Markland, George Herchmer

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Robert J. Burns, “MARKLAND, GEORGE HERCHMER (Herkimer),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 9, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/markland_george_herchmer_9E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Public servant; b. about 1790 at Kingston, Upper Canada, the only child of Thomas Markland and Catherine Herchmer (Herkimer); his wife Anna died in 1847; d. 17 May 1862 at Kingston.
    • In 1820 Markland unsuccessfully contested the riding of Kingston against fellow Tory, Christopher Alexander Hagerman. Within a few weeks of his defeat he was appointed to the Legislative Council, probably through the influence of Strachan. Two years later, at age 32, he was made an honorary member of the Executive Council and, in 1827, a regular member. In 1828 he was appointed secretary receiver of the Upper Canada Clergy Corporation which administered the leasing of the clergy reserves. From 1831 to 1838 he was also secretary and treasurer of the board responsible for the collection of money from the sale of school lands,. In May 1833 he reached the apex of his career when he was made inspector general of public accounts. As in his previous positions of fiscal responsibility, he worked diligently and efficiently; he was, to all appearances, a model bureaucrat deserving the emulation of his fellow officials.
    • In 1838 Markland was a leading member of the Family Compact, probably ranking second only to J. B. Robinson among Strachan’s protégés. His political and social eclipse was abrupt. No hint of the sexual scandal appeared in the contemporary press, and the account of it rests on official reports. Today only a few of Markland’s letters remain, scattered in the correspondence of his friends and associates. Whether the charges made against him in 1838 were accurate or the result of gossip and innuendo will probably never be known with certainty. The witnesses, including two labourers, a gardener, a soldier, a servant, and a housekeeper, as well as a merchant, a law student, and a government clerk, seemed as shocked by the familiarity with which Markland, a gentleman, treated members of the lower class, as they were by the nature of the conduct of which he stood accused.
  • Grandson of Proven Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory –https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=9491
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