Billa Flint

Who was Billa Flint?

Billa Flint was a businessman and political figure in Ontario. He was a Liberal member of the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1894.

He was born in Elizabethtown in Upper Canada and dropped out of school after six weeks to work for his father as a clerk. In 1829, unhappy with the sale of liquor at his father's hotel, he moved to Belleville and set up his own business there. In the same year, he also founded a temperance society there. In 1836, he was appointed magistrate and also became president of the Board of Police. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1847 for Hastings and, in 1854, for Hastings South. In 1863, he was elected to the Legislative Council for Trent division and served until Confederation when he was appointed to the Senate. In 1866, he served as mayor of Belleville. He served over 20 years on the council for Hastings County and was warden for the county in 1873.

His business had expanded from the sale of goods into the harvesting and sale of timber and the operation of warehouses and wharfs for storing and transporting goods.