Anthony Van Egmond

Who was Anthony Van Egmond?

Anthony Van Egmond, born Antonij Jacobi Willem Gijben before coming to North America, was purportedly a Dutch Napoleonic War veteran. He became one of the first settlers and business people in the Huron Tract, located in present day southwestern Ontario Canada.Van Egmond became an early contractor employed by the Canada Company to construct the original 74-kilometer in length road into the new settlement, allowing the entry of settlers for the purchase of company lands and further economic development.He eventually became a supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie, and led a force of armed rebels in their unsuccessful skirmish at Montgomery's Tavern near Toronto, Ontario on December 7, 1837 during the Upper Canada Rebellion.