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82-502: The regiment dates as far back as 1822 in York, Upper Canada (now Toronto ). For the remainder of the 19th century this troop was recognized as the cavalry of the city of Toronto. It has links to the 1st York Light Dragoons formed in 1810 by Captain (later Major ) John Button or Button's Troop (commanded until 1831). Also known as 'Denison's Troop', it began as the York Dragoons under

164-544: A "General Convention of Delegates" from each riding in which to establish a common political platform. This convention could then become the core of a "permanent convention" or political party - an innovation not yet seen in Upper Canada. The organization of this convention was a model for the "Constitutional Convention" Mackenzie organized for the Rebellion of 1837, where many of the same delegates were to attend. The convention

246-479: A capital at London, and York became the permanent capital of Upper Canada on February 1, 1796. That year Simcoe returned to Britain and was temporarily replaced by Peter Russell . The original townsite was a compact ten blocks near the mouth of the Don River and a garrison was built at the channel to Toronto Harbour . Government buildings and a law court were established. Yonge Street was built, connecting York to

328-527: A hereditary nobility. In its place, senior members of Upper Canada bureaucracy, the Executive Council of Upper Canada and Legislative Council of Upper Canada , made up the elite of the Compact. These men sought to solidify their personal positions into family dynasties and acquire all the marks of gentility. They used their government positions to extend their business and speculative interests. The centre of

410-502: A little stone structure beside his home. Dr. Stuart's lectures were "curious, marked as it was with by unexpected elevations, and depressions of the voice and long closings of the eyes". In that same year, the first brick house in York was constructed, the home and store of Quetton St. George at King and Frederick. St. George imported the bricks from New York state. The Battle of York was fought on April 27, 1813. An American force supported by

492-468: A lower one for common councillors. Two aldermen and two councilmen would be elected from each city ward. This relatively broad electorate was offset by a much higher qualification for election to office, which essentially limited election to the wealthy much like the old Court of Quarter Sessions it replaced. The mayor was elected by the aldermen from among their number, and a clear barrier was erected between those of property who served as full magistrates, and

574-600: A means of resupply. Middleton knew that the Métis and the Cree were expert horsemen and believed they would ambush any supply wagons, which is why he preferred to bring up supplies and reinforcements via the river. On 5 May 1885, the streamer Northcote was ready and Middleton set off for Batoche. On 9 May, the Northcote was stopped by a cable that Dumont had laid across the river outside of Batoche, and its American captain turned back when

656-532: A result, there was a major landslide in the first city elections. The first mayor of the new City of Toronto was William Lyon Mackenzie. York's population was primarily from the British Isles (from Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland) with a few other European settlers (French, German and Dutch). York being a garrison town meant there were one or more regiments of Imperial troops stationed there. The officers were considered an acquisition to society, and, "many of

738-699: A soldier in the Queen's Rangers, murdered Wabakinine , a Mississauga chief and one of the signers of the Toronto Purchase, on the waterfront. The murder of Wabakinine and his wife threatened to derail the peace between the British and the Mississaugas. The Mississaugas, already frustrated by the failed promises of the Toronto Purchase, considered a counterattack, either on the capital itself or on nearby pioneer farms. The York authorities brought McCuen to trial for murder but he

820-442: A squadron consisting of a ship-rigged corvette , a brig and twelve schooners landed on the lake shore to the west of the garrison, defeating the British and capturing the fort, town and dockyard . The Americans suffered heavy casualties, including Brigadier General Zebulon Pike who was leading the troops when the retreating British blew up the fort's magazine . The American forces carried out several acts of arson and looting in

902-540: A surge of immigrants, expanding from 1,000 residents to over 9,000 by the time the town was incorporated as the City of Toronto in 1834. During its existence, the town did not have its own government; it was governed by the province of Upper Canada, with a mix of elected officials and an aristocracy known as the Family Compact controlling the government. By 1830, this led to an ongoing political conflict, which would later lead to

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984-451: A system known as "watch and ward". The first police office was opened in 1826, only open from 11 a.m to 2 p.m daily except Sunday, Christmas Day and Good Friday. The number of constables was eleven in 1810, twenty in 1820 and twelve in 1830. There was a major cholera epidemic in Upper Canada from 1832 to 1834. There were two outbreaks in York, in 1832 and 1834. About 1,000 persons died in the two outbreaks. The disease, poorly understood at

