John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe
Portrait by George Theodore Berthon
Born	(1752-02-25)February 25, 1752 Cotterstock, Oundle, England
Died	October 26, 1806(1806-10-26) (aged 54) Exeter, England
Education	Eton College, Merton College, Oxford
Occupation	Military officer, First lieutenant governor of Upper Canada
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim
Children	John Cornwall Simcoe (1798–1799) Francis Gwillim Simcoe (1791–1812) Eliza Simcoe Henry Addington Simcoe (1800–1868) Charlotte Henrietta Maria (?–1845) Caroline (?–1858) Katherine Simcoe (1793–1794) Sophia Jemima Simcoe (1789–1864)[1]
Parent(s)	Captain John Simcoe Katherine Simcoe
Relatives	Henry Walcot Simcoe (1823–1848) - son of Henry Addington, grandson of J.G. Simcoe Charlotte Simcoe (?– 1842) Katherine (1801–1861) Anne Simcoe (1804-?) Anne Eliza Marke Simcoe (1824–1869) - daughter of Henry Addington Paul Creed Guillim Simcoe (1835–1875)[2] - son of Henry Addington Philip Francis Simcoe (1834–1885)[2] son of Henry Addington John Kennaway Simcoe (1825–1891)[2]
Signature

John Graves Simcoe (February 25, 1752 – October 26, 1806) was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. He founded York (now Toronto) and was instrumental in introducing institutions such as courts of law, trial by jury, English common law, freehold land tenure, and the abolition of slavery. His long-term goal was the development of Upper Canada (Ontario) as a model community built on aristocratic and conservative principles, designed to demonstrate the superiority of those principles to the Republicanism and democracy of the United States. His energetic efforts to establish a local gentry, a thriving Church of England, and an anti-American coalition with the Indian tribes were only partially successful.

Early life

John Graves Simcoe was the only surviving son of John (1710-1759) and Katherine Simcoe (d. 1767); although his parents had four children (Percy (d. drowned 1764, Paulet William and John William died as infants), he was the only one to live past childhood. His father, a captain in the Royal Navy, commanded the 60-gun HMS Pembroke, with James Cook as his sailing master, during the 1758 siege of Louisbourg. When his father died of pneumonia a few months prior to the siege of Quebec, the family moved to his mother's parental home in Exeter. His paternal grandparents were William and Mary (née Hutchinson) Simcoe.

He was educated at Exeter Grammar School and Eton College. After a year at Merton College, Oxford,^[3] Simcoe was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, but then decided to follow the military career for which his father had intended him. He was initiated into Freemasonry in Union Lodge, Exeter on November 2, 1773.^[4]

Military career

In 1770, Simcoe entered the British Army as an ensign in the 35th Regiment of Foot. His unit was dispatched to the Thirteen Colonies. Later he saw action in the American Revolutionary War, in the Siege of Boston. During the siege, he purchased a captaincy in the grenadier company of the 40th Regiment of Foot. With the 40th, he saw action in the New York and New Jersey campaign and the Philadelphia campaign. Simcoe commanded the 40th at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, where he was wounded. At Brandywine, Simcoe ordered his men not to fire upon three fleeing rebels. One of those men was George Washington.^[5]

In 1777, Simcoe sought to form a Loyalist regiment of free blacks from Boston but instead was offered the command of the Queen's Rangers on October 15, 1777. It was a well-trained light infantry unit comprising 11 companies of 30 men, 1 grenadier, and 1 hussar, and the rest light infantry. The Queen's Rangers saw extensive action during the Philadelphia campaign, including a successful surprise attack (planned and executed by Simcoe) at the Battle of Crooked Billet.

In 1778, Simcoe, during a foraging expedition opposed by rebel militia, commanded the attack on Judge William Hancock's house, killing ten American rebels in their sleep and wounding five others. William Hancock was also killed, although he was not with the Americans. The massacre took place at night and with bayonets. On June 28 of that year, Simcoe and his Queen's Rangers took part in the Battle of Monmouth, in and near Freehold, New Jersey.

During October of 1779, Simcoe and 80 men launched an attack, known as Simcoe's Raid, on central New Jersey from southern Staten Island from what is known today as the Conference House, resulting in the burning of rebel supplies, including hay and grain, inside a Dutch Reformed Church in Finderne, the release of Loyalist prisoners from the Somerset County Courthouse, and Simcoe's capture by Armand Tuffin de La Rouërie.^[6][7][8] Simcoe was released in 1781 and rejoined his unit in Virginia. He was involved in a skirmish near Williamsburg and was at the Siege of Yorktown. He was invalided back to England in December of that year as a Lieutenant-Colonel.

