John Gilchrist (politician)
Encyclopedia
John Gilchrist was a physician and political figure in Canada West.
He was born in Bedford, New Hampshire
in 1792 and studied at the medical school at Yale College
and Dartmouth College
. He apprenticed as a physician in Goffstown, New Hampshire
and came to Hamilton Township
in Upper Canada
around 1817. He was licensed to practice medicine in 1819; he set up practice first at Cobourg
and later Peterborough
. Gilchrist served as surgeon for the local militia. He moved to Otonabee Township, where he set up a sawmill
and gristmill
on the Indian River
with Zacheus Burnham
and later opened a general store and distillery
. The settlement of Gilchrist’s Mills (later Keene) developed around these mills. He served as a director of the Cobourg Harbour Company and as chairman of the building committee for the Upper Canada Academy at Cobourg. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada
in 1834 for Northumberland County and, in 1841, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
in the North riding of Northumberland. He served as a district agent for the Crown Lands Department and was treasurer for Colborne District from 1842 to 1845. In 1849, he moved to Port Hope
and continued to practice medicine until his death in 1859.
He was born in Bedford, New Hampshire
Bedford, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the Census of 2000, there were 18,274 people, 6,251 households, and 5,125 families residing in the town. The population density was 556.6 people per square mile . There were 6,401 housing units at an average density of 195.0 per square mile...
in 1792 and studied at the medical school at Yale College
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
and Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. He apprenticed as a physician in Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...
and came to Hamilton Township
Hamilton, Ontario (township)
Hamilton Township is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario. It surrounds the Town of Cobourg.The township was named after Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec from 1782-1785.-Communities:*Baltimore*Bewdley*Camborne...
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...
around 1817. He was licensed to practice medicine in 1819; he set up practice first at Cobourg
Cobourg, Ontario
Cobourg is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario 95 km east of Toronto. It is the largest town in Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is located along Highway 401 and the former Highway 2...
and later Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
. Gilchrist served as surgeon for the local militia. He moved to Otonabee Township, where he set up a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
and gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
on the Indian River
Indian River (Ontario)
There are five rivers named Indian River in Ontario, Canada:* The Indian River in the Kawartha Lakes/Peterborough region flows from Stoney Lake into Rice Lake...
with Zacheus Burnham
Zacheus Burnham
Zacheus Burnham was a farmer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in 1777. He arrived in Upper Canada in 1797 and settled in Hamilton Township near the current site of Cobourg. He was able to acquire large land holdings, thousands of acres, in the region, some as compensation...
and later opened a general store and distillery
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
. The settlement of Gilchrist’s Mills (later Keene) developed around these mills. He served as a director of the Cobourg Harbour Company and as chairman of the building committee for the Upper Canada Academy at Cobourg. He was elected to 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...
in 1834 for Northumberland County and, in 1841, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...
in the North riding of Northumberland. He served as a district agent for the Crown Lands Department and was treasurer for Colborne District from 1842 to 1845. In 1849, he moved to Port Hope
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
and continued to practice medicine until his death in 1859.