John Felton Betts was a merchant and political figure in the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, Canada. He represented Prince Albert and then Cumberland

Cumberland (N.W.T. electoral district)

Cumberland was an electoral district in the Northwest Territories from 1891–1894, the riding was in the rural area to the northeast of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Cumberland disappeared in 1894 when it merged with the newly created Prince Albert East....

 in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1888 to 1898.

He was born in Sterling, Ontario

Stirling-Rawdon, Ontario

Stirling-Rawdon is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Hastings County.-Communities:The township comprises the communities of Anson, Bonarlaw, Harold, Minto, Mount Pleasant, Sine, Springbrook, Stirling and Wellman....

, the son of the Reverend L. A. Betts, and was educated in Belleville

Belleville, Ontario

Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...

. In 1882, he married M. E. Boyle. Betts settled in Prince Albert

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...

 in 1879. He was 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...

 and chairman of the school board. Betts also served as acting mayor. He was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1894 to 1898.