Simcoe wrote a book on his experiences with the Rangers, titled A Journal of the Operations of the Queen's Rangers from the end of the year 1777 to the conclusion of the late American War, which was published in 1787.^[9]

Marriage and family

Simcoe convalesced at the home of his godfather, British admiral Samuel Graves. in 1782, Simcoe married Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim, Graves' ward. Elizabeth was a wealthy heiress, who acquired a 5,000 acre estate at Honiton in Devon and built Wolford Lodge. Wolford was the Simcoe family seat until 1923.^[10]

The Simcoes had five daughters prior to their posting in Canada. Son Francis was born in 1791. Their Canadian-born daughter, Katherine, died in infancy in York. She is buried in the Victoria Square Memorial Park on Portland Avenue. Francis returned with his father to England when his tenure expired and joined the army. He was killed in an infantry charge during the Peninsular Campaign in 1812.

Member of Parliament

Simcoe entered politics in 1790. He was elected Member of Parliament for St Mawes in Cornwall, as a supporter of the government (led by William Pitt the Younger). As MP, he proposed raising a militia force like the Queen's Rangers. He also proposed to lead an invasion of Spain. But instead he was to be made lieutenant governor of the new loyalist province of Upper Canada.^[10] He resigned from Parliament in 1792 on taking up his new post.

Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada

The Constitutional Act 1791 divided Canada into the Provinces of Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). The Act established separate governments and legislative assemblies for each province. Lower Canada was the French-speaking eastern portion, which retained the French code civil and protections for the Roman Catholic Church. Upper Canada was the western area, newly settled after the Revolutionary War. The settlers were mostly English speakers, including Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies, and also the Six Nations of the Iroquois, who had been British allies during the war. The Crown had purchased land from the Mississaugas and other First Nations to give the Loyalists land grants in partial compensation for property lost in the United States, and to help them set up new communities and develop this territory.^[11]

Simcoe was appointed Lieutenant-Governor on 12 September 1791, and left for Canada with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Sophia, leaving three daughters behind in England with their aunt. They left England in September and arrived in Canada on 11 November. Due to severe weather, the Simcoes spent the winter in Quebec City. Simcoe finally reached Kingston, Upper Canada on 24 June 1792.^[10]

Under the Constitutional Act, the provincial government consisted of the Lieutenant-Governor, an appointed Executive Council and Legislative Council, and an elected Legislative Assembly. The first meeting of the nine-member Legislative Council and sixteen-member Legislative Assembly took place at Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) on September 17, 1792.

The Assembly passed the first Act Against Slavery in the British Empire in 1793, and the English colonists of Upper Canada took pride in this distinction with respect to the French-Canadian populace of Lower Canada. The Upper Canadians valued their common law legal system, as opposed to the code civil of Quebec, which had chafed them ever since 1763. This was one of the primary reasons for the partition of 1791. Simcoe collaborated extensively with his Attorney-General John White on the file.

The principles of the British Constitution do not admit of that slavery which Christianity condemns. The moment I assume the Government of Upper Canada under no modification will I assent to a law that discriminates by dishonest policy between natives of Africa, America, or Europe.

— John Graves Simcoe, Address to the Legislative Assembly^[12]

Slavery was thus ended in Upper Canada long before it was abolished in the British Empire as a whole. By 1810, there were no slaves in Upper Canada, but the Crown did not abolish slavery throughout the Empire until 1834.

Simcoe's first priority was the Northwest Indian War between the United States and the "Western Confederacy" of Native Americans west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of the Great Lakes (the Shawnee, Miami, Wyandot, and other tribes). This conflict had begun in 1785, and was still raging when Simcoe arrived in 1792. Simcoe had hoped to form an Indian buffer state between the two countries, even though he distrusted Joseph Brant, the main Indian leader. Simcoe rejected the section of the Treaty of Paris (1783) which awarded that area to the U.S., on the grounds that American actions had nullified the treaty.^[13] However, the French Revolutionary Wars broke out in 1793. The government in London decided to seek good terms with the United States. Simcoe was instructed to avoid giving the U.S. reason to mistrust Britain but, at the same time, to keep the Native Americans on both sides of the border friendly to Britain. The Indians asked for British for military support, which was initially refused, but in 1794 Britain supplied the Indians with rifles and ammunition.^[14]

