John Cornwall was a farmer 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 Suffolk and Essex 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 Danbury, Connecticut

Danbury, Connecticut

Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....

 (other sources say that he was a native of Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and came to 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...

 around 1772), the son of John Cornwall. He married Mary Benedict. Cornwall served with Butler's Rangers

Butler's Rangers

Butler's Rangers was a British provincial regiment composed of Loyalists in the American Revolutionary War, raised by Loyalist John Butler.Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York...

 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...

. In 1797, he was named 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 Western District

Western District, Upper Canada

Western District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and partitioned in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. Known as Hesse District until 1792, it was abolished in 1849...

. He lived in Colchester Township

Colchester South Township, Ontario

Colchester South Township was a former township located in Essex County, Ontario. Located on Lake Erie, it comprised the towns of Colchester and Harrow. It was amalgamated into the Town of Essex in 1999....

.

His son Joshua

Joshua Cornwall

Joshua Cornwall was a farmer, miller and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Kent in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1816 to 1820.He was the son of John Cornwall and Mary Benedict...

 also served in the legislative assembly. His daughter Mary married William McCormick

William McCormick (Upper Canada politician)

William McCormick was a businessman, author and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Essex in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1812 to 1824....

, another member of the legislative assembly.