John Cawthra was a merchant, distiller 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 Simcoe from 1828 to 1830 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...

 as a Reformer.

He was born in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, the son of Joseph Cawthra and Mary Turnpenny, and came to Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 with his father while still young. He served in the militia during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. Cawthra settled in Newmarket

Newmarket, Ontario

Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...

 about 1822. Cawthra died in Newmarket.

A heritage marker in Newmarket marks the site of his trading post, later replaced by Cawthra House, his residence, a general store and the town's first bank.

His daughter Mary was the mother of William Mulock

William Mulock

Sir William Mulock, PC, KCMG, MP, QC, LL.D was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, educator, farmer, politician, judge, and philanthropist....

.