Thomas Welch or Walsh was a surveyor

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

 and judge 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 the Province of Maryland

Province of Maryland

The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...

 in 1742, the son of Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 immigrants with roots in 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...

. He studied in Philadelphia and served with the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 during the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

. He was appointed surveyor in Berks County, Pennsylvania

Berks County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...

; in 1769, he moved to Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. In 1778, he joined the Maryland Loyalists Battalion

Maryland Loyalists Battalion

The Maryland Loyalists Battalion was a provincial regiment made up of colonial Americans, who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolutionary War.-Background:...

. He was taken prisoner by the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 at Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

 and later released in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. He led a group of loyalists to New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

; after five years, he returned to Maryland.

Unable to recover his property in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, he left for Upper Canada where land was available and settled in Lincoln County

Lincoln County, Ontario

Lincoln County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.The county was formed in 1792. In 1845, the southern portion of Lincoln County was separated to form Welland County....

, where he was appointed deputy surveyor. In 1796, he was named the first land registrar in Norfolk County

Norfolk County, Ontario

Norfolk County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the north shore of Lake Erie in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Bloomsburg is a small town located in Norfolk County and is the hometown of David Slater. The county seat and largest community is Simcoe...

. He settled on a farm in Charlotteville Township. Welch served as a captain in the local militia. In 1800, he was named a district commissioner for the Court of King's Bench. In 1810, he was named judge in the district and surrogate courts. In the same year, his son, Francis Leigh Walsh

Francis Leigh Walsh

Francis Leigh Walsh was a political figure in Upper Canada.He was born in Harford County, Maryland in 1789, the son of Thomas Welch, a United Empire Loyalist. He came to Norfolk County with his family in 1793. In 1810, he became registrar for Norfolk County, succeeding his father...

, succeeded him as land registrar for Norfolk. Welch was also a member of the Freemasons.

He died in Charlotteville Township in 1816.

His grandson, Aquila Walsh

Aquila Walsh

Aquila Walsh was a Canadian civil engineer, politician, and civil servant.Walsh was born in Charlotteville Township in 1823, the son of Francis Leigh Walsh and grandson of Thomas Welch. He represented Norfolk in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1861 until 1867...

, later became a member of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 and Welch's great-grandson, William L. Walsh

William L. Walsh

William Legh Walsh, KC was a Canadian lawyer and judge. He served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 1931 to 1936....

, served as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta is the viceregal representative in Alberta of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the nine other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United...

.