1066-576: Is now Ashbridge's Bay and the then natural mouth of the Don ( Keating Channel did not exist yet). Other than Lake Ontario, other waterways into old town included the Don and several other small creeks, such as Garrison Creek , Russell Creek and Taddle Creek . Between 1710 and 1750, French traders established two trading posts on the Humber River, Magasin Royale , and Fort Toronto. The success of Fort Toronto led

1148-476: Is now Lake Simcoe , where the Huron and preceding inhabitants had planted tree saplings to corral fish. The shoreline was likely sandy and parts sloping down to Lake Ontario (see Geography of Toronto ). The original shoreline followed what is now Front Street . Everything now south of Front Street is the result of land fill. The Toronto Islands were still connected to the mainland. It was wooded, with marshes in what

1230-470: The American Revolutionary War , the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists arrived in numbers north of Lake Ontario, as the British offered free land to many. As plans were being made to create the new province of Upper Canada, British North America Governor-General Lord Dorchester selected the area north of Toronto Bay for a new capital. Dorchester arranged for

1312-555: The Holland River to the north. To the east, Kingston Road was built to the mouth of the Trent River . In 1797, the town site was expanded to the west to allow for public buildings and expansion. One of the new area's public functions, a public market, was started in 1803. It continues today as St. Lawrence Market . The settlement was attacked by American troops during the War of 1812. As

1394-692: The North-West Rebellion in Canada . Middleton was born in London, the third son of Major General Charles Middleton and Fanny Wheatley. Educated at Maidstone Grammar School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , Middleton was commissioned into the 58th Regiment of Foot in 1842. He served in the New Zealand Wars and in 1845, he was mentioned in dispatches for his part in the capture of

1476-475: The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail , led to widespread use of the name. The word "toronto", meaning "plenty" appears in a French lexicon of the Huron language in 1632, and it appeared on French maps referring to various locations, including Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe, and several rivers. In Mohawk, the word tkaronto , meant "place where trees stand in the water". It refers to the northern end of what

1558-560: The Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas of New Credit , thereby securing more than a 250,000 acres (1,000 km ) of land. The purchase was disputed in 1788, and a further agreement was made in 1805, but a final settlement of the purchase would only come 200 years later in 2010, for a total of CA$ 145 million . In 1791, Upper Canada was established, with Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) its first capital. The first Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe arrived in 1792 and first visited

1640-649: The 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion . When Europeans first arrived at the site of York, the vicinity was inhabited by the Iroquoian Seneca tribe (from the Five Nations Iroquois of New York State), who by then had displaced the Wyandot (Huron) tribes that had occupied the region for centuries before c.  1600 . By 1701, the Iroquoian villages that had been established along the north shore of Lake Ontario during

1722-554: The 1870s. The GGBG was the only non-numbered corps and was expanded to squadron strength in 1876. With a final rationalization of the Canadian Cavalry Corps in 1889, the GGBG was brought to full regimental strength with the amalgamation of the local Markham and Oak Ridges Troops of the 2nd Regiment of Cavalry (later the 2nd Dragoons ). The name was changed a final time in 1895 to The Governor General's Body Guard of Canada . The GGBG

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1804-688: The Boulton family, builders of the Grange . Reform activity emerged in the 1830s when those suffering the abuses of the Family Compact began to emulate the organizational forms of the British Reform Movement, and organized Political Unions under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie . The British Political Unions had successfully petitioned for the Great Reform Act of 1832 that eliminated much of

1886-486: The British garrison retreated, they detonated their powder magazine, inflicting numerous casualties on the invading U.S. forces, who proceeded to loot and destroy the town. The victorious Americans chose not to occupy the town and the British eventually returned without conflict. A reprisal attack was made on the American capital of Washington, D.C. a year later. After the war was over, the town continued to grow, expanding to

1968-531: The Compact was York. Its most important member was the Rev. John Strachan ; many of the other members were his former students, or people who were related to him. Another prominent member of the Compact was Sir John Beverley Robinson who was the Chief Justice of Upper Canada for 34 years from 1829. The rest of the members were mostly descendants of United Empire Loyalists or recent upper-class British settlers such as