In February 1794, the Governor-in-Chief, Lord Dorchester, expecting the U.S. to ally with France, said that war was likely to break out between the U.S. and Britain before the year was out. This encouraged the Indians in their war. Dorchester ordered Simcoe to rally the Indians and arm British vessels on the Great Lakes. He also built Fort Miami (present-day Maumee, Ohio) to supply the Indians. Simcoe expelled Americans from a settlement on the southern shore of Lake Erie which had threatened British control of the lake. U.S. President Washington denounced the "irregular and high-handed proceeding of Mr. Simcoe."^[15] While Dorchester planned for a defensive war, Simcoe urged London to declare war: "Upper Canada is not to be defended by remaining within the boundary line."^[16] Dorchester was official reprimanded by the Crown for his strong speech against the Americans in 1794.

Simcoe realized that Newark made an unsuitable capital because it was on the American border and subject to attack. He proposed moving the capital to a more defensible position, in the middle of Upper Canada's southwestern peninsula between Lake Erie and Lake Huron. He named the new location London, and renamed the river there the Thames in anticipation of the change. Dorchester rejected this proposal, but accepted Simcoe's second choice, the present site of Toronto. Simcoe moved the capital there in 1793, and renamed the settlement York after Frederick, Duke of York, King George III's second son. The town was severely under developed at the time of its founding so he brought with him politicians, builders, Nova Scotia timber men, and Englishmen skilled in whipsawing and cutting joists and rafters.^[17]

Simcoe began construction of two roads through Upper Canada, for defence and to encourage settlement and trade. Yonge Street (named after British Minister of War Sir George Yonge) ran north-south from York to Lake Simcoe. Soldiers of the Queen's Rangers began cutting the road in August 1793, reaching Holland Landing in 1796. Dundas Street (named for Colonial Secretary Henry Dundas) ran east-west, between York and London.

The Northwest Indian War ended after the United States defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. They made peace under the Treaty of Greenville. While still at war with France, Britain could not afford to antagonise the U.S. In the Jay Treaty of 1794, Britain agreed to withdraw north of the Great Lakes, as agreed in the Treaty of Paris (1783). Simcoe evacuated the frontier forts.

Later career

Memorial in Exeter Cathedral

In July 1796 poor health forced Simcoe to return to Britain. He was unable to return to Upper Canada and resigned his office in 1798.

He served briefly as the commander of British forces in Saint-Domingue (later Haiti). There, in the spring of 1797, he defended the coastal town of Saint Marc but lost Mirebalais and the Central Plateau to the forces of Toussaint Louverture, leader of the slave revolt.^[18] This campaign signaled the end of the English attempt, in collaboration with planters, to restore slavery and other aspects of the ancien regime to take over the rich, sugar-producing island while France was involved in internal affairs of its Revolution.^[19][20]

Simcoe was commissioned Colonel of the 81st Foot in 1798, but exchanged the position for the 22nd Foot less than six months later. He was also commander of the Western District in Britain. In 1806, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India (to succeed Cornwallis, who had died shortly after arriving in India.) Simcoe died in Exeter before assuming the post. Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake, was reappointed to replace Simcoe.

Simcoe was buried in Wolford Chapel on the Simcoe family estate near Honiton, Devon. The Ontario Heritage Foundation acquired title to the chapel in 1982.

Legacy

The 1903 unveiling of the General John Graves Simcoe monument at Queen's Park in Toronto.

Statue of John Graves Simcoe first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada by Walter Seymour Allward 1903 Queen's Park (Toronto)

• In the winter of 1779, the first recorded Valentine's Day letter in America was given by then Lieutenant Colonel John Simcoe to Sarah 'Sally' Townsend.^[21]
• Simcoe Street in Oyster Bay, New York is named after him due to his destruction of a vast apple orchard and reconstruction of a hill fort on the site.^[22]
• Act Against Slavery passed in 1793, leading to the abolition of slavery in Upper Canada by 1810. It was superseded by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 that abolished slavery across the British Empire.
• Simcoe named London, Ontario and the River Thames in Upper Canada.
• He named Lake Simcoe and Simcoe County to the west and north of Lake Simcoe in honor of his father.
• Simcoe named his summer home Castle Frank for his first son Francis Gwillim, who was preceded by eight daughters. (It is in what is now named Cabbagetown, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto.)^[23]
• The Ontario Heritage Foundation placed a plaque in Exeter's cathedral precinct to commemorate his life.
• Simcoe's regiment is still called the Queen's York Rangers, now an armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Forces reserves.

