McGregor, John

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McGregor_(Upper_Canada_politician)
  • Wiki Biography:
    • John McGregor (c. 1751 – February 12, 1828) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.
    • McGregor was born in Scotland around 1751 and came to Detroit in 1784. When the British withdrew from that area, he moved to Old Sandwich Town, now part of Windsor, Ontario, in 1796. He received a city lot in Sandwich at #4 Russell Street where he lived for the remainder of his life. He became a merchant there in partnership with his cousin, James McGregor (Merchant) and had a boat built to transport grain. He later took over a gristmill from Thomas Clark in 1810 when Clark defaulted on a loan. In 1800, he was appointed justice of the peace in the Western District. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Kent in 1804 and re-elected twice more, in 1808 and 1812. His large paper certificate dated June 20, 1808, and signed by seven prominent Kent County men survives and is located in the Canada Archives in Box MG 19A4 #45 of the Askin Papers. During this time, he also served as road commissioner for the Western District. In the war of 1812-14 (at the time referred to as “The Second American War”) some of his supplies were stolen by American troops and he agreed to sell them grain while they occupied Sandwich as, in all likelihood, they would have taken it anyway. He apparently received nothing more than a promissory note. The British Army also used wood from his houses for firewood. Two of his mills were burned to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Americans. In 1815, he was accused of collaborating with the enemy due to his sale of supplies to them. After he was cleared, he received compensation for some of his losses and was able to reestablish his business, including a distillery.
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=5441
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