James Rea Benson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Lincoln | |
| In office 1867–1868 | |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Rodman Merritt |
| Senator for St. Catharines, Ontario | |
| In office 1868–1885 | |
| Appointed by | John A. Macdonald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 21, 1807 Ireland |
| Died | March 18, 1885 (aged 78) |
| Political party | Liberal-Conservative |
James Rea Benson (January 21, 1807 – March 18, 1885) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Lincoln in the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Liberal-Conservative member until March 14, 1868, when he was named to the Senate of Canada for St. Catharines.[1]
He was born in Ireland in 1807[1] and came to Kingston in Upper Canada with his family in 1819. He later moved to St. Catharines, where he was a hardware merchant,[2] also operating mills and ships in partnership with Thomas Rodman Merritt.[3] Benson was president of the Niagara District Bank, the Welland Loan Company and the St. Catharines Gas Company.[2] He served on the town council for St. Catharines and on the council for Lincoln County.[1] He died in 1885 in Ottawa while still in office.[4]
The city of St. Catharines purchased his residence and used it for some time as the city hall.[5]
Benson married the daughter of Charles Ingersoll.[2] His daughter Helen married Calvin Brown, the first mayor of St. Catharines.[5] His son Sir Frederick William Benson was a British Army officer. His niece, Mary Benson, the daughter of his brother Thomas, married Thomas Rodman Merritt.[6]
- ^ a b c James Rea Benson – Parliament of Canada biography
- ^ a b c Morgan, Henry J., ed. (1872). The Canadian Parliamentary Companion (Seventh ed.). Montreal: John Lovell. p. 42.
- ^ Warwick, Peter D. A. (1994). "Thomas Rodman Merritt". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XIII (1901–1910) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
- ^ Johnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.
- ^ a b St. Catharines : Canada's Canal City, JN Jackson, SM Wilson (1992) Archived 2011-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Canadian biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men (1880)