John Stinson was a 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 was born in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 in 1764, the son of a United Empire Loyalist also named John Stinson. He originally came to Sophiasburgh Township

Sophiasburgh Township, Ontario

Sophiasburgh is a historic township in southern Ontario, Canada, one of the three original townships that formed Prince Edward County. The other two townships were Ameliasburgh and Marysburgh. It was named in 1798 after Princess Sophia, the fifth daughter of George III...

 in 1786 but later settled in Hallowell Township. In 1796, he was named justice of the peace for the Midland District. He also was a captain in the local militia and served 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...

. He was elected to the 5th Parliament of Upper Canada

5th Parliament of Upper Canada

The 5th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 2 February 1809. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in May 1808. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada and sat at the Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada...

 for Prince Edward

Prince Edward County, Ontario

Prince Edward County is a single-tier municipality and a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario.-Geography:Prince Edward County is located in Southern Ontario on a large irregular headland or littoral at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, just west of the head of the St. Lawrence River...

 in an 1811 by-election and was reelected in 1812. With Joseph Willcocks

Joseph Willcocks

Joseph Willcocks was a publisher, a political figure and ultimately, a traitor in Upper Canada.He was born in Palmerstown, Ireland in 1773. He came to York at the age of 27, staying initially with his second cousin once removed, William Willcocks...

, he opposed measures attempting to prepare the province for war that administrator Isaac Brock

Isaac Brock

Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB was a British Army officer and administrator. Brock was assigned to Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he commanded his regiment in Upper Canada successfully for many years...

introduced in 1812.

He died in Hallowell Township in 1842.