William Bruce was a physician 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 Stormont

Stormont County, Ontario

Stormont County area is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario.Stormont was created in 1792, however, it was settled seven years earlier in 1785. Veterans of Loyalist regiments were among the first settlers...

 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 1834 to 1836.

He was born in Upper Canada, the son of William Bruce and Mary Alguire. Bruce was educated by John Strachan

John Strachan

John Strachan was an influential figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto.-Early life:Strachan was the youngest of six children born to a quarry worker in Aberdeen, Scotland. He graduated from King's College, Aberdeen in 1797...

 in Cornwall

Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...

 and went on to study medicine. He lived in Cornwall. Bruce served in the Stormont militia 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...

, later reaching the rank of lieutenant. 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 Eastern District

Eastern District, Upper Canada

Eastern 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 Lunenburg District until 1792, it was abolished in 1849...

in 1833 and was appointed coroner in 1835. He died in Cornwall.