Many places in Canada were named in honour of Simcoe:

• The town of Simcoe in southwestern Ontario
• Civic Holiday, a statutory holiday celebrated throughout Canada under a variety of names by region,^[24] was established in honour of Simcoe by the Toronto City Council in 1869.^[25] Other Ontario municipalities and then other provinces soon took up the holiday as well, leading to its Canada-wide status, but without any attribution to Simcoe. In 1965, the Toronto City Council declared the holiday would henceforth be known as Simcoe Day within Toronto.^[25] Attempts have been made to have the official provincial name—still Civic Holiday^[24]—amended, but none have succeeded.
• Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario
• Governor Simcoe Public School. Grades K – 8, in London, Ontario. The now closed and demolished school was located at the corner of Simcoe and Clarence Streets.
• Simcoe Street and John Street in downtown Toronto, along with Simcoe Place (office tower) in downtown Toronto, are all located near the fort where Simcoe lived during his early years in York.
• Simcoe Street, Simcoe Street United Church, and Simcoe Hall Settlement House in Oshawa.
• Simcoe Street in New Westminster and Simcoe Park was named by Colonel Moody in reference to the surveying of the area after the city of Toronto.
• The Simcoe Fairgrounds in Simcoe.
• Simcoe Street, Simcoe Street School and the Simcoe Street School Tigers Bantam Baseball Team of Niagara Falls
• Simcoe Island, located near Kingston, Ontario
• Simcoe Hall, located on the St. George campus of the University of Toronto
• John Graves Simcoe Armoury, located on Industrial Parkway in Aurora, Ontario

There are two places named for Simcoe with the title Lord, but Simcoe was not made a Lord in his lifetime. They are the following:

• Lord Simcoe Drive in Brampton, Ontario
• Lord Simcoe Hotel, which operated from 1956 to 1981

Captain John Kennaway Simcoe, the last member of the Simcoe family, died without issue in 1891 and was survived by widow beyond 1911.^[1]

In fiction

• Simcoe is a central villain in the 2014 AMC drama Turn, portrayed by Samuel Roukin.^[26]

Footnotes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Graves Simcoe.

Further reading

• Craig, Gerald M. Upper Canada: the formative years, 1784-1841 (McClelland & Stewart, 1963) ch 2
• Fryer, Mary Beacock, and Christopher Dracott. John Graves Simcoe 1752-1806: A Biography(Dundurn, 1998) online
• Mealing, S. R. "SIMCOE, JOHN GRAVES," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed October 6, 2015, online.
• Mealing, Stanley Robert. "The Enthusiasms of John Graves Simcoe." Report of the Annual Meeting. Vol. 37. No. 1. The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 1958. online
• Riddell, William Renwick. The Life of John Graves Simcoe, First Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, 1792-96 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1926.)
• Scott, Duncan Campbell. John Graves Simcoe (Toronto: Morang & Company, 1905) online
• Taylor, Alan (2006). The Divided Ground (1st ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-45471-7. OCLC 58043162. 
• Wise, Sydney F. "The Indian Diplomacy of John Graves Simcoe." Report of the Annual Meeting. Vol. 32. No. 1. The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 1953. online

Primary sources

• Simcoe, John Graves. The correspondence of Lieut. Governor John Graves Simcoe: with allied documents relating to his administration of the government of Upper Canada (2 vol. The Society, 1924)

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• John Graves Simcoe's biography
• Massacre at Hancock's Bridge
• Massacre at Hancock's Bridge 2
• The Real Castle Frank (Toronto Star)

Lieutenant Governors of Ontario Post-Confederation (1867–present) Stisted Howland Crawford D. A. Macdonald J. B. Robinson Campbell Kirkpatrick Gzowski Mowat Clark Gibson Hendrie Clarke Cockshutt Ross Mulock H. A. Bruce Matthews Lawson Breithaupt MacKay Rowe W. R. Macdonald McGibbon Aird Alexander Jackman Weston Bartleman Onley Dowdeswell Province of Canada (1841–66)* Clitherow Jackson Bagot Metcalfe Cathcart J. Bruce E. W. Head Monck Upper Canada (1791–1841) Simcoe Russell Hunter Grant Gore Brock Sheaffe de Rottenburg Drummond Murray F. P. Robinson Smith Maitland Colborne Bond Head Arthur Thomson British Province of Quebec (1759–91)* Amherst Murray Carleton Haldimand Carleton (2nd time) * The Crown's representative from 1759 to 1791, and from 1841 to 1866 held the office and rank of Governor-General.