Elijah Bentley was a Baptist minister and office holder from 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...

 who pursued a variety of vocations including farming. He became important to Canadian history because of his trial for sedition during the War of 1812.

Elijah's father had brought an extended family to Upper Canada from the United States in search of homesteads and a new life. Elijah obtained at least one land grant in the Markham

Markham, Ontario

Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...

 area. He, and other non loyalist Americans came under the scrutiny of Lieutenant Governor Francis Gore

Francis Gore

Francis Gore, was a British officer and British colonial administrator.Gore was commissioned into the 44th Foot in 1787, but transferred to the 54th Foot in 1794 and the 17th Light Dragoons in 1795. He retired with the rank of major and then became Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada from 1806 to...

 during a bi-election for Robert Thorpe

Robert Thorpe

Robert Thorpe was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Dublin, Ireland around 1764. He graduated with a degree in law from Trinity College, Dublin and was admitted to the bar in 1790....

in 1807. Gore considered the settlers like the Bentleys to have “brought the very worst principles of their own constitution with them.”