Anthony Van Egmond

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Anthony Jacob William Gysbert van Egmond (10 March 1778—5 January 1838) was a Dutch Napoleonic War veteran who was one of the early settlers in the Huron Tract.

He was a supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie, and led the unsuccessful skirmish at Montgomery's Tavern during the Rebellion of 1837. He died in prison while awaiting trial.

[edit] Life

Anthony van Egmond was born in Groesbeek in the Netherlands, the son of Johannes Arnoldus Gijben and his wife Maria Bloem. When he was twelve years old his father was murdered. His criminal activity forced him to fly to Germany around 1795 and assume a false identity, and a false claim to descent from the Van Egmond counts of the Netherlands. In 1819, attracted by the prospect of purchasing land from the Holland Land Company, he travelled, via Amsterdam, Liverpool, and Philadelphia, to Indiana, Pennsylvania. The land, which he purchased in 1826, was seized and sold at auction because of unpaid taxes. In 1828 he emigrated to Oxford Township East, in Upper Canada, where he purchased 200 acres (809,000 m²) of land. He married Marie Susanne Elizabeth Dietz. He was hired by the Canada company to help supply the settlers of the Huron Tract. He was the regional representative for the Colonial Advocate, a newspaper published by William Lyon Mackenzie. He led the Upper Canada rebel forces in the Rebellion of 1837 at Montgomery's Tavern. His land was confiscated and, in 1838, the town of Egmondville was founded in his name. Van Egmond died in Toronto, Ontario of illness contracted while in prison.