia Sir Adolphe-Philippe Caron asked Scott to raise a regiment to put down the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

of 1885. Smith raised and equipped the Ninety-fifth Manitoba Grenadiers in thirteen days. Scott retired from politics, in 1887, and became collector of

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

at the port of Winnipeg.

References

External links

Thomas Scott
Manitoba Historical Society * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Thomas 1841 births 1915 deaths Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba MLAs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Mayors of Winnipeg People of the Fenian raids People of the North-West Rebellion Canadian people of Irish descent People from Perth, Ontario People of the Red River Rebellion 19th-century mayors of places in Manitoba 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba