Benjamin Hardison was a farmer, miller and political figure in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

. He represented 4th Lincoln and Norfolk in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada...

 from 1797 to 1800.

He was born in Berwick in the Thirteen Colonies

Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...

. Hardison served with American forces during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, was taken prisoner and sent to Canada, later settling at Fort Erie

Fort Erie, Ontario

Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....

 in Bertie Township

Bertie Township, Ontario

Bertie Township was a township in Upper Canada, later Ontario, located on the south-east corner of the Niagara Peninsula.In 1970, it was amalgamated into the town of Fort Erie, Ontario.- References :...

. He was a captain in the militia and a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 for the Niagara District. He operated mills and a distillery at Fort Erie. Hardison died there after purchasing a share of a mill with James Kerby earlier in 1823.