2050-527: The Court House at noon, when Sheriff William Botsford Jarvis granted the chair of the meeting to Dr. Dunlop, of the Canada Company , rather than Reform MPP Jesse Ketchum , the reformers' choice, despite a reform majority. The tories then made short order of the meeting, passing a resolution in favour of the colonial administration, and adjourning. Mackenzie's supporters had, in the meanwhile, reassembled to

2132-423: The Don. A path led from Angell's Bridge south to the peninsula and the lighthouse. The chief business part of the town was King and Front streets, the western limit being Yonge street, and the eastern limit the Don bridge. There were, however, many private residences west of York on Yonge, Front and Lot Streets, and as far west as the garrison. In comparison, the original town site itself was not fully developed by

2214-704: The First World War, was not activated for duty, but rather assisted in raising numbered battalions for the Canadian Expeditionary Force and recruiting to fill the CEF ranks. Thousands of Toronto's citizens were recruited through the GGBG for service in the trenches. The GGBG supplied soldiers for the 3rd Bn , 2nd Bn , 4th CMR , 216th Bn , 124th Bn to name a few. In 1936 the regiment was amalgamated with The Mississauga Horse to become The Governor General's Horse Guards . York, Upper Canada York

2296-501: The French to build Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750. It only lasted until 1759, abandoned after the fall of Fort Niagara , when the French retreated to Montreal. The British arrived the next year with an army to secure the location. The British claimed all of New France after the 1763 Treaty of Paris , and extended the Province of Quebec to present-day Ontario. After

2378-546: The Macaulay family estate between Yonge St and Osgoode Hall (now Toronto City Hall), which became a working-class neighbourhood known as Macaulaytown. The original townsite area is today known as the " Old Town ". On June 1, 1807, on the south east corner of King and George, a priest named Dr. G. Okill Stuart opened the Home District School, the first public school in York. The school taught both boys and girls and ran out of

2460-711: The Niagara River. The Fenian force was defeated and many of its members arrested by Canadian and American authorities. By the mid-19th Century, Britain began to pull its army out of Canada for the Crimea War and the need to establish a Canadian army became clear. With the enactment of the Militia Act of 1855, the Canadian Militia Department was established. Under the act, the Canadian Militia unit establishment

2542-621: The Toronto Purchase site in May 1793. Impressed by the site and harbour, he moved the capital to Toronto, on a "temporary" basis, while he worked on plans to build a capital in the vicinity of London, Ontario . Simcoe renamed the townsite York, rejecting the aboriginal name. The name of York was chosen to please King George, as a compliment to the Duke of York, his son. Simcoe founded York on August 27, 1793. Simcoe and his family took residence in July 1793. They found

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2624-544: The account of his alcoholism. This was the same day as the Battle of Duck Lake , the opening round of the Rebellion. Métis fighters defeated a force of the North-West Mounted Police there. Though Middleton was elderly and cautious, his response to the news of Duck Lake was swift. That same day, he departed Winnipeg on a train bound for Qu'Appelle with a company of Manitoba militia. The major difficulty for Middleton

2706-425: The bay to the burning building passed the buckets. In 1826, the first fire company was inaugurated and a fire hall was built on Church Street. Soldiers at nearby Fort York also assisted in fire fighting when needed. There was no official police force. Able-bodied male citizens were required to report for night duty as special constables for a fixed number of nights a year under the penalty of fine or imprisonment in

2788-453: The boat came under fire. The Northcote was a diversion to draw out the Métis and at the same time, the Field Force under Middleton arrived at Batoche. Seeing his troops beginning to panic again, Middleton ordered his wagons to be drawn into a circle to form a strong defensive position. On 11 May, Middleton observed that the outnumbered Métis and Cree had to rush from position to position on

2870-524: The campus of King's College, today's University of Toronto , at the north end of the roads. Rougher conditions existed in several area. "Macaulaytown", (named after the Queen's Ranger who had been given the park lot) basically a shanty town, and the site of many poor immigrants, was north of Lot and west of Yonge. Squatters lived a meager existence along the Don River and the lakefront. Conditions were poor on both sides of Church Street in back lanes. The worst

2952-661: The city in 1836; and William O'Grady , publisher of the reform newspaper, The Correspondent. In 1826, in the "Types Riot", the printing press of William Lyon Mackenzie was destroyed by the young lawyers of the Juvenile Advocate's Society with the complicity of the Attorney General, the Solicitor General and the magistrates of Toronto. Mackenzie had published a series of satires under the pseudonym of "Patrick Swift, nephew of Jonathan Swift " in an attempt to humiliate

3034-634: The command of Captain George Taylor Denison I . Under the Militia Act of 1793, service in the militia was mandatory for all healthy male citizens aged 16 to 60 years. Like most militia in Canada during this period, the Dragoons were raised and financed by wealthy gentry, in this case the Denison family, as volunteers were not part of a regular army. The Dragoons began as a local mounted infantry company linked to

3116-474: The convention and "he addressed the meeting with great force and effect". The convention nominated four Reform candidates, all of whom were ultimately successful in the election. The convention stopped short, however, of establishing a political party. Instead, they formed yet another Political Union. In 1833, several prominent reformers had petitioned the House to have the town incorporated, which would also have made

3198-515: The dense forests of eastern North America. The cavalry troop was sufficient to serve the purpose and militia infantry were allowed to raise cavalry troops under the Militia Act of 1808. This unit, like many local military units, was made up of volunteers and formed to supplement the presence of British Army units in Upper Canada . The company or troop broke from the parent infantry battalion and became an independent troop of cavalry in 1839. The troop

3280-491: The example of Williams's battalion, other battalions began to charge forward. Shouting enthusiastically, the Canadians raced down from the hill, and disheartened Métis and Cree were soon defeated. Morton described Middleton as cautious, but highly professional officer who was a better tactician than Dumont, who brought the war to a swift conclusion in a manner that was much less bloodier than it could have been. For his service in

3362-454: The fair daughters of York formed marriages with these gallant fellows." The town saw a wave of English immigrants in the later 1820s. In 1826, the population was 1,700, in 1830, 2,860 and in 1834, 9,254. Frederick Dobson Middleton Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton (4 November 1825 – 25 January 1898) was a British general noted for his service throughout the Empire and particularly in

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3444-434: The front. On 6 April 1885, Middleton set off on a march to Batoche. On 23 April, the Métis and Cree under Gabriel Dumont ambushed the Canadians at Fish Creek . Despite Middeton's orders, Colonel William Dillon Otter after reaching Battleford, set out to do battle with the Cree, and was defeated by Chief Poundmaker at the Battle of Cut Knife Hill ; only the latter's unwillingness to have his warriors take advantage of

3526-467: The location to be an isolated wilderness, with dense forest right to the shore. A few families of Mississaugas were the only residents and "immense coveys of fowl." They lived in a tent that once belonged to Captain James Cook the explorer, at the foot of today's Bathurst Street. It would be the temporary capital until 1796, when Simcoe abandoned his plans to make London the capital. The first parliament in

3608-552: The members of the Family Compact running for the board of the Bank of Upper Canada , and Henry John Boulton the Solicitor General, in particular. Mackenzie's articles worked, and they lost control. In revenge they sacked Mackenzie's press, throwing the type into the lake. The 'juvenile advocates' were the students of the Attorney General and the Solicitor General, and the act was performed in broad daylight in front of William Allan , bank president and magistrate. They were never charged, and it

3690-599: The most signal and unequivocal defeat of the Yankee Republican party. The British constitutionalists carried every thing before them, and Mackenzie and his abettors are put down now and for ever. Buoyed by large public displays of support following his re-election in January 1832, Mackenzie called for a public meeting in York on March 23, in the face of an increasingly well organized opposition, and threats of violence. Both supporters and opponents of Mackenzie gathered in front of

3772-486: The new capital convened in June 1797, after Simcoe had returned to England and Peter Russell was named administrator of Upper Canada. The townsite was first surveyed in 1788, but Simcoe developed a new town plan. The Town of York was laid out in ten original blocks between today's Adelaide and Front streets (the latter following the shoreline) with the first church ( St James Anglican ), Town Hall and Wharf (named St Lawrence after

3854-582: The night. Mackenzie returned to Toronto from his London journey in the last week of August 1833, to find his appeals to the British Parliament had been ultimately ineffective. At an emergency meeting of Reformers, David Willson , leader of the Children of Peace , proposed extending the nomination process for members of the House of Assembly they had begun in their village of Hope north of Toronto to all four Ridings of York (now York Region), and to establish

3936-470: The order of the province. The town grid was extended west and plots of land near New (Jarvis) and Church streets were set aside for public buildings. St. Lawrence Market, St. James' Cathedral and the Courthouse and Jail on King would be built on the public reserves. The Town was also extended in the east along King Street (then a part of Kingston Road) to the Don River . There, Angell's Bridge stretched across

4018-544: The parent West York Regiment of Militia . This peculiar organization was a practice that started during the American Revolution with the Loyalist militia regiment the "Queen's York Rangers". Light cavalry was needed to provide dispatch duty, scouting, flank protection and picketing for the infantry battalion. Full militia cavalry regiments were too expensive to operate and large scale cavalry operations were of little use in

4100-757: The political corruption in the English Parliamentary system. Prominent politicians in reform city politics included James Lesslie , a bookseller and founder of the Mechanics Institute, Bank of the People and House of Refuge & Industry; Jesse Ketchum , the Member of the Legislative Assembly for the city; Dr Thomas David Morrison , founder of the Upper Canada Political Union, and mayor of

4182-418: The position of magistrate elective. The Tory-controlled House of Assembly struggled to find a means of creating a legitimate electoral system that might, nonetheless, minimize the chances of reformers being elected. The bill passed on March 6, 1834, and proposed two different property qualifications for voting. There was a higher qualification for the election of aldermen (who would also serve as magistrates), and

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4264-423: The prairies, and on the morning of 12 May, Middleton ordered his artillery to open fire on his opponents to pin them down while his infantry advanced. Nothing had happened as infantry claimed not to hear the fire of the artillery; after accusing his men of cowardice, Middleton attacked again in the afternoon and with a battalion commanded by a Conservative MP, Colonel Arthur Williams leading the attack. Inspired by

4346-630: The rebellion, such as his hesitancy to unleash the Canadian militia troops to assault the Métis positions at Batoche, and unfair treatment and poor maintenance accorded the troops under his command. Returning to England, he was made Master of the Jewel Office . Frederick Dobson Middleton married, as his first wife, Mary Emily Hassall. He married in February 1870 as his second wife, Marie Cecile Eugénie Doucet, daughter of Theodore Doucet, N.P., of Montreal. She

4428-413: The rest. Only 230 of the city's 2,929 adult men met this stringent property qualification. However, the Family Compact - and their member for Parliament Sheriff William B. Jarvis in particular - alienated a large part of the city's construction tradesmen in late 1833. Left without pay, they held Toronto's first strike . Jarvis had them arrested, and obstructed legislation that would protect their pay. As

4510-517: The river) on the west and the first parliament buildings, blockhouse and windmill on the east. Taddle Creek lay on the eastern boundary, the Don River and its wetland further to the east. Two main roads were laid out: Lot Street (today's Queen Street) and Yonge Street, which was built as far north as the Holland River. In 1797, a garrison was built east of modern-day Bathurst Street , on the east bank of Garrison Creek. In August 1796, Charles McCuen,

4592-561: The rout saved the Canadians from being annihilated. Middleton planned to advance on Batoche with river steamers owned by the Hudson's Bay Company bringing up supplies along the South Saskatchewan River , and as steamers were not available at first, Middleton chose to wait. Despite their own panic at Fish Creek, many of the militiamen came to curse "Old Fred" as too timid, but Middleton had sound reasons for not wishing to advance without

4674-412: The scene when in 1885 a group of Métis launched the North-West Rebellion . Middleton was named commander of the main force used to put it down. His force was victorious in the Battle of Batoche , which ended the rebellion. Middleton had travelled from Ottawa to Winnipeg to evaluate Military District 10, which covered the Prairies, as the officer in charge of District 10 had just been dismissed on

4756-407: The sixteenth century had been abandoned. The Algonkian Mississaugas then moved into the York region, created alliances with the former Iroquoian residents, and established their own settlements; one near the former Seneca village of Teiaiagon on the Humber River. The name Toronto is derived from indigenous sources. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point,

4838-408: The slum, its north end on King closed off first, and the area redeveloped around the new Colborne Street. March Street (Lombard today) was also noted as being rough and having a red-light district . As the town grew, fire prevention became more important. Starting in 1820, homes were required to have two leather buckets on the front of their houses. If a fire alarm was raised, a line of citizens from

4920-617: The soundness of the criminal administration of justice in Upper Canada. And lastly, he sees in the Types riot "the seed of the Rebellion" in a deeper sense than those earlier writers who viewed it simply as the start of a highly personal feud between Mackenzie and the Family Compact. Romney emphasizes that Mackenzie's personal harassment, the "outrage", served as a lightning rod of discontent because so many Upper Canadians had faced similar endemic abuses and hence identified their political fortunes with his. See also: Mackenzie' own account The great meeting took place yesterday, and has resulted in

5002-452: The stronghold of Māori chief Te Ruki Kawiti . In 1848 he transferred to the 96th Regiment of Foot in India and took part in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny in which campaign he was recommended for, but not awarded, the Victoria Cross . He went on to be Commandant of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst , in 1879. He was appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada in 1884. Middleton just happened to be on

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5084-401: The telegraph station and named "Fort Denison". Middelton's force defeated the Metis at Batoche. The GGBG, as a regiment, supplied some 50 men to augment the small Canadian Regular Army for service in South Africa in 1900. Lieutenant Hampton Cockburn earned the Victoria Cross while serving as a volunteer with the Royal Canadian Dragoons during the war. The GGBG, like all of the militia during

5166-426: The time and caused by contaminated food or water, was acutely infectious. The number of patients overwhelmed the hospital and special sheds had to be built adjacent to house the patients. Upper Canada was established with a bicameral legislature. The upper chamber, the Executive Council of Upper Canada was appointed by, and served the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada . The lower chamber or Legislative Assembly ,

5248-465: The time of incorporation. The Parliament buildings, destroyed in 1813 by war and later by fire, were moved to the west, helping to draw persons to the west. The town became fully developed as far west as York Street, with some built-up areas west to Peter. North of Lot Street, Spadina Avenue was already laid out to the north, and the two north–south roadways that would become University Avenue. 150 acres (61 ha) of land had been purchased in 1825 to be

5330-406: The town before withdrawing. Although the Americans won a clear victory, it did not have decisive strategic results as York was a less important objective in military terms than Kingston , where the British armed vessels on Lake Ontario were based. The Town of York did not fill the small original blocks, instead development spread to the west; the area west to Peter Street had been annexed in 1797 on

5412-454: The war, Middleton was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1885. He also received the thanks of the Parliament of Canada and the sum of $ 20,000. He resigned as head of the militia in 1890 when a select committee report of the House of Commons criticized him for the misappropriation of furs from a Scotch-Indian Charles Bremner and his Cree wife Emily Bremner, during the rebellion. There were also other criticisms of Middleton's command during

5494-439: The west end to cheer Lieut. Governor Colborne, before returning to the Market Square. As they re-passed the Court House, they were joined by a group carrying an effigy of Mackenzie, who made their way to the Advocate office on Church St., which they began to pelt with stones. After burning the effigy of Mackenzie, a general skirmish ensued when the terrified printers fired a warning shot over the mob's heads. A riot ensued that lasted

5576-401: The west in front of the jail, where they set about passing their own resolutions. Ketchum, Mackenzie, Morrison and others stood in a wagon to address the crowd, when twenty members of the Orange Order grabbed the wagon sending them flying. In an attempt to defuse the growing tension, Sheriff Jarvis assembled the government supporters into a parade of 1,200, which marched off to government house in

5658-409: The west, leaving the original town site, a less desirable location, somewhat undeveloped. A new parliament building was erected, near the original location, but this burned down and a new building was built in the new lands to the west. A permanent fort, Fort York , was built on the site of the garrison. Dundas Street was built to connect York to towns to the west. In the 1820s, the town experienced

5740-475: Was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada . It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998) . It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of Upper Canada, while he made plans to build a capital near today's London, Ontario . Simcoe renamed the location York after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany , George III 's second son. Simcoe gave up his plan to build

5822-417: Was drafted by the new department. Local militia units for the first time were recognized as standing units to become a more critical part of the defence of Canada. In 1847 the unit was gazetted and became known as the 1st Toronto Independent Troop of Cavalry . It was renamed again in 1855 as the 1st Troop of Volunteer Militia Cavalry of the County of York and placed on the Militia list 27 Sept 1855. In 1866 it

5904-512: Was elected from the various districts. York was situated in Home District and Home District Council was responsible for municipal matters for York. The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada from the 1810s to the 1840s. Several were members of the Executive Council. It was noted for its conservatism and opposition to democracy. Upper Canada did not have

5986-519: Was held in the old Court House on February 27, 1834, with delegates from all four of the York ridings. The week before, Mackenzie published Willson's call for a "standing convention" (political party). The day of the convention, the Children of Peace led a "Grand Procession" with their choir and band (the first civilian band in the province) to the Old Court House. David Willson was the main speaker before

6068-469: Was left to Mackenzie to launch a civil lawsuit instead. There are three implications of the Types riot according to historian Paul Romney. First, he argues the riot illustrates how the elite's self-justifications regularly skirted the rule of law they held out as their Loyalist mission. Second, he demonstrated that the significant damages Mackenzie received in his civil lawsuit against the vandals did not reflect

6150-400: Was mobilized as a full squadron and participated in the North-West Rebellion in 1885 as rear area security for General Middleton 's force. The squadron's task was to protect the main supply route for the force in place with routine patrols from the rail line to Batoche and to secure the only supply depot and telegraph station at Humboldt. A fort was built, consisting of an earthen berm, around

6232-424: Was mobilizing the militia forces of Ontario and Quebec. They had to travel on the only-partially-completed Canadian Pacific Railway . This required the men to march through the snow and rocks of northern Ontario to reach Winnipeg, the headquarters of the Canadian forces. Canadian historian Desmond Morton described Middleton as an experienced soldier who "mixed common sense and pomposity in equal measure". His plan

6314-705: Was on active service for several months during this crisis. In 1866, the troop was the only cavalry in Upper Canada to be placed on active duty, engaged and employed against the Fenian Irish Republican Army invasion from the United States. The troop lead Col Peacock's Column to meet the Fenian force along the Niagara Peninsula as scouts. The troop was the first unit to enter and relieve the town of Fort Erie - capturing several Fenians before they escaped across

6396-493: Was one of only two fully uniformed militia units to rally to the flag with the threat of unrest and rebellion within the colony, in 1837. The troop was given new uniforms, fully armed and redesignated the " Queens Light Dragoons " (QLD). Operating alongside the local Markham Troop, forming a squadron, the QLD participated in a number of actions during the rebellion to include Gallows Hill, Navy Island and Town of Scotland. The Toronto troop

6478-561: Was renamed 1st York Troop The Governor General's Body Guard for Upper Canada and in 1867 became The Governor General's Body Guard for Ontario . After British forces completely left Canada in 1870 the Canadian Government raised a small regular force and began to look at reorganizing the Militia cavalry into full regiments. Most of the independent troops across the country were amalgamated into numbered regiments of dragoons or hussars during

6560-467: Was reputed to be Henrietta Lane, off King, west of Church, south to Market (Wellington today), which in 1832 was a center of a cholera epidemic. Pearson recalls the muddy and filthy lane as being the site of a few shanties inhabited by widows, who kept cows. The cows would be led to the garrison common each day to graze. Two stables were also nearby, making the neighbourhood "odiferous" in his opinion. The area around Henrietta would eventually be cleared of

6642-489: Was to take Batoche, the capital of the Métis exovedate (council), which he predicated would end the rebellion. As the rebellion had shaken international confidence in the credit-worthiness of Canada, Middleton was under immense pressure from Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, to end the rebellion as soon as possible. The militiamen arriving in Winnipeg were mostly untrained, and Middleton had to train them as they marched to

6724-687: Was ultimately acquitted due to lack of evidence. An uprising was averted through the efforts of Joseph Brant , a First Nations interpreter, guide and diplomat. All land south of Lot Street was reserved for expansion of the Town or Fort by the government as 'the Commons'. North of Lot Street was the "Liberties", the eventual rural Township of York. It was divided into large 'park lots' where the city's moneyed elite built their estates, such as 'the Grange' and 'Moss park.' With time, some of these estate lots were subdivided